I have seen the light that is 4K HDR gaming (and it is glorious)

[Deleted member 24021]

For years I've been gaming on my 1080p 144hz monitor and my 2011 Panasonic 48 inch TV. I used to think 4K was overrated and not worth it at all so I was dead set on always gaming at 1080p.

I had that mindset until recently when I bought a TCL 55R617. It was on sale when I found it online and I decided "fuck it, why not?" and bought the TV. In anticipation for the TV I bought Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Uncharted 4. I'm blown away by how sharp and crisp everything looks at resolutions higher than 1080p. The brightness and colors of HDR is absolutely face melting with the games I bought.

I was even blown away by the games I owned, GT Sport is gorgeous and the cars look amazing with HDR, Shadow of the Colossus was insanely sharp and clean, and No Man's Sky looked amazing too.

I've seen plenty of posts of people complaining that "HDR looks washed out" and that they "don't see a difference" but I absolutely do see the difference, and all of the games I've played were bright with vibrant colors.

I am so blown away by 4K and HDR that I'm going to buy another Xbox One X (first one died and I sold it) just to experience Forza Horizon 4 and a bunch of other games in 4K. I wish my PC was powerful enough to handle 4K gaming smoothly, but that's okay.

My only complaint about the TV is that the corners are slightly dimmer than the rest of the screen, but for the price I paid (~$550) it's something I can look past because the picture quality is incredible.

Bring on next gen!

 

[Deleted member 24021]

Cmon guys, I wanna read your thoughts and experiences regarding 4K and HDR!

 

[leng jai]

4K is still overrated for the amount of resources it requires. Proper HDR has always been a game changer and a much bigger upgrade when implemented correctly.

 

[shinobi602]

Welcome. It really is hard to go back after experiencing 4K on a great screen, even more so with HDR. It's easily distinguishable from 1440/1080p from my experience. There's a level of crispness and clarity that just makes every image pop.

Next gen's going to be wild.

 

[Rbk_3]

I think HDR is a little overrated, personally. Higher framerates and Gsync are a bigger game changer imo.

 

[gozu]

I am so blown away by 4K and HDR that I'm going to buy another Xbox One X (first one died and I sold it) just to experience Forza Horizon 4 and a bunch of other games in 4K. I wish my PC was powerful enough to handle 4K gaming smoothly, but that's okay.

Click to shrink...

Have you considered taking your Xbox One X money and buying a 2080 GPU ? Your PC will be able to handle Forza 4K @ higher settings.

 

[Themaddestgamer]

Holy shit you win. What a haul and a jump into 4k and glorious HDR. I also have all those and your set for a long while.

Theres no going back now, Forza is also gorgeous.

 

[Vimto]

This is true, 4k 60fps HDR > 1440p 120 for me. ( for most games )

 

[Deleted member 24021]

Have you considered taking your Xbox One X money and buying a 2080 GPU ? Your PC will be able to handle Forza 4K @ higher settings.

Click to shrink...

Since it was broken I only managed to get $175 out of it, and I was so pissed off that it broke I used the money on other things. I am already making plans to start saving up for a PC when Ryzen 4xxx and Nvidia's next GPU releases so I'm ready for next gen games on PC. Thankfully my GTX 980 can play older games in 4K pretty decently so I'm doing that for now.

 

[Smash-It Stan]

I have the same tv as you and idk, I like the 4k clarity but I still don't feel that HDR is anything worthwhile.

 

[shark97]

it's funny you mention this because for some reason HDR seemingly "broke" on my TCL 6 series/xbox one x combination. I have no idea the issue, but a couple days ago firing up destiny 2 looked incredibly washed out and dim. Almost back and white. I tried a bunch of fixes, trying different HDMI inputs, even switching HDMI cables, it happened on other games too, but not the Xbox menu. So it appears to be tied to Xbox One X in game only.

Anyways the temp fix I ended up figuring out was to uncheck "4k UHD" in Xbox video settings. This at least got the brightness and color back to tolerable levels. So now it's just outputting a 1080P SDR image I guess.

And the funny thing is on a 65" tV, I really dont notice that much. Yeah 4k HDR looks better, but I'd put it at like 30% better. Significant, but not dealbreaking.

If that's even whats going on, i have no freaking idea. I'm just trusting that what I'm looking at is 1080P/no HDR, there's no HDR badge on startup of the game anyway, and like I said 4K UHD is unchecked in Xbox settings.

I dont know the issue but thinking about it I'm guessing a TCL update broke HDR with Xbox One X. For all I know it's already been fixed in another update, I havent checked.

 

[SpottieO]

Pacific storm on my Pro and 4K TV with HDR is ahmazing

 

[EvilBoris]

I think HDR is a little overrated, personally. Higher framerates and Gsync are a bigger game changer imo.

Click to shrink...

HDR is a fundamental change to the way we display an image on a screen, the biggest change in decades. As a tool for artists, It's literally a game changer.

 

[EvilBoris]

it's funny you mention this because for some reason HDR seemingly "broke" on my TCL 6 series/xbox one x combination. I have no idea the issue, but a couple days ago firing up destiny 2 looked incredibly washed out and dim. Almost back and white. I tried a bunch of fixes, trying different HDMI inputs, even switching HDMI cables, it happened on other games too, but not the Xbox menu. So it appears to be tied to Xbox One X in game only.

Anyways the temp fix I ended up figuring out was to uncheck "4k UHD" in Xbox video settings. This at least got the brightness and color back to tolerable levels. So now it's just outputting a 1080P SDR image I guess.

And the funny thing is on a 65" tV, I really dont notice that much. Yeah 4k HDR looks better, but I'd put it at like 30% better. Significant, but not dealbreaking.

If that's even whats going on, i have no freaking idea. I'm just trusting that what I'm looking at is 1080P/no HDR, there's no HDR badge on startup of the game anyway, and like I said 4K UHD is unchecked in Xbox settings.

I dont know the issue but thinking about it I'm guessing a TCL update broke HDR with Xbox One X. For all I know it's already been fixed in another update, I havent checked.

Click to shrink...

That sounds like a classic faulty/cheap/long HDMI cable situation.

Also, if the image is looking as you describe, that almost sounds like the console is outputting HDR, but the Tv isn't treating it as such

 

[Themaddestgamer]

I have the same tv as you and idk, I like the 4k clarity but I still don't feel that HDR is anything worthwhile.

Click to shrink...

Just checking but Im sure you enabled HDMI 2.0 for the input?

In case you havent seen it yet

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/tcl/6-series-r625-2019/settings

 

[Leo-Tyrant]

For years I've been gaming on my 1080p 144hz monitor and my 2011 Panasonic 48 inch TV. I used to think 4K was overrated and not worth it at all so I was dead set on always gaming at 1080p.

Click to shrink...

Pretty much everyone until they ACTUALLY sit and see 4K HDR in a good set, instead of sticking with online comparisons or badly calibrated displays.

Now that you have experienced the HDR magic (which is the actual revelation here, 4K is just more clarity), you will not want to go back.

The next step is the Oled experience. Seeing the actual blacks and wide color gamut being painted on top of those blacks... = best IQ on consumer display.

 

[Rbk_3]

HDR is a fundamental change to the way we display an image on a screen, the biggest change in decades. As a tool for artists, It's literally a game changer.

Click to shrink...

And I argue Variable Refresh Rate is a bigger game changer. Luckily, my TV can do both.

 

[Deleted member 24021]

Pretty much everyone until they ACTUALLY sit and see 4K HDR in a good set, instead of sticking with online comparisons or badly calibrated displays.

Now that you have experienced the HDR magic (which is the actual revelation here, 4K is just more clarity), you will not want to go back.

The next step is the Oled experience. Seeing the actual blacks and wide color gamut being painted on top of those blacks... = best IQ on consumer display.

Click to shrink...

I'm already blown away by how deep the blacks are on this TCL. My old Panasonic had blacks that were more of a really dark blue. I'll jump to OLED someday (most likely soon if it's that good), are there any good OLED 4K monitors?

 

[TKG]

Recently, I moved to 4K/HDR gaming too but I didn't worth it for me. I mean, 4K is always good but HDR felt like just a gimmick. I bought a Samsung 50RU7400, I guess it's an entry-level TV. Probably that's why HDR is underwhelming for me.

 

[leng jai]

Recently, I moved to 4K/HDR gaming too but I didn't worth it for me. I mean, 4K is always good but HDR felt like just a gimmick. I bought a Samsung 50RU7400, I guess it's an entry-level TV. Probably that's why HDR is underwhelming for me.

Click to shrink...

A lot of TVs have HDR branding slapped on them but don't output it anywhere near well enough to make a big difference.

 

[shark97]

That sounds like a classic faulty/cheap/long HDMI cable situation.

Also, if the image is looking as you describe, that almost sounds like the console is outputting HDR, but the Tv isn't treating it as such

Click to shrink...

Weird i checked the xbox settings just now and its back to 4k uhd checked which i didnt do so it must have done it itself. But i dont think its outputting hdr because there used to be an hdr badge on destiny startup now there isnt. Im not sure how to check if its hdr, but the only overlay i pull up says 4k uhd nothing about hdr.

Still guessing it's tcl's fault

I dont have any other hdr devices or monitors for testing..

Also as mentioned i switched cables and same? Not to say i rule that out now that you bring it up. Not long cable maybe 4-5 feet and it worked before

Picture is ok now just i dont think its hdr

 

[TKG]

A lot of TVs have HDR branding slapped on them but don't output it anywhere near well enough to make a big difference.

Click to shrink...

True.

 

[Oni_J]

I've read so much about TLC but here in the UK we got the cheapestly done ones, and the reviews are livid.
I'll like to find a budget 43' and so far hisense seems the best choice.
I'm kind of scared from all the weird thing some users seem to incur with this TVs.

 

[Vex]

Weird i checked the xbox settings just now and its back to 4k uhd checked which i didnt do so it must have done it itself. But i dont think its outputting hdr because there used to be an hdr badge on destiny startup now there isnt. Im not sure how to check if its hdr, but the only overlay i pull up says 4k uhd nothing about hdr.

Still guessing it's tcl's fault

I dont have any other hdr devices or monitors for testing..

Picture is ok now just i dont think its hdr

Click to shrink...

I have the 615/617 and I can tell you it doesn't always show that HDR badge even though it is in HDR mode. Especially when I connect my PC to my TCL. The way I can tell is by the following:

You press the options(*) button and if you can cycle through the different HDR presets (Dark HDR, Light) you are in HDR mode. If you weren't in HDR, this option completely disappears.

 

[Blugrass]

i want to see the light. Anyone have any reccomendations for something great in the 400-500 $ range?

 

[Dreazy]

First time experiencing 4k HDR on my Xbox One X instantly made me a believer

 

[Leo-Tyrant]

I'm already blown away by how deep the blacks are on this TCL. My old Panasonic had blacks that were more of a really dark blue. I'll jump to OLED someday (most likely soon if it's that good), are there any good OLED 4K monitors?

Click to shrink...

You can consider last years LG C8 Oled as your monitor in Game or PC Mode with extremely low input lag (less than 22 ms), the best blacks, great 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision and fantastic upscaling for 480/720/1080p content.

It should be very cheap by next year (its already dramatically cheaper now).

Review:

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/lg/c8-oled

 

[Vex]

i want to see the light. Anyone have any reccomendations for something great in the 400-500 $ range?

Click to shrink...

Get yourself a TCL. Easily one of the best TVs to price ratio. Low input lag. Great black levels. Roku apps. I'm happy with mine.

 

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

In my opinion, higher framerate with gsync/freesync is much better than 4k. I would almost go for 1440p 144hz over 4k 60 fps.

 

[Deleted member 31873]

HDR is cool; don't care about 4K though. I'd take 60fps at 1080p over both HDR and 4K easily though if I had to choose.

 

[Deleted member 24021]

You can consider last years LG C8 Oled as your monitor in Game or PC Mode with extremely low input lag (less than 22 ms), the best blacks, great 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision and fantastic upscaling for 480/720/1080p content.

It should be very cheap by next year (its already dramatically cheaper now).

Review:

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/lg/c8-oled

Click to shrink...

That LG seems awesome but it's out of my price range and I'm going to focus on saving for a new PC. Is there a good OLED monitor for around $300? If so then I'll use part of my tax returns to get it.

 

[Leo-Tyrant]

That LG seems awesome but it's out of my price range and I'm going to focus on saving for a new PC. Is there a good OLED monitor for around $300? If so then I'll use part of my tax returns to get it.

Click to shrink...

I dont belive so (at this moment). I would still recommend you to check the previous years LG models some months down the road. You have a very new set, enjoy it for now, and once you are ready, go with Oled.

 

[Issen]

Good HDR implementation on a decent HDR TV is just unbelievable. GT Sport on my Samsung Q6FN still makes my jaw drop regularly.

Native 4K I haven't found to be as important. A good checkerboard rendering implementation with decent filtering looks almost as good. Again, GT Sport itself makes a fantastic argument for checkerboard rendering on a 4K set with whatever AA/temporal AA solutions it's using. It looks sharper AND less jaggy than many of my PC games running at native 4K with inferior filtering. Project Cars 2 for instance has horrible shimmering.

 

[predprey]

HDR is great when implemented correctly, but some games like FFXV have prerendered movie cutscenes which were probably not mastered in HDR properly. This results in washed out low contrast cutscenes, and horrendous banding when displaying clouds in the sky (e.g. FFXV ending), thankfully there weren't too many of such prerendered movie clips across the entire game.

 

[Professor RAWR]

I don't have HDR, but by just playing Battlefield V 4K, ultra 60FPS on my new RTX 2080 Super, it made my jaw completely dropped...

and I can't imagine what HDR will do.. I would probably fell back of my chair haha.

 

[Deleted member 24021]

I dont belive so (at this moment). I would still recommend you to check the previous years LG models some months down the road. You have a very new set, enjoy it for now, and once you are ready, go with Oled.

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah for sure. I'm most likely moving to a new place in 2021 so I'll look into getting an LG OLED then to have it in the living room while my current TV will be in the bedroom.

 

[ZSJ]

I'd take 60fps at 1080p over both HDR and 4K easily though if I had to choose.

Click to shrink...

What does that have to do with anything? You can have 4K HDR 60fps.

Everything should be in HDR. SDR just looks so flat in comparison.

 

[fersnake]

For years I've been gaming on my 1080p 144hz monitor and my 2011 Panasonic 48 inch TV. I used to think 4K was overrated and not worth it at all so I was dead set on always gaming at 1080p.

I had that mindset until recently when I bought a TCL 55R617. It was on sale when I found it online and I decided "fuck it, why not?" and bought the TV. In anticipation for the TV I bought Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Uncharted 4. I'm blown away by how sharp and crisp everything looks at resolutions higher than 1080p. The brightness and colors of HDR is absolutely face melting with the games I bought.

I was even blown away by the games I owned, GT Sport is gorgeous and the cars look amazing with HDR, Shadow of the Colossus was insanely sharp and clean, and No Man's Sky looked amazing too.

I've seen plenty of posts of people complaining that "HDR looks washed out" and that they "don't see a difference" but I absolutely do see the difference, and all of the games I've played were bright with vibrant colors.

I am so blown away by 4K and HDR that I'm going to buy another Xbox One X (first one died and I sold it) just to experience Forza Horizon 4 and a bunch of other games in 4K. I wish my PC was powerful enough to handle 4K gaming smoothly, but that's okay.

My only complaint about the TV is that the corners are slightly dimmer than the rest of the screen, but for the price I paid (~$550) it's something I can look past because the picture quality is incredible.

Bring on next gen!

Click to shrink...

that's nice man! i just bought a ps4 pro but dont have a 4k tv and im looking for one, that TCL brand is good? i really dont want to spend that much but not as cheap to regret buying one.

 

[Hybrid Rainbow]

I was a skeptic of 4K HDR until I played God of War on my Pro. After that, I never looked back.

 

[Patitoloco]

4K is good... but HDR is the game changer I agree. Both in games and movies, a good HDR solution can be fantastic.

 

[-PXG-]

4K with proper HDR implemention IS fantastic. They work hand in hand. HDR takes advantage of 4K's higher pixel count by expanding the range of colors on display, thus the level detail is even greater. There is no going back.

 

[Yarbskoo]

It's a real shame so few games reach the 4K/144Hz HDR promised land.

 

[Deleted member 24021]

that's nice man! i just bought a ps4 pro but dont have a 4k tv and im looking for one, that TCL brand is good? i really dont want to spend that much but not as cheap to regret buying one.

Click to shrink...

TCL TVs are excellent for the price.

 

[Deleted member 31873]

What does that have to do with anything? You can have 4K HDR 60fps.

Everything should be in HDR. SDR just looks so flat in comparison.

Click to shrink...

I know, but how often do we actually get 4K 60fps games in practice? It's usually either one or the other; very rarely both. And it's very often neither.

I'm just saying that I'd rather games make a real different by consistently hitting decent framerates before we start worrying about the negligible gains from upping the resolution. I agree on the HDR part though.

 

[Ferrs]

It is. Switching between HDR and SDR in a game with my C8 shows how much of a deal HDR is. SDR just looks so bland and flat.

 

[dodmaster]

I jumped in with RDR2 and an XB1X last Black Friday. It was indeed glorious, although the HDR wasn't as good as God of War (for which even upscaled 1080p was fantastic with good HDR). I'm finding a lot of XB1X titles lack good HDR implementations. I'm not sure if that's my settings or the games i'm playing or what. FH4 is the only game that really stands out.

 

[Woffls]

Meh. I will pretty much always choose a lower resolution in order to get higher frame rates.

HDR tho... yep. Shame it was broken on Windows for ages.

 

[Lukemia SL]

What does that have to do with anything? You can have 4K HDR 60fps.

Everything should be in HDR. SDR just looks so flat in comparison.

Click to shrink...

Yeah this, these guys coming in with their frame numbers always baffles me in these threads. Talking like you can't have high frames without HDR.

Glad you finally see what HDR is all about OP.

 

[Deleted member 15447]

4K is still overrated for the amount of resources it requires. Proper HDR has always been a game changer and a much bigger upgrade when implemented correctly.

Click to shrink...

Lol not even close.

Resolution (providing it doesn't have to reduce detail or frame rate) beats HDR any day of the week.

 

[Deleted member 20831]

It may be glorious, but trying to showcase the difference with and without HDR is a pain.