To all PC gamers with HDR TVs and Monitors: this simple mod fixes HDR in most games. A Game Changer

Plasma TV for Gaming

8 Aug 202315:42

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses the effectiveness of Lilium's HDR black floor fix shader in improving HDR gaming on PC, specifically highlighting its impact on games like Hogwarts Legacy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Forza Horizon 5. The shader addresses the issue of black level race, enhancing color saturation and providing a more vibrant and detailed HDR experience. The video also explores the importance of black levels in achieving infinite contrast, especially for OLED screens, and offers tips on tweaking shader settings to balance between the game's creator's intent and achieving perfect blacks for the best visual experience.

Takeaways

🎮 The script discusses the use of a new shader developed by Lilium, designed to improve HDR gaming on PC by fixing black levels.
🌗 The shader works by identifying and lowering the 'black floor' in games, resulting in more accurate and deep blacks without loss of detail.
🎲 The effectiveness of the shader was tested on multiple games including Hogwarts Legacy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Forza Horizon 5, showing significant improvements in black levels.
📊 The script highlights the importance of black levels in HDR gaming, explaining that incorrect black levels can lead to washed-out images and poor contrast.
🎨 The shader also addresses color saturation issues in HDR, transforming the SDR color space to the expected DCI P3 and BT.2020 color spaces for a more vibrant and accurate display.
🔧 The script provides insights into tweaking the shader settings for different games, emphasizing the need to balance the creator's intent with the desire for perfect blacks.
📉 The use of the shader results in a reduction of the maximum peak brightness (Max L), which users may need to compensate for in their in-game settings.
🌐 The script mentions that the Lilium HDR shader is particularly beneficial for users with monitors that lack black level control when HDR is enabled.
💡 The script suggests that the Lilium HDR shader can be a transformative solution for PC gaming on both OLED and LCD screens, significantly enhancing the visual experience.
🔄 The script encourages users to experiment with the shader's settings to achieve the desired visual outcome, noting that it can be a straightforward solution to common HDR issues in many games.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the script regarding HDR gaming on PC?
-The main issue discussed is that HDR gaming on PC is not perfect and can result in washed-out colors and poor black levels in some games, which affects the overall gaming experience.
What is Lilium's HDR black floor fix shader, and how does it work?
-Lilium's HDR black floor fix shader is a tool that identifies and lowers the black floor in games to achieve perfect black levels. It works by adjusting the game's black level until it reaches the desired state without losing any details.
Which games were mentioned as being tested with the Lilium's HDR black floor fix shader?
-The games mentioned include Hogwarts Legacy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Forza Horizon 5.
What is the significance of the black level race in games?
-The black level race is significant because it affects the visibility of perfect blacks on the screen. A minor black level race can result in noticeable issues with the black levels, leading to a less immersive gaming experience.
How does the shader ensure that details are not lost when fixing the black floor?
-The shader ensures that details are not lost by adjusting the black level without crushing them. It identifies the black floor and lowers it until it is perfect, allowing for the preservation of detail and improved contrast.
What is the difference between SDR and HDR color spaces?
-SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) color space is limited in terms of color depth and contrast, while HDR (High Dynamic Range) color space offers a wider range of colors and higher contrast levels, resulting in more vibrant and lifelike visuals.
How can the Lilium HDR shader be adjusted to suit different games and preferences?
-The Lilium HDR shader can be adjusted using settings like black floor lowering, white point adjustment, and tone mapping options. Users can tweak these settings to achieve their desired balance of black levels, contrast, and color saturation for different games.
What is the recommended tone mapping option for preserving mid-tones while enhancing highlights?
-The recommended tone mapping option for preserving mid-tones is the DICE (Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment) option, as it primarily affects the highlights without altering the mid-tones.
How does the Lilium HDR shader affect the maximum peak brightness (MaxLumL) of a game?
-Using the Lilium HDR shader can result in a reduction of the maximum peak brightness (MaxLumL). For example, before using the shader, the MaxLumL might be 810, but after applying the shader, it could go down to 666.
What should users do if they experience issues with visibility in near-black areas when using the shader?
-If users encounter issues with visibility in near-black areas, they can adjust the white point number or tweak the black floor lowering setting to find a balance between achieving perfect blacks and maintaining visibility in dark areas.
What is the overall impact of using the Lilium HDR shader on the gaming experience?
-The overall impact of using the Lilium HDR shader is a significant improvement in the gaming experience, with better black levels, increased contrast, and more vibrant colors, especially when using an OLED or HDR-compatible display.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 HDR Gaming Improvements with Lilium's Shader

The paragraph discusses the effectiveness of Lilium's HDR black floor fix shader in improving the HDR gaming experience on PC. The speaker shares their tests with various games, highlighting the shader's ability to correct black levels and prevent detail loss. They explain how the shader identifies and lowers the black floor to achieve perfect black levels, resulting in better color saturation and HDR colors. The speaker also humorously questions their own assumptions about the prevalence of the issue across games, ultimately attributing the problem to the games' washed-out appearance rather than their own setup. The importance of correct black levels for HDR contrast is emphasized, and the speaker shares their frustration with HDR's current shortcomings.

05:01

🕵️‍♂️ Tweaking Black Levels for Optimal Visibility

This paragraph focuses on the importance of adjusting black levels in games for optimal visibility, especially in dark settings. The speaker uses Elden Ring as an example to illustrate how enabling SDR black floor emulation can result in too dark of an image, affecting visibility. They suggest tweaking the black floor lowering setting instead to achieve the desired result without significantly altering the creator's intent. The concept of roll-off stopping point is introduced, explaining how it affects the gradient of black levels. The speaker encourages users to experiment with these settings to achieve perfect blacks and infinite contrast, particularly on OLED screens, to enhance the overall gaming experience.

10:02

🔧 Customizing HDR with Lilium's Tone Mapping

The speaker delves into the customization options provided by Lilium's HDR shaders, specifically the tone mapping feature. They explain how users can input their desired maximum luminance (MaxL) and target MaxL values to fine-tune their HDR experience. The paragraph highlights the use of the DICE tone mapping option, which affects only the highlights without changing mid-tones, thus avoiding clipping. The speaker praises the work done by the shader's creator for its significance in improving HDR gaming, especially for users with monitors that lack black level control. They emphasize the transformative impact of the shader on both OLED and LCD screens and encourage users to download and try Lilium shaders for an enhanced gaming experience.

15:02

🌟 Testing the Shader Across Different Games

In this paragraph, the speaker shares their experience of testing the shader across various games and the differences observed. They note that games with already good black levels, such as Ratchet and Clank, show minimal changes when using the shader. The speaker confirms that the shader is designed to enhance games with suboptimal black levels and that well-optimized games will look similar in SDR and HDR, with HDR expected to provide more details. They invite users to share their thoughts and experiences with the shader and to reach out with any questions or to discuss its effectiveness in other games not mentioned in the video.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡HDR gaming

HDR gaming refers to the use of High Dynamic Range technology in video games to enhance the contrast between the brightest and darkest parts of the image. This results in more vivid colors, deeper blacks, and a greater sense of depth and realism. In the video, the speaker discusses the challenges and solutions related to HDR gaming on a PC, particularly focusing on the issues with black levels and color saturation in various games.

💡Lilium's HDR black floor fix

Lilium's HDR black floor fix is a shader designed to address the issue of black levels in HDR gaming. It works by identifying and lowering the black floor, which is the minimum level of black that can be displayed, to achieve a more accurate representation of black in games. This fix is crucial for improving the overall visual quality and ensuring that details are not lost in the darker parts of the screen.

💡Black Level race

Black Level race refers to the variation in the darkest parts of the image displayed in a game. A minor Black Level race indicates that there is a noticeable but not extreme difference in the black levels. The speaker in the video discusses how the shader can correct this variation to achieve a perfect black level, which is essential for a more immersive and visually pleasing gaming experience.

💡Color saturation

Color saturation refers to the intensity or purity of the colors in an image. High color saturation means that the colors are more vivid and rich, while low saturation results in washed-out or dull colors. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses how fixing the black floor with the shader can lead to improved color saturation, making the game's visuals more vibrant and lifelike.

💡SDR and HDR color spaces

SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) and HDR (High Dynamic Range) are two different color spaces used in video and image display. SDR is the traditional color space with lower contrast and a limited range of colors, while HDR offers a wider color gamut, brighter highlights, and deeper shadows, resulting in more realistic and visually stunning images. The speaker in the video emphasizes the importance of transitioning from SDR to HDR color spaces for an enhanced gaming experience.

💡Black floor lowering

Black floor lowering is a technique used to adjust the black levels in a display, making them deeper and more accurate. This is particularly important in HDR gaming, as it ensures that the darkest parts of the image are truly black, which contributes to higher contrast ratios and a more immersive visual experience. The speaker in the video discusses using this technique to fine-tune the black levels in various games.

💡Creator's intent

Creator's intent refers to the original vision or artistic intention behind the design and presentation of a game, including its visual and narrative elements. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses the importance of respecting the creator's intent while enhancing the gaming experience through adjustments like black floor lowering and color saturation.

💡OLED

OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) is a display technology that offers superior contrast ratios and true blacks by turning off individual pixels. This technology is particularly beneficial for HDR gaming, as it can display perfect blacks and offer infinite contrast, enhancing the overall visual quality and immersion. The speaker in the video emphasizes the importance of using OLED for the best HDR gaming experience.

💡MaxCLL and MaxL

MaxCLL (Maximum Content Light Level) and MaxL (Maximum Luminance) are metrics used in HDR to define the peak brightness levels of a display. These values indicate the maximum brightness that can be achieved for highlights and overall image content, respectively. In the video, the speaker discusses how the shader affects these values and how they can be adjusted for optimal HDR gaming.

💡Tone mapping

Tone mapping is a process used in HDR imaging to map the wide range of brightness levels in an HDR image to the more limited range that can be displayed on a standard screen. This allows for a more natural and visually pleasing representation of the image while preserving the details in both bright and dark areas. In the video, the speaker mentions a new option in Lilium's HDR shaders that allows for custom tone mapping settings.

Highlights

The introduction of Lilium's HDR black floor fix shader, a tool designed to improve the HDR gaming experience on PC by addressing issues with black levels in various games.

The shader was tested on multiple games including Hogwarts Legacy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Forza Horizon 5, showing significant improvements in black levels and overall image quality.

The shader works by identifying and lowering the black floor in games where it is not perfectly calibrated, resulting in a more accurate representation of black levels without loss of detail.

The importance of black level calibration in achieving perfect blacks and infinite contrast, especially on OLED screens, for a better HDR gaming experience.

The shader's ability to adjust the maximum peak brightness (Max L) and its impact on the overall HDR experience, allowing users to fine-tune their settings for optimal performance.

The inclusion of a tone mapping feature in the Lilium HDR shaders, which provides additional control over the HDR settings and allows for precise adjustments to achieve the desired visual outcome.

The recommendation to use the DICE tone mapping option for its ability to affect only the highlights without changing mid-tones, thus avoiding clipping and maintaining a natural look.

The transformative impact of the shader on the gaming experience, particularly in terms of color saturation and the pop of light sources in HDR, resulting in a more immersive and visually stunning experience.

The ease of use and accessibility of the Lilium shaders, allowing even users without advanced calibration knowledge to improve their HDR gaming experience with simple settings adjustments.

The potential applicability of the shader to a wide range of games, with the possibility of minimal differences in games that already have well-calibrated black levels.

The importance of the shader for users with monitors that lack individual HDR settings, providing a solution to common issues with black levels and contrast in HDR content.

The detailed explanation of the shader's settings, such as the white point number and its effect on achieving deeper blacks, allowing users to customize their visual preferences.

The encouragement for users to share their experiences and questions regarding the use of the shader, fostering a community of gamers and enthusiasts who can learn from each other's experiences.

The acknowledgment of the creator's intent in game design and the option to adjust the shader settings to respect this intent while still achieving perfect blacks and infinite contrast.

The comparison between the washed-out look of near-black levels in poorly calibrated games and the enhanced visibility and detail provided by the shader, emphasizing the importance of accurate black levels in gaming.