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After upgrading to Windows 10 from 7, getting CMC installed and configured I moved on to HDR. I was motivated because when viewing for instance, a patch of sky, in a scene there were artifacts I think are referred to as banding. When I first connected the new Samsung TU850D panel I first tried using Windows 10 HDR which resolved some issues but was as best I can describe it, at a cooler color temp. I then followed a guide for installing madVR with MPC-HC (I had to make some guesses do to MPC-BE being different such as not having a drop down to choose madVR as DirectShow renderer - I'm guessing support for madVR is more baked in).

I think using nvidia and madvr settings instead of native Windows 10 HDR gives better results across SDR and HDR content.

Very interesting.

I think your video card would have a big impact on HDR support too. You don't mention what you're using for a GPU: built-in Intel, AMD, or nVidia.

When you mentioned banding, my first thought was the bit-depth settings in the AMD drivers. In some modes, I get horrible banding / posterization. I think there are 4 modes to choose from on AMD, things to look for include settings for 4:2:2, 4:4:4, RGB, 8-bit, 10-bit. I tried all the various combos, and found that certain modes look really good. I think it's related to TV/monitor limitations, if you send them the wrong mode, they can't map the colors right, and you get bad artifacts. Sorry, I don't have an AMD machine at my fingertips at the moment to show a screenshot.

Below is what similar settings look like on nVidia. The Output Color Depth and the Output Color Format will have the biggest impact on banding/posterization. Output Dynamic Range is related to IRE, and you should definitely be using Full range on a modern TV or monitor.



I don't have any HDR TV's or monitors in the house. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen HDR in my life. So I'm not much help there. I know that Windows has a new toggle for HDR. Plus your video card drivers likely have some settings, though I just skimmed through the nVidia settings and didn't see any controls for it, but that might be because I don't have HDR monitors or Windows settings enabled.

Hi Paul,

I hear you about not having HDR monitors in the house. This Samsung TU8500 is my first and kicked off this whole flurry of upgrades. The video card is an $80 Nvidia GT 1030. It has a fan but I have yet to hear it, maybe it runs at low RPM. I supposed if we installed a game we would start hearing it. There is a passive model but I was worried it might not fit in our "slimline" Lenovo case.

I posted more as heads up that it's an interesting new HTPC area to explore. As I go along I would be happy to report back here my final settings and any little tricks and tips I find.

Hi Paul,

Should I have posted this in the hardware or media players forum?

EDIT - please move to the Media Player sub forum. I just now found your post on LAV, madVR and MPC-BE. I had already found the video you posted to configure my setup.

Doug

Hey Doug,

So I finally started my HDR journey.

Using MPC, getting HDR going was pretty easy.

But using PowerDVD 20, which will play back 4K UHD Blu-rays on non-Intel platforms with help from the red fox, apparently does not support HDR on non-Intel platforms. I'm running an AMD APU, so this is a bummer.

I'm hoping I can find a way to get HDR to work on AMD, but my suspicion is that Intel has paid CyberLink to limit this feature to Intel GPUs only, either that or CyberLink are just lazy programmers...

Paul