Xbox Series X 4K HDR blu-ray to SDR bug

MANU85mdr · Jan 5, 2022

Hello everyone, here is my problem :

I am the proud owner of an Xbox Series X. I have an old Sony Kdl 32HX755 television that does 1080p with no hdr, no dolby vision, and etc.

I bought the Interstellar blu-ray 4 HDR (Which includes normal blu-ray (1080p)) to test.

Unfortunately I find that the Xbox is not able to convert HDR to SDR correctly with the 4k blu-ray. The image is much too dark. When I put the normal blu-ray (1080p) with no HDR everything is fine.

I also made tests with the consoles of the competitor brand with the blu-ray 4k and everything is normal. So I don't think it's coming from my TV.

I did a lot of research and didn't find much. But I read that another person also had the same problem and could not find a solution. I tested several settings and it didn't change anything...

Is this problem already known ? Is there a solution? A future update is planned to correct this problem ?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

:)

MANU85mdr

Thank you for your answer, but I think you did not understand my question. To sum up: 4k doesn't matter.

The problem is that hdr blu-rays work fine on ps5 (good colors).

So the HDR to SDR conversion is correct. But on xbox series x, in comparison with ps5, the picture is too dark.

So the HDR to SDR conversion on the xbox series x is bugged. I don't think it's a washout color issue.

MANU85mdr

Since my TV does not support HDR, I cannot activate it and it is disabled by default.

As I really like Interstellar, it was offered to me in 4k without knowing that I do not have a 4k TV.

What I mean is Xbox series X has a very dark image with HDR blu-ray. But when I watch HDR blu-ray on my PS5 I have no problem.

I think Xbox series x is not converting HDR to SDR correctly but that the ps5 yes.

On the other hand, blu-ray 4k comes out very well on a 1080p TV.

Red264

Yes HDR to SDR tone mapping is possible, Apple use it extensively on the AppleTV 4K.

The launch firmware of the Xbox One X did not feature HDR to SDR conversion but the most recent firmware update before the end of 2017 did add support for this, though the Blu-ray app has so many issues it's possible they broke something else along the way.

Set your Xbox video settings display output to 8-bit (standard color space) and under advanced enable YCC 4:2:2 support this is the more important setting as it's actually Blu-ray specific. Assuming your firmware is up to date the Blu-ray player app should
output SDR, if it doesn't then it's either a bug in the app or some combo of the display/console.

MANU85mdr

I'm sorry I misread your message. The name "xbox series x" and "xbox one x" are similar...

I have another 4k HDR blu-ray. I will test it to see if I have the same problem.

I will also continue my research on the internet to see if I find a solution. After that it does not matter I can also watch on PS5 without having this problem. And since I'm with my parents, they're not going to change TV anytime soon. I can still test on my PC monitor and I will be fixed.

Thank you again for your answers =)

BluSwirl

Hey, MANU85mdr! Thanks for giving me credit for the answer, but I'm afraid I don't own the Series X|S - just the Xbox One X. And no, I mentioned in my post that I've never used Xbox for playing UHD. However, from time to time the issue of non-HDR compliance raises its head on Sony's platform.

I recall two movies in particular (The Fifth Wave and Galveston) that have several instances of horrendous black crush, and when viewed on a 2K screen there's nothing you can do to compensate. Perhaps that's the price you pay for *not* upgrading!

Xbox Series X 4K HDR blu-ray to SDR bug