HDR will work for games (like Gears 4) but is all messed up on apps (like Netflix, Amazon & ...

I've been trying to solve this mystery for a very long time, so I'm hoping someone out there can tell me what's going on, or at the very least is also experiencing this same issue.

I've recently noticed that my Xbox One S is not displaying proper HDR, but only during specific circumstances, which makes it very hard to locate the source of the issue. Basic HDR setup is successful. All boxes checked aside for the 3D part (not a 3D TV).
If I boot up Gears 4, the TV goes black for a second and the display pops back in with a little info at the top of my screen telling me it's now in HDR10 mode. This is something a lot of TVs do. The picture is most definitely in HDR. Colors are bright and
vibrant, and black/white contrast levels look great. I have the latest 2017 model of Vizio's 75" XLED Pro TV, so it has 128 local dimming zones to darken those blacks even more.

Here's where things get weird. For some unknown reason, if I use any apps that utilize HDR, the video quality is most definitely NOT HDR. You know when you're looking at a cheap TV that's turned on but just on a black screen? The black isn't really a true
black, and it's more like a really dark grey, being lit by the backlight of the TV. Those are the kind of black levels I'm getting with HDR apps on my Xbox One S. My TV can no longer dim down specific zones on the screen when using one of these apps. Even
when I'm not watching HDR content, the black letterbox bars on the top and bottom of the screen have always been able to dim and look reasonably deep. But now it's all washed out. So Netflix, Amazon Video, 4K Blu-rays, all these "HDR" apps are doing something
really funky with HDR functionality.

I haven't seen anyone having this same problem. I'm super confused as to how this would be an isolated thing just on my Xbox. HDR works for games, so I know my Xbox is in fact able to produce a great HDR picture. And it would be incredibly odd if three apps
just so happen to all have HDR output problems. So naturally, I begin to suspect there's a problem with my TV. But that wouldn't make any sense... because for one thing... my TV is still showing HDR sometimes on my Xbox, but it also is consistently producing
an HDR stream if I use the Netflix app on the TV itself, not the Xbox.

So I'm just completely stumped here. The only conclusion I can make at the moment is that HDR enabled media apps on the Xbox One S are messed up because of recent patches... or maybe ever since the new UI update rolled out? It's
hard to say if I'm just now noticing it, or something did in fact change recently and it was working fine before all this. But at the end of the day, I can't seem to find any sign of these issues happening for other people on the internet. I pride myself on
being able to figure this kind of crap out, but I'm so lost right now.

:)

 

Netflix: No UHD on XBOX One S

Ok I know this is a old Post and old problem but I spent a few hours with Xbox tech and we figured it out for me at least. I was running hdmi 2.2 or what I thought. I was getting HDR 10 while playing blue ray on Xbox S. Yet got a black screen on gears of
war or Netflix if I had HDR checked off. Everything was green in settings yet still black screen on HDR content even though blue ray would play in HDR 10. So long story short the cheap looking hdmi cable that came with the Xbox S fixed everything. Now Netflix
plays in HDR 10 and so does the games like gears of war wish it was longer but just glad it works now.

 

4K HDR not working via Blu Ray player

I've actually been trying to solve this problem as well. But since you're the first person I've found who's posted about it, I'd like to try a few things and cross reference your experience with mine if you're up to it. I've actually been noticing (for the
past few weeks on my S and now on my X that I just set up), that all HDR functionality on any media related apps are giving us the grayish letterbox bars and ugly haze over the picture. It's like all TV smart dimming functionality is gone, and the HDR is in
no way darling blacks or brightening colors. Something we'd see on a cheap TV with too harsh of a backlight. So I first noticed it when I popped Guardians of the Galaxy 2 in the player, 4K HDR and everything. But the bars were that grayish color, and everything
looks dull. Then I tried watching Netflix. EVERYTHING on there looks greyish too, HDR content or not. Amazon Video will appear okay at first, but as soon as HDR content kicks in, greyish black again, just like the others

So after running a ton of trial and error tests, it looks like any app that causes your TV to go into HDR mode (on my Vizio it'll indicate near my input at the top that it's switched to HDR10), the blacks and colors will be all off. If the TV doesn't switch
to HDR mode, you'll get nicer black on those bars, but the image itself is still SDR, not HDR. Netflix and Blu-ray will automatically put my TV in HDR mode on start up, so everything on those apps looks terrible. Amazon will only switch HDR on if it detects
the specific video I'm watching in HDR ready. SO as long as my TV doesn't switch to HDR, the image looks like an okay SDR image. As soon as it switches to HDR mode, regardless of the content being SDR or HDR, everything looks like ****. So needless to say...
somethings completely **** with all HDR enabled apps on Xbox right now, S and X.

I've all but confirmed the problem lies specifically with the Xbox Apps, because when testing my TV with Netflix through the Smart TV apps and not Xbox, HDR kicked in and looked beautiful. On top of that, all HDR gaming looks awesome
on the Xbox. So my TV is completely capable of giving me correctly displayed HDR content. It's just when you use an Xbox media app (Netflix, Amazon Video, Blu-ray), and the TV goes into HDR mode, and that's when we get some very off results. I swear this wasn't
the case before. Something must have happened in the last console update maybe?

Anyway, I think you should try out everything I did if you can, and if you get the same results, I'll be able to rest easy and know it's definitely the Xbox apps themselves that are causing the problem.

 

Known issue, see responses on this thread...Netflix blacks are grey on OLED TV

I have an LG Oled C6 with same issue, it was broken in update released in October, seems to be fixed in latest Delta preview according to some with access... Really frustraing, as I just purchased a One X to add to my collection and same issue of course
is present there as it was on the One S... like come on, this is a premium device touting HDR functionality, please release a fix asap to the public Microsoft!!

 

Wanted to add links to a couple other posts with similar issue, just so you know you aren't alone, or going crazy, these seem to be duplicates, but yeah...

HDR Elevated Black Levels

Elevated HDR black levels on Xbox One X

 

Wanted to share this from a tweet yesterday...I would hope the One S is included in this as well...

“Mike Ybarra

@XboxQwik

Xbox One X users - Blu-Ray specific fixes coming very soon to correct raised black levels w/HDR movies, etc. Few days away. #Xbox 8:07
PM · Nov 12, 2017 from Sammamish, WA

Twitter

 

I’m on the Omega Preview ring (omega is issued updates very soon before they hit general public and is easy for anyone to join). I received an update last night and it appears all HDR Black levels are fixed for Blu-Ray, Amazon HDR, etc. However that pesky
Netflix “always-on” HDR issue still persists, but that’s a different story. So if it hasn’t already I would think this should be pushed out to public very soon!