If you happen to be the proud new owner of anXbox One Sor anXbox One X, you are probably salivating at the thought of gorgeous, color-laden HDR graphics adorning your TV screen (that is, assuming you’ve got a4KHDR television).
Getting all set up to make that happen is a little more complex than you might expect, though. To properly activate HDR —High Dynamic Range— you need to check (and potentially adjust) the settings on both your console and your television, and of course, you need to be playing a supported title. With that in mind, we have thrown together a quick-hit guide on how to get gaming in HDR on the Xbox One.
A note before we begin: If you’re rocking an original Xbox One — not the One S or the One X — please note that it doesn’t support HDR or 4K playback. The same goes for anyone without an HDR-enabled TV. Until you have the proper hardware, you won’t be able to drench your display in vibrant HDR contrast and color shades. If you’re aPlayStation4 ownerhead herefor our guide to enable HDR on your PS4 and PS4 Pro.
Setting up your television
The Xbox One S and One X will auto-detect your TV’s 4K and/or HDR capabilities, but only if your TV is set up correctly beforehand. With that in mind, let’s get your TV set up correctly first.
This process may seem a little tricky at first, as not every TV works the exact same way. Depending on what brand you have, the menus might have slightly different layouts and category names, Don’t panic! We outline the basics here, so you should be able to figure it all out on your own.
In the market for a new TV? We can help! Take a look at our picks for thebest TVs of 2017or hit up our4K TV buying guidefor more info.
Setting up your Xbox
Note: Both the Xbox One S and the Xbox One X should automatically enable HDR if they detect a compatible television via HDMI (though this requires that your TV is set up correctly beforehand.) That said, we’re still going to show you how to do it just in case you connected your console before setting up your TV properly.
In case you want a more active tutorial, check outthis videofrom the official Xbox YouTube account.
Playing the right games
Of course, not all games are optimized for HDR playback. For your convenience, we havea full listof all compatible Xbox One games. Of course, more supported titles arereleased fairly often(ifOkami HDdoesn’t support HDR, we riot), so be sure to check back with us for updates. Below, we named a few prominent titles that might whet your visual appetite, so to speak.
Make sure the picture looks great!
Now that you’re all set up and playing an HDR title, the picture quality should be stunning and gorgeous. But what if you aren’t impressed? Perhaps it actually looks worse? What now?
Unfortunately, this may mean that your TV is not well-suited for HDR, even if it says HDR right on the side of the box. To pull off HDR well, a TV needs to be able to achieve high-contrast ratios and expanded color. If your TV can’t pull off the contrast necessary for impressive HDR, your picture could end up looking either dark or washed out, with a lack of detail in either dim or bright areas, depending on your picture adjustments. If this ends up being the case, we suggest you disable HDR and play in a standard mode. If the picture quality looks much better as a result of reverting back to HDR, just stick with it.
