With Windows 11, Microsoft started making notable improvements on the HDR side, including support for Auto HDR. While new features are being made available with the updates, the company has now started to offer a new HDR Calibration application.
The Windows HDR Calibration application includes a test model that helps you calibrate your display by improving the color accuracy and consistency of your HDR panel. In addition, thanks to the application, we have the opportunity to customize the color saturation of all content.
Benefits of Calibration
In some cases (especially on non-HDR certified displays), the displayed content may be brighter than the maximum supported brightness of the display or darker than the minimum supported brightness. You can eliminate these problems with the Windows app by calibrating your display.
Also, if you want your content to be more vibrant with HDR turned on, you can use the app’s Color Saturation menu to customize how colors appear on your screen. To be able to use the HDR Calibration application, the requirements are as follows:
- Windows operating system: Windows 11
- Display: An HDR-capable display (internal or external display)
- HDR setting: You can go to Settings > System > Display to turn on HDR.
- Application mode: The application must be running full screen.
- Graphics: Next-gen GPU (required for color saturation to work properly).
- Intel:
- Integrated: Intel 11th Generation (Ice Lake) or higher.
- External: Intel DG1 (Alchemist) or higher.
- AMD:
- AMD Radeon RX 400 Series or higher.
- AMD Ryzen processors with Radeon graphics.
- NVIDIA:
- NVIDIA GTX 10xx (Pascal) or higher.
- Display driver: WDDM 2.7 or higher.
How to Use Windows HDR Calibration ?
Here are some tips to keep in mind while using the app:
- After installing the application, you can access the application by typing “Windows HDR Calibration” in the Start menu or by clicking the “HDR display calibration” section after going to Settings > System > Display > Windows HD Color. This feature is available to Windows Insiders at first and will be available to the general public later.
- If you have multiple displays, make sure the application window is visible on the HDR-capable display you want to calibrate.
- Use the app in the lighting conditions you usually use for your HDR display.
- When calibrating your screen using the Maximum Full-Frame Brightness Test, drag the slider until the patterns are no longer visible on the screen.
- When adjusting SDR and HDR color saturation, you can find the best setting for you by dragging the saturation adjustment from left to right. You can tweak this setting depending on your monitor and content.
