HDR content too dark

[nikhm]

I have a Samsung UE75TU7000KXXU TV and when watching HDR content the dark scenes are unwatchable.

I have gone through the expert picture settings to see if anything can get this working but to no avail.

I use both built in apps and an external Apple TV, as this allows the viewing of extras that the app does not.

I have the issue with everything that I watch that has HDR content. 

If I cannot get this resolved then I may need to return the TV and purchase a competitors as this is a big issue to me.

I look forward to you getting back to me as soon as you can.

[katonanorbert]

I'm not sure if it's the same for all models and OS versions, but actually my Q80T uses separate settings for the same picture mode for SDR and HDR content. So, in practice if you play standard, non-HDR content with Netflix internal app, it will use the gamma settings you set for BT.1886 or 2.2 mode. If you feed it with HDR content, it will use the ST.2084 setting.

If you set up Film mode once for SDR and then for HDR content, those should be saved and being applied depending on the content you play. I believe it's the same for external sources. If you want to use the same picture settings for external signals, you can just set them to apply the settings for all sources. If not, I hope it stores the custom SDR/HDR settings for each and every input. 

[katonanorbert]

I agree, an option would be 'must-have' to turn on/off HDR mode. I can see two options here, and wondering which one would be the feasible solution:

1. Netflix (or other steaming providers) allow us to turn on/off HDR content in the app, meaning that if you turn that off, you get the regular Ultra HD 4K or Full HD stream only.
2. Samsung TV OS allows you to turn off HDR which would tell all the apps and external sources that 'Hey, I'm a simple HD TV without HDR capability, please give me SDR only'.

Anyway, I'm not sure whether setting the Gamma, using the Film mode, maybe changing white balance and other corrections are tweaks OR just the normal calibration that everyone should apply who wants the most realistic picture. Most users don't care much about accurate reproduction, so won't even notice if colors are not that great, also your brain adapts to settings in a few minutes. I agree, darkness and not seeing details is not something you can adapt to, but at least for me, with the new, more accurate setup HDR looks pretty amazing.

If you can test and calbirate the settings with a PC or any other external device that sends SDR signal while comparing it to native app's HDR (applying the same SDR and the same HDR settings for each source), that could help setting the best pic mode for both. Maybe Normal setting is for a very general purpose not caring about the contents - it can be super-saturated TV broadcast, sports, PC-monitor etc. for those who don't see or don't care about specifics. Any other enhanced modes are maybe also for show, to have something for people who just want to turn that on and watch.

Here are two photos taken from the movie Spencer, it's presented in HDR on Netflix internal app using my current settings (similar that MotiY shared recently). The room was pretty light on a cloudy winter day in the afternoon, if that makes a difference on a photo taken with my phone.

Light scene:

Dark scene:

Both are pretty good, enough level of detail and accurate colors. I'm not sure if this particular movie would be better in SDR, since it's pretty well represented in HDR at least with this setup.

[MotiY]

It looks like the TV remember the setting for each content type so non HDR can have separate settings. The problem is only with the same content type like some HDR titles that play wonderful and some HDR titles that show dim picture.

[katonanorbert]

Yes, I tested it, and the TV stores the SDR and HDR custom settings separately even in Film mode,  not just the gamma levels that are set on different gamma standards, but brightness, contrast etc.

MotiY: can you give me some examples of materials where HDR is too dim for you, and some other examples where you are satisfied with it? There is some really dark content that were too dark for me in HDR, for example: The Crown S04, The Witcher, Queen's Gambit, but now those also look fine. I mean: the dark scenes look as good in HDR as in SDR, but with a little extra granularity. Not the same, a little different, but cannot say it's better or worse, it's just a little softer in grades. Before  I updated the software from the website using USB and the changes were applied, those were terrible dim and washed out for me as well.

I hope it's not specific just for my model/region, and if the SW update is the key, it's accessible for everyone.

[max0x7ba]

The after correction picture looks poor, blacks are too bright.

[katonanorbert]

Yes, we have to admit that something is wrong or at least not perfect with HDR contents. The internet is full of articles and videos talking about poor HDR representation not only for Samsung TVs, and not only for Netflix content. I'm not sure what the long term proper resolution would be.

[max0x7ba]

HDR is too dark with Sky Q HDR content, and from PC input.

With PC input one can see that the TV struggles with details in the darks even in non-HDR mode, but not as bad as with HDR.

[klumper]

I have the same problem on a 50 inch TU8000 using 1460.9 software. I've noticed it using the Apple TV app but I have not noticed the problem with other apps. I've got a Roku attached and the picture is the same whether I'm using the internal Apple TV app or the Roku version. If I change the TV type on the Roku from 4k HDR to 4k the problem disappears and I can see a lot more detail in the dark regions. Ive also noticed that the colours are changed and reds don't look red anymore with HDR. If I set the picture mode to dynamic the picture is acceptable, but then I would have to change the picture mode each time I use that app. Is it possible to turn off HDR just for the Apple TV app? I'm sure I read that Apple use Dolby vision not HDR10+, is the Samsung TV capable of processing this format?

[beng94]

I get the same issue with HDR being dark and bland, spent hours on the live chat with samsung over the last year, done the usual "fixes they suggest" like reset picture, install latest update etc. Only thing that seems to make it more watchable is putting contrast enhancer on high, but that does mean on some things that the contrast is suppppper high. Disney plus for  example, Mandalorian looks great with those settings, but Coco looks awful with colours all washed out. I am annoyed that I have to change settings all the time. Netflix and amazon, is the same some looks ok, rest are unwatchable. If anyone has any other suggestions, that would be great. 4k stuff looks great and vibrant, would be nice to be able to turn off HDR.

[katonanorbert]

Hello klumper,

Here are my observations and assumptions thus far:

• HDR representation is not dim and poor for each title when using internal apps, I mean some of the movies look good, some others are dim as hell. Example: please check Midnight Sky, that was amazing for me both the dark and the bright scenes. Also, I agree with the color change/washed out effect that comes up. I don't know if there's any chance to calibrate them using the unbiased SDR picture, or any kind of agressive change to color balance would mess up even the good parts as well
• There is no way to disable HDR mode for any of the internal apps (for external ones: it depends on the capabilities of the external source BUT you cannot tell your TV not to receive HDR signal). So long story short: neither Samsung TV's operating system nor any of the internal apps allow you to disable HDR as long as you have a streaming plan that offers HDR
• Samsung only supports HDR10 and HDR10+. For the Netflix app it means (at least it theory) that Netflix will send you HDR10 standard "signal". (Btw I tried Alita using Plex, and it was in HDR10+, this far looks pretty amazing.)

If you try "Test Patterns" on Netflix, it will give you some shape/color patterns using different kind of encodings. I can see the same color problems with these patterns as well. IF it's a real problem, and not the original intent. It would be great to see a live demo somewhere to see how these HDR materials should look like, if the colors are washed etc... 

What I'm gonna do is to get the Dolby Vision, HDR and SDR downloads of the same movie and compare what happens.