Help: Contrast/Brightness changes when i run Wallpaper Engine... why?

[quinto]

When i boot up the program, the picture on my hdtv goes all black for a split second. then when it comes back, the color saturation, contrast and brightness looks signifigantly better than before (but the settings in Nvidia Control Panel remain the same.) Why is this? Does it use a different color format? Different dynamic range? I have no idea what's going on..... Games look a lot better when i have Wallpaper Engine running... If I close the program the picture becomes dull/ bland looking again.

[Tim]

Hm, does not really make sense to me, it sounds like you have something installed which triggers different color profiles depending on what software runs. Maybe there is something which detects video playback or hardware acceleration and then switches the color profile to some sort of "cinema mode".

You can try running Windows Media Player (not VLC or something like that) and watch a video there and see if the same thing happens. Either way, Wallpaper Engine does not do any funny stuff in that regard so the change must come from something else installed on your machine.

[quinto]

Ok, thx for the advice.I just tried without any other software running and the same thing happens. Also tried running a video in Windows Media Player (without Wallpaper Engine running) and nothing happened with the colors/brightness/contrast.

However I did notice if I use a still image instead of video for my desktop in Wallpaper Engine (like the one called "Retro"), the screen doesn't go black for a split-second and the colors/brightness/contrast remains the same. So this only happens with video backrounds for some reason.

[quinto]

fwiw i tried taking in-game screenshots with and without Wallpaper Engine and they all look the same... despite looking very different when I snapped them. not sure why

[Tim]

That still sounds like a color profile issue, you can try running our scan tool while the colors are "changed" and maybe I can see something suspicious in there:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/431960/discussions/1/3307213006836797842/

But either way, it cannot be directly caused by Wallpaper Engine, the application does not fiddle with any such settings.

[quinto]

https://pastebin.com/8KZcPWxs

[quinto]

I did it one more time, launching the utility right before Wallpaper Engine, and saved the log after the colors changed.

https://pastebin.com/q0kb6zSe

[Tim]

Hm, I don't see anything obvious but I also don't have a full list of programs in my head which could potentially do this. My best bet is that it's some Adobe software, DisplayFusion or some special driver which comes with your monitor but just from that I really cannot say, sorry. I would recommend you use Task Manager and just kill everything from Adobe and DisplayFusion and see if the problem persists and maybe check your screen's manual / drivers to see if it has any special "screen adaption" features that you might not be aware of.

[quinto]

thanks, i tried with DisplayFusion uninstalled already and no luck but i'll look into the Adobe stuff. I have my pc hooked up to my surround sound receiver via HDMI, which then goes to my hdtv. never had this happen on my monitor (an old apple display), just my tv.