Does P3D need an HDR display to look its best?

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

I've only had P3D v3.4 a week and although I'm pleased with its performance on my system I have been disappointed with the somewhat dull views. I've changed brightness, bloom and other settings but it still falls short of what is a pleasing image.

I have HDR enabled but my display - a Sony 32" Full HD TV - is not HDR capable. I know 4K displays generally have HDR but I'm limited to Full HD because FS Labs Concorde-X will run out of memory if the resolution is increased beyond 1920 x 1080.

Searching the web Sony has announced a range of Full HD HDR TVs. I'm considering whether to invest in one. I'd appreciate comments from those who have an HDR-enabled display.

Does it make a real difference or is it a gimmick?

[GSalden 4,655]

Here I use 3 HD tv's . P3D handles the HDR , not the displays..

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

6 minutes ago, GSalden said:

Here I use 3 HD tv's . P3D handles the HDR , not the displays..

But how can it display HDR on a display that isn't capable of it?

[jimcarrel 688]

I dont have the expertise to explain it to you but a tv cannot squelch HDR from a game or sim, only a low level graphics card can do it if it can't process it.

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

Thanks Jim. It is mighty confusing they're using the same naming convention as genuine HDR. So really, it's just a fancy internal tweak to make the views more agreeable.

If it doesn't actually generate higher dynamic images can it truly be called that?

And anyone who does have a HDR enabled display cannot see any benefits? Brilliant!

[kakusso 12]

That is a very interesting question. It seems that as far as the current implemtation of HDR it only works in full screen mode and P3D uses window mode maxed out. HDR displays will still give a better image even if the display doesn't give the message "HDR content is playing". Messing with color settings in the resolution section on the Nvidia control panel can improve things a lot. RGB full-range. Also the display has to be in PC mode and not in game mode PC mode will use 4.2.2 and 4.4.4 color while game mode will only use 4.0.0 .

[andreh 125]

Ray, 

 

You may want to have a look at PTA, Prepa3d Tweak Assistant, to get a more pleasing image. I agree with you, if coming from FSX as I did, it can take a bit of getting used to, but ultimately I think P3D produces a more realistic image. FSX was always a bit too saturated, to pastell like in its coloring scheme. Pretty, but not realistic. But with PTA you can tweak everything to your liking. 

Andre

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

Hi Andre,

I did try PTA shortly after installing P3D but the results were not good. The land had a blue cast when viewed from altitude and it looked awful. I also had higher priorities like getting settings high enough without running out of VAS. I also spent time testing the best settings for the Affinity Mask. Then the small task of installing a lot of airports etc.

All that is now done and even without enabling HDR I'm very pleased with P3D. A lot of people seem to use PTA settings provided by others and I may well revisit that but I'm in no hurry. The term HDR is somewhat misleading anyway and it's nothing like HDR in 4K/UHD broadcasts. I remain unconvinced it offers any real benefits.

[onebob 125]

3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

The term HDR is somewhat misleading anyway and it's nothing like HDR in 4K/UHD broadcasts. I remain unconvinced it offers any real benefits.

Hi Ray, some info on HDR:- (edit.. P3D's HDR...!)

http://prepar3d.com/SDKv3/LearningCenter/settings/display/lighting_settings.html

bob

[Ted Striker 338]

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

The term HDR is somewhat misleading anyway

I just got a new Sony 4k TV to use as a monitor and everything looks fine to me. However, I also don't think I am as particular about it as most.

I do not have HDR enabled in the sim. I tried it once. I got it adjusted to look good during the day but then at night it looked terrible and I had to readjust it. I didn't want to deal with having to constantly readjust it so I just turned it off. Frankly I think I have just gotten used to what P3D looks like without it. I haven't used FSX in awhile so perhaps I should fire that up to compare. I have seen some great screenshots of people using PTA but I just don't have the time for it. At the bottom of the link onebob posted I noticed that P3D can have different settings for night and day so I should look into that.

Unfortunately HDR seems to be the latest buzzword for the electronics marketing folks. Every manufacturer seems to have different definition and specification for it so you have to take that label with a grain of salt now.

Regarding the Concorde X. I thought that there was a work around to use it with a 4k monitor. I hope so as I purchased it but have not installed it yet.

Ted

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

2 hours ago, onebob said:

Hi Ray, some info on HDR:- (edit.. P3D's HDR...!)

http://prepar3d.com/SDKv3/LearningCenter/settings/display/lighting_settings.html

bob

Thanks a Bob. It's a pity it doesn't work without considerable effort from the user. I don't expect to have to spend a long time using a 3rd party tool to get the image looking decent. Sunglasses Mode would be more appropriate. More dynamic my a**e to quote a well-known British comedian. 

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

2 hours ago, Ted Striker said:

Regarding the Concorde X. I thought that there was a work around to use it with a 4k monitor. I hope so as I purchased it but have not installed it yet.

Ted

Hi Ted. I may revisit in the autumn. For now the image is fine.

I'm not aware of a workaround for Concorde in 4K but if you ask the question on the FSLabs forum someone may have the solution. It does look good though.

[Ted Striker 338]

25 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

ask the question on the FSLabs forum

I did see a suggested workaround on the FSLabs forum. I will ask over there if I have problems after I install it.

Thanks,

Ted

[kakusso 12]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/09/22/hdr-gaming-and-the-pc-its-complicated/

[Ray Proudfoot 8,924]

I skimmed through that link. If Lockheed-Martin want to make their sim look good they have to give the user some basic info on what hardware is needed to achieve it. I have a compatible graphics card. My 32" Full HD TV is an unknown and my DVI-HDMI cable is perhaps not compatible with HDR.

As far as I'm concerned when I flick the HDR option what I'm seeing is more akin to LDR.