HDR colors

[Valium]

Hi do I have something wrong or SDR looks much better? HDR looks like different time of day, way darker. I think the creator intent is to have this high sun brightness as it's more atmospheric that way. In HDR it looks like the sun is behind a super thick cloud. I should be ok with HDR settings like monitor/windows because HDR looks great in other games, only have weird issues with this one.

[Eagleshadow]

Hi Valium!
I recorded and uploaded a reference HDR video for you: {LINK REMOVED}https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1fEH68dDFbr_inUlntPVv0wDYFulbqNzW

Please download mpv player: https://github.com/zhongfly/mpv-winbuild/releases/download/2025-04-15-4697f7c/mpv-x86_64-v3-20250415-git-4697f7c.7z

Just unzip it anywhere, ensure you have HDR enabled in Windows, and then drag and drop .mp4 onto mpv.exe.

This will result in HDR video playback that is at-reference, with no tone mapping applied, and should look pixel for pixel identical to how the game looks with default HDR calibration ingame settings.

This should help answer if you are encountering a technical issue, or if you feel the game is just too dim for your taste in HDR. My guess is that it's some kind of technical issue.

---

If the video looks the same as the game does, that suggests the game is too dim for your taste, and you should be able to easily solve this by using the HDR calibration menu, shown at the beginning of the reference video, in order to brighten it up to make it suit your preference.

If at default HDR calibration ingame settings the game looks different to you than the reference video looks in mpv, then you're facing a technical issue of some sort, probably HDR not getting activated at all or ending up in a bugged state somehow. If that's the case, then I would ask you to record an HDR video using OBS, so that we can see what you are seeing. And we would have to check your log files for clues. And I would also ask you to disable all overlays such as steam overlay, nvidia overlay, whatever else you might have to see if that helps, and to make sure your drivers and windows are up to date, and to try running the game with a single monitor setup and with a multiple monitor setup if are able to borrow a monitor just to test if that fixes it, and I mean merely have a second monitor plugged in and running, while the game is still using only the primary monitor. Probably shouldn't matter if secondary monitor is running in HDR or SDR mode, but if you're able to you can try both.

[Valium]

Hi wow thanks for all of that! However, Steam has deleted your link to the recording, leaving only the player. :(

[Eagleshadow]

Yeah I noticed. Never had Steam just outright remove a google drive link for no apparent reason.

I uploaded the video to github now, hopefully that will work: https://github.com/Shadetail/Talos-Reawakened-HDR-Reference/releases/download/v1.0.0/Talos1_Reawakened_HDR_Reference.mp4

[Valium]

Thank you! Yes, my game in HDR looks almost exactly like in your video. I noticed one thing, if I hit pause in MPV player, it overblows the image - likely by switching to SDR and getting confused about the data. While not as overblown (and without bloom), it shows semi-accurately the difference in "time of day" I see between SDR and HDR. SDR looks to me as bright as the paused video, giving super different vibes (most accurately is the hue of the sky, in HDR its dark realistic blue, in SDR its super vibrant light blue. I thought that super bright sun is creator intent since it's simulation etc. I'll try to play with brightness in in-game calibration menu.

[Valium]

Unfortunately the brightness doesn't change much. I had Windows HDR calibration color profile and I think game read that (it was set to 1000 nits, just like in my profile - Im using Samsung Neo 57). There is big difference going below 1000 nits and changing midtones, but it worsens the image. I guess it's intended that SDR and HDR give here very different vibes. In other games I played like Cyberpunk, HDR/SDR isnt changing the vibe as severely.

[joridiculous]

Originally posted by Eagleshadow:

Yeah I noticed. Never had Steam just outright remove a google drive link for no apparent reason.

I uploaded the video to github now, hopefully that will work: https://github.com/Shadetail/Talos-Reawakened-HDR-Reference/releases/download/v1.0.0/Talos1_Reawakened_HDR_Reference.mp4

whoa, that looked really bleak! I dont see that much difference with HDR off or on, but there is some.

A couple of shots with HDR off (Looks pretty close too how i looks playing)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3463998834
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3464863281)
(LOL, just though about it posting screenshots is pointless as it look good for me, on the same screen but want look same for other DUH)

[Valium]

Yes and that bleakness is the reference. :( The same movie looks superb with Windows in SDR.

[MASTAN]

Originally posted by Valium:

I guess it's intended that SDR and HDR give here very different vibes. In other games I played like Cyberpunk, HDR/SDR isnt changing the vibe as severely.

I don't think it's intended. After enabling HDR in-game I didn't notice much difference in brighness. The video above looks fine to me and when it's paused there's no change.

[Eagleshadow]

Originally posted by Valium:

Im using Samsung Neo 57).

With that monitor in SDR you should set it to Picture Mode: Original (sRGB)
> The monitor doesn't have a dedicated sRGB mode, but setting the Color Space Settings to 'Auto' locks colors to the sRGB color space, and you still have access to other settings. If you don't set it to 'Auto,' colors are oversaturated
~ from RTINGS https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/samsung/odyssey-neo-g9-g95nc-s57cg95

Then you'll see how games are intended to look like in SDR, and SDR should then better match how HDR looks, the sky should not change from deep blue to cyan and vice versa, for example. Anything else than the Picture Mode Original, and you're effectively modding the game with your monitor settings. HDR by design makes it harder to blast the image into oversaturated super bright look, since doing that makes the HDR content that actually takes advantage of higher brightness and color range look much less magical. So monitor manufacturers are prone to having HDR be more accurate. While SDR has long suffered from a kind of loudness wars, just with regards to blasting brightness and color way higher than reference. These brightness and color saturation wars so to speak, are a consequence of SDR standard being severely underspecified for what modern monitors can actually show, so they will often stretch the SDR image into HDR space as much as they can, just to make their screens look more attractive on the shelves.

I recommend using your monitor in its accurate mode, it might take a while to get used to it, but when you do, you'll be able to better enjoy and appreciate the enormous range of contrast and color richness that HDR allows for, which really brings the scene to life when used only for peak highlights and things that really are supposed to be crazy saturated, like some magical blue particle effects against the realistic blue sky, rather than when used for everything, as then you won't even see such a particle effect since it will be glowing cyan particle effect against glowing cyan background. Getting used to accurate image might feel dull at first, but it will pay off in the long term. Definitely did for me, and now you couldn't pay me to go back :)

[Valium]

I wholly enjoy things like filmmaker mode and I don't want to have overblown image or some sort. :D I already had Original mode, Auto color settings, everything as accurate as possible. Of course in both HDR and SDR, with also tone mapping set to static in HDR so monitor doesnt do tone mapping on already tone mapped image. However there is big difference in image between those two and I would think that it shouldnt be that dramatic. In order to escape issues with formats, here are stillshots from my phone presenting the difference between SDR and HDR in this game https://imgsli.com/MzcxMDg1 .

[Valium]

Here is also your movie in SDR then HDR. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-gCnNm-ns Sorry for pausing, I was trying to check if this is technical issue but I see a lot of people have this complaint about MPV player.

[MASTAN]

If there are problems with MPV you can try MPC-HC, it also supports HDR.

[joridiculous]

Originally posted by MASTAN:

If there are problems with MPV you can try MPC-HC, it also supports HDR.

I second that. mpc-hs is real good and stable.

Funny playing that "ref" video in FLV and MPC, its like its two different videos. MPC is playing it more "raw".