You've Been Doing PS5 [Adjust HDR] Wrong... Here's How to Get the Best Settings 

Came for the perfect hdr setting, left with a master degree in graphics

Adjust HDR 1/3: set to logo disappears Adjust HDR 2/3: same Adjust HDR 3/3: set to lowest dark level

This feels like those life lessons you get when you crack a joke infront of your parents and it turns into a life lecture

I've come back to this a couple times over the past two years for reference and learning. I just wanted to thank you for not just quickly telling us what to set it at but teaching us why and how.

Thank you, I felt like the highlights weren't getting bright enough before, and dark shadows were missing those inky blacks. After adjusting both settings to very slightly clip it looks absolutely amazing! Who knew that changing the calibration by just one notch each could make such a difference!

Came here in 2022 to set my sony tv up. Left with degree in graphics and entertained more than expected. This gentleman is a must-follow channel.

The dry humor just subtly catching me off guard every time.

Wow! Been doing it wrong the whole time 😱. This is why your channel will always be the go-to place whenever it comes to calibration settings, Vincent. Thanks so much for pointing this out, adjusted the settings straight away. I’m so glad your channel is starting to cover more gaming related content now as we have the new consoles out, I’ll definitely be sharing this one. Also really glad my LG C9 was calibrated by yourself in person 😁.

I’ve applied this to my PS4 Pro especially for Ghost of Tsushima. I knew that I was using non optimal HDR settings for a long time. Directly noticed the improvements although I have a PC monitor (4K 32", VA panel and Basic HDR). Lightings are more realistic, interiors have a more balanced dark tone, fog is more visible… sunny landscapes are especially sharper than before. And fast transitions between dark and lighter environments are much better too. Many thanks 😊

8:50, 11:43 & 15:00 This is the timestamp for what you came for.

I feel like I learned everything and nothing at the same watching this video.

I know this was 3 years ago, but thank you so much. My settings look great before, but now they look PRIME! Knowledge is key! 'W'

“Fainter than the pink line on a pregnancy test presented by your mistress.” Lol!!

This helped me a lot, thx! I'm always struggling with HDR settings, most times I felt the games being too dark even though I set it as instructed

Q90R PS5 here and I was struggling with HDR looking washed out. Moving adjustment to when it disappeared VS almost disappeared made a HUGE difference. HDR looks accurate now, big relief, thank you!

Video Summary: Part 1: Make the Sun Disappear (so faint you can't see it) Part 2: Make the Sun Disappear (so faint you can't see it) Part 3: Darkest Level

Adjusting my settings with your directions elevated my gaming experience on LG CX a ton. Apparently I've been doing it wrong for the longest while. Great content! Subbed!!

Thank you so much for this video. Finally got a ps5 and HDR tv and thought everything looked dim and washy but followed your instructions and now everything looks great so thank you very much!

Excellent as always

With great power (I am a lucky owner of a PS5), comes great responsibility (ensuring I'm pumping out the best possible visual experience on the PS5). You, my friend, have earned a sub. Make sure you stay away from faint lines on pregnancy tests, and godspeed in keeping the clitoris sensitive

I’m using the Hisense U8H (mini-lcd/quantum dot. Just an amazing budget tv that I believe you can get before your flagship tv lines) and I can 100% agree with these settings. And I made sure to test it with an amazing game but with a broken HDR (Resident Evil Village) and it was the best when trying different (a little higher/lower than the first image that peeks/clips). If anyone finds this helpful with that tv, it’s 16 clicks up from the bottom for the first and second screen, then set the last all the way down as low as you can go. The best part about that TV’s game mode, it actually show what it’s running at on screen (nothing real in depth) but most importantly, it has where you can also control your whites and black if you want to get it REAL perfected. Thanks again for this.

I had to do the equivalent of a double take when this guy hit us with his jokes. Subbed just as a result of that.

I followed this to setup HDR on my h900h and now HDR gaming looks SO much better. Way richer shadows and a much better experience. Thank you.

Thanks not sure if it made a huge difference but I had to change the HDR settings 50+ times in the first week. The perfectionist in me just felt like there had to be a better way than "set it when barely visible" Barely visible isn't very specific. Even though I didn't really enjoy all the technical crap, it showed me that this video and the reasoning behind it were well thought out. Thanks Mate

My man got quality jokes too. So grateful for this channel.

“Sometimes I like a wider spread, but not this time” 😆

11:43 I absolutely was not expecting that

Thanks for the info man. I've turned into a gaming videophile over the past few years and your content is always so helpful. Really got respect for you. Just got my hands on a ps5 finally. First 2.1 device I get to use on my c9 I'm pumped!

Immediately turns on PlayStation 5, adjusts the values and enjoys a wider spread 😜

6:51am on a Sunday. Best 18:59 minutes I’ve spent in years. The pink line humor was subtle yet hilarious! Thanks for the morning laugh and technical education.

IMPORTANT FOR LG C9 OR OLDER USERS: If you have LG C9 you have to set dynamic tone mapping to ‘HGiG’ and black level to ‘LOW’ (because it doesn’t have black level ‘auto’ like the CX) and set the RGB range on PS4/PS5 to ‘limited’. (If your tv supports black level ‘auto’ you should select that and also put the RGB range to ‘auto’ on your ps4/ps5.) You’re welcome. (The LG C9 should be in HDR mode to change the dynamic tone mapping) HDR summary: 1/3: adjust until the logo completely disappears 2/3: adjust until the logo completely disappears 3/3: set the logo to the darkest setting possible (if you’re in a pitch dark room, if you’re not in a pitch dark room and there’s some light in the room you can set it a little higher).

So I think the lockdown has got our man all worked up.. .the sex jokes are flowing. I love this man

The oled part just after 11:40 had me rolling it was so unexpected and the delivery was so dry it was perfect.

Bravo! Absolutely fantastic, every time I make these small adjustments my picture gets better! Thank you!

Immediately made my HDR look more vibrant on ps5. Thank you!

Screen one; +15 from lowest point. No sun . Screen 2: same. +15 Screen 3: set at 0? Its either minimum or maximum for screen 3. Thank you for the upload

I configured it as recommended in the console instructions on my Sony X900E TV and then configured the HDR in the game options. It looks great!

Thank you for this illuminating video (clarifying both the proper calibration settings and difficulties encountered by people with deceptive mistresses). If you have time to illustrate what dynamic tone mapping does to ruin the process I would certainly enjoy that content.

I love this guy.....has great videos and great advice....he just doesn't tell you how to get the best settings...he also tells you why you should use these settings....awesome work man

Yooo s/o to you bro..you just made my PS5’s graphics look 10x better. Playing on Samsung NU8000 and finally putting the HDR10+ to work.

That’s how I calibrated my PS4 Pro as well. Clipped just one step above when the sun was barely visible. (Just one step down for the shadows) Edit: After watching the full video I realized that we should be turning the shadow all the way down to get pure blacks.

I gotta say that hearing someone know what they are talking about and being so easy to express it is very satisfying Thanks for everything man now i know how to properly use my tv 😂 I’ve just discovered that i in fact can use HDR on my PS5 i always thought i couldn’t use after 3 years 😅

Can't thank you enough. So glad I found this video. I just got a ps5 and the darker spots were looking too bright almost gray. This helped. Thx again!

Thanks Vince! Waiting patiently for that CX video about Dynamic Tone Mapping/HGIG

I'm so happy I discovered this guy a year or two back. Thanks man, you're a hero

Speaking short, turn on HGIG in your TV and only then adjust your PS5 leaving it zero on the last step. (Completely black, no sun). Correct me if I am wrong 😅

Thanks for doing this Vincent. I recall spending hours trying to get this right for Control on my PS4 Pro and LG C9 where darker colours were far too black.

Thank you so much! Setting HDR this way fixed the washed out gray colors I've been getting on my trusty old 55Q70R with HDR content. It was so bad I gave up on HDR, but now that it works as it should... what a difference!

These recommendations completely fixed COD Black Ops Cold War appearing washed out. Thanks!!

I like the "ting" sound when he said about liking wider spread

I have a q80t in a basement with very low light. I followed your videos and tried to adapt accordingly. The god of war ragnarok and a few ubisoft titles are washed. The black is something between blue and gray. Everything looks opaque. When I try to take a picture of the screen using my phone, the photo seems way better on my phone. I also asked someone to see the comparison, and the person agreed with me. Color balance is warm2, bright and contrast 50, sharp 0, etc. To barely see the sun, I have to use 27(im using 16,16,0). Thanks for the help, your videos are awesome.

I feel like my whole HDR life has been a lie.

Thanks Vincent! This is great info. Could you do the same for the Xbox Series X HDR calibration please or do you think the same methods apply?

Every time I watched a 4k on my ps5 it looked way to dark until I did what you said in this video. Thanks a ton.

Vincent, as soon as I heard your advice regarding Minimum Luminance, I already figured that my games would be dark and I would lose detail in dark gaming environments. No sooner said than done. By calibrating Minimum Luminance to 0, all PS5 games I've tested are clipping in dark areas. I had to give 7 clicks in the Minimum Luminance to be cool. Regarding Maximum Luminance, what you indicated was perfect! I have LG C2.

Screen 1: adjust until the logo just disappears Screen 2: adjust until the logo just disappears Screen 3: Use darkest option unless in a brightly lit room. RGB - leave on automatic for most content.

I am 40 years old so I am not those young people who have the attention span of a nat but even though I can sit through this very educational video of explaining the concept of hdr, 20 min is a bit much for what people want to see. All you need to do is set your hdr so you dont see the image at all. Thats pretty much sums it up.

Adjust the HDR on the first two pages right before the sun logo disappears or on the level where it DOES disappear (Meaning Either/Or. When you can’t see it anymore OR the last brightness level before you can’t see the sun logo) and for the third page for adjusting, use the very darkest option so that you have true blacks on your LED TV because OLED TV’s turn the pixels OFF individually when it comes to black colors. Yes I know very fancy, love today’s technology ages.

Great video Vincent. Side note, it may be beneficial to get commentary from Sony as they may be applying an offset of +1 or -1 on the values input by the user to align with the original guidance from the HGIG group (I.e. they could have assumed the user would find it easier to set at “barely visible” and then notch it one more to the clipping point due to some case studies showing people went too far on average).

This came across me feed earlier today, and I’m glad I decided to click. Not only was it informative, but it helped me readjust my HDR settings to improve the quality of my games picture settings.

Awesome thanks. I always disliked this method of HDR calibration because it always felt like guess work. I like things a little more precise and this definitely helped. Btw, it works on PC too for anyone interested. One of hing I'm not sure if you mentioned is whether to set monitor color space to auto or native. I've heard it's a preference thing, but native seems more accurate. Thanks again.

Thanks a lot! Waited for your adjustments and It looks perfect on the LG CX + HGIG!

Actually pretty useful and well explained, but some of the examples are just gold man

Godsend information. Thank you sir. I just got my CX last week and got my PS5 yesterday. Trying to setup HDR it looked pretty good using the PS5s directions...then followed yours made EVERY game pop way harder. Really just required 1 more click on the first two screens and then bottoming out the 3rd as suggested. Thanks again!

Thank you. Been waiting for this. I really don’t understand why we are doing this till now thanks for explanation

Thank you.I used my sliders until was barely visible and after watching your video i set the sliders until until i cannot see the sun and made a huge difference

'Fainter than the pink line of your mistresses's pregnancy test' had me howling 🤣

Should I still go full dark on the 3/3 if not on a OLED? I have an X900H

Thank you for explaining this. My OLED display playing my PS5, games looking so much better

My lg c1 doesn't like these settings. I had to use the ps5 suggested settings. Dead Space had crushed blacks and the highlights were blinding. After returning to ps5 suggested settings it looked perfect.

Excellent video! Symbols for 1 and 2 were just barely visible on my E8 so hardly any clipping. Set 3 to the lowest, need to do more testing but think there’s already more pop to the image in Miles Morales. Probably more dynamic range since the blacks are no longer raised 👍 I’ve been setting Dynamic tone mapping to off as I believe the TV tone mapping would override the console tone mapping. Would be great if you could do a video to explain the effects of dynamic tone mapping on PS5 since they added the system level HGIG calibration.

i'm so glad I came across your channel. I'll be changing my settings as soon as I get home tonight. I, like everyone else, changed to the WRONG settings. Thank you for sharing!

Awesome video! Can you please walk us through to the Sony X900H and PS5 best settings? Thank you!

By far the most useful advice I've needed. Thank you!

This video ruined my picture for 3 years. I’ve finally got to the bottom of what was causing issues on my set where games were either too dark, colours were off, some games even ended up washed out and it’s all to do with this setting. Putting it back to where it’s barely invisible instead of 1 click past fixed all my issues. And also putting my black level one at the end to where it’s barely visible. Basically following PS5 instructions. I’m sure Vincent knows his stuff and what he is saying is right for some TVs and some super dark environments, but not for mine

Tv settings obviously play a huge part , best thing to do is calibrate them both together and experiment. I’m constantly adjusting my picture accordingly to games, they also depict a difference so you gotta match all 3 to the best possible quality. So the best thing to do is go off of your tv or monitor capability, the default settings work best for a low quality tv and for a high quality tv or monitor there will be more adjustments. You can only get what you got lol

Oh my God , you should really have a time stamp for where you actually just get to the settings for people that are already frustrated with hdr on the ps5 being crap. 😂

These were the perfect settings! for my Samsung Odyssey G7 (curved)

@HDTVTest Can you do this for the Xbox hdr as well? It would be great to know what is best for my LG CX

DIRECT ADVICE STARTS @ 8:00 1/3 Adjust until the sun is on the click that MADE IT COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR 2/3 Adjust until the sun is on the click that MADE IT COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR 3/3 Adjust all the way down to DARKEST :) What will you do with the extra 15 min of your life? The choice is yours

You made my picture so much better in my games. I can’t thank you enough man you deserve a freaking award for this video. I’m not even joking. It meant that much to me so thank you.

so basically go till the symbols disappear on the first two and move the third all the way to the lowest darkness ? i want to try this

I would absolutely love to know the TCL HDR adjustment since that's the TV brand I have.

I tried this and really this method improved my gaming experience especially on that dark level

I want to ask a question. I followed all your videos to get the best picture for gaming on my PS5 and LG OLED CX. But I always struggle what to do with the options all the games offer. Should I let them as standard or do I adjust per game?

The video I was waiting for. Now just need to teach the HDR settings in game. (like God of War menu)

You have no idea how long I've looked for this information, thank you! The PlayStations "barely visible"- explanation always felt so frustratingly lacking😅

Thanks Vincent, your knowledge and expertise is 2nd to none when its comes to Av. I applied your tips on this video and others and now my ps5 and CX look better than it ever has. Thank you again!

Great video! Could you do a video like using the Sony x900h tv? Or just a general ps5 centered best set up for it.

Thanks so much i keep playing with settings now i have a P$5 now I see you adjusting the sun actually nearly disappears. Thanks for letting me know about the RGB range im going to full I love the deep blacks. Cheers

I thought I had some hdr issues with my ps5 and Samsung q70r before I watched this video and tried your recommendations. They made a huge improvement and I'm really impressed with the results. Thanks so much!

Generally there's 3 options available and the choice is between allowing the TV to do dynamic tone mapping or allowing the console to do it. You don't want 2 dynamic tone mapping processes ongoing at the same time. These apply for PS5 HDR adjustment settings: 1st Option: Use HGIG in dynamic tone mapping settings of the TV. This disables all dynamic tone mapping on TV and lets the console do it. Slider 1: Adjust to the exact point where the figure disappears. Slider 2: Adjust to the exact point where the figure disappears. Slider 3: Adjust max down (darkest possible) 2nd Option: Turn dynamic tone mapping off in TV settings (if HGIG is not available). This applies an internal PQ curve to the higher luminance levels (usually 500nits and more) that the tv manufacturer has set at what different brightness levels on the received signal the television should start clipping details at. Slider 1: Adjust to the exact point where the figure disappears. Slider 2: Adjust to the exact point where the figure disappears. Slider 3: Adjust max down (darkest possible). 3rd Option: Turn dynamic tone mapping on from the TV settings. This will dynamically adjust the brightness based on the signal values and the manufacturer algorithm for the television. The TV is now doing the dynamic tone mapping so you will want to disable the console tone mapping by putting the sliders to null values where the console is not doing any dynamic tone mapping. Slider 1: Adjust max up (brightest point at 10000nits for hdr signal). Slider 2: Adjust max up (brightest point at 10000nits for hdr signal). Slider 3: Adjust max down (darkest point at 0nits for hdr signal).

I was seriously wondering why my HDR games were too dark, this explains it. Thank you.

Thanks a lot. Now Miles Morales finally looks good on my CX!

Dude, I can't thank you enough. I was setting mine wrong for so long. Now it looks amazing.

I'm super late, but I used these settings on a brand new Samsung Q70 TV and they worked perfectly! Super happy with the picture quality and just in time for Horizon: Forbidden West!

This made my hdr games look 10x better. Like before it was very dim and I wasn’t very impressed with hdr but after changing the settings like you mentioned they look great!

Loving the dry humor. Its drier than my ex's spread.

Wow! Much improved picture even by just 1 click past barely! Thank you for an in-depth examination of this kind of thing. Much relief from my OCD mind.

Please do the HGIG vs DTM for the C9, Vincent! I just want everything all set up so I can leave it alone haha!