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How to enable HDR on Xbox Series X
Category:
Xbox

How to enable HDR on Xbox Series X

Image of Cole Andrews
Cole Andrews
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Published: Nov 5, 2020 07:52 pm

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Want to know how to enable HDR on Xbox Series X? Displays such as monitors and televisions now mostly support something known as the high-dynamic range. It’s a step up from standard dynamic range and results in better color volumes and a higher bit-depth. Admittedly, it’s not something you might notice unless you have a TV that supports it. These days it is relatively standard for mid-range displays and even some budget options to support this feature. 

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When it comes to gaming, HDR can be very noticeable and make a big difference in image quality. Each video game traditionally has settings for this inside the video options, and tampering with them might make the game’s colors “pop” a bit more. Some people, like myself, never even mess with this setting. Luckily, enabling HDR is now effortless thanks to a calibration app built-in to the Xbox Series X. 

How to enable HDR on Xbox Series X

To enable HDR on the Xbox Series X, follow these steps:

  • Open Settings by pressing the Xbox button
  • Go to General
  • Select TV and Display
  • Select Calibrate HDR for games

The high dynamic range (HDR) calibration application allows you to adjust some settings until you can see different portions of a black and white image. The application optimizes the Xbox Series X HDR to your display. Not all televisions and monitors are equal, so calibration is essential.

After running the HDR calibration, it will finish within a couple of seconds. Your display should then be more colorful and vibrant. The Xbox Series X’s high dynamic range functionality only works appropriately with a compatible TV and an HDMI 2.1 cable, which comes with the console. You always have the option to turn this off if it’s causing issues with your display.

Xbox Series X offers the HDR calibration app by default, ready to go on the system when you receive it. It’s looking like Auto-HDR is one of the coolest features next-gen has to offer. Jeffrey Grubb over at GamesBeat, with some help from EvilBoris, does a better job explaining all of this. If you’re interested, watch his video where he tests out some backward compatible games on the Xbox Series X hardware.

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Author
Image of Cole Andrews
Cole Andrews
Cole is a lifelong PC gamer who loves FPS, RPG, and MMO games. The first PC game that got him hooked was the Counter-Strike beta in 1999. He has thousands of hours in all of the old-school Blizzard games like Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo.