I got a new HDR monitor today and got my HDR content to look consistent across HDR-compatible displays
The problem is that it seems like whether the content you’re watching is HDR or SDR, if it’s coming from app Windows treats it like it’s HDR, which causes SDR content to look dull. If I drag the plex app from my HDR-capable monitor to my non-HDR monitor, the highlights will appear to be blown out.
If I watch the same SDR content in a browser window it looks as bright as I would expect it to, and if I drag that browser window to my non-HDR monitor it appears the exact same.
Additionally, if I go into the Windows Settings System->Display->HDR there is a “SDR content brightness” slider. If I move that slider around, the brightness of the plex window in my browser will change, but the brightness of the plex app for windows doesn’t, suggesting that Windows thinks that app is HDR even if it’s playing SDR content.
Don’t mix SDR and HDR monitors on the same computer. It’ll only give you headaches.
Particularly don’t drag apps between the two screen types.
Here is my experience:
The behavior of Plex player on my HDR monitor is just as I want it.
I have HDR enabled permanently in the Windows settings.
I have dialled down the above mentioned slider, so that I can look at black text on white background for hours without getting eye strain and headaches.
I have dialled down the overall brightness of the monitor as well. (I have no direct sunlight in my room, so I don’t need it very bright.)
I have used the Microsoft calibration tool for HDR screens as well. If you haven’t already, do it.
Now what happens if I play a SDR video in Plex, is that the player is raising the brightness to that of an old style (i.e. non-HDR TV screen), which were always much brighter than your average computer monitor.
HDR content is also played as expected, of course.
Do you just reply with the first thing that pops into your head without thinking about why somebody might have done something first? I was troubleshooting what’s going on with the Plex app, I’m not looking for the world’s greatest dragging-between-screens experience.
