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Usually, no—leave HDR set to the console’s “On When Supported” behavior so an SDR game stays SDR. On PlayStation 5, Sony says Always On converts non-HDR games and apps to HDR, while On When Supported displays them in SDR. Conversion can look attractive on one television and obviously wrong on another because tone mapping, black level, brightness and color calibration determine the result. Xbox Series X|S is different: Auto HDR selectively enhances certain older SDR games, so keeping HDR capability available can help supported titles, but it is not applied to every game and is not guaranteed to look better.
The practical recommendation
Use native SDR as your reference. On PS5, select On When Supported and let HDR activate only for games and apps that actually provide HDR output. Switch to Always On only after comparing the same game, scene and display preset in both modes and deciding that the converted image preserves detail and looks natural.
On Xbox Series X|S, leave HDR capability enabled if you play backward-compatible titles that support Auto HDR. Xbox describes Auto HDR as automatically enhancing eligible SDR games made before HDR technology, producing brighter and more colorful scenes. Eligibility is title-specific, and the console does not apply the same treatment to every SDR game.
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What happens when an SDR game is shown as HDR?
Native SDR output
An SDR game authored for standard dynamic range sends its intended brightness and color values to the display. The television or monitor uses its SDR picture mode, gamma curve and black-level settings. This is the least complicated path and the one most likely to match the developer’s original grading.
Forced HDR conversion
When a console converts SDR to HDR, it remaps the game’s brightness and color values into an HDR signal. The display then applies its HDR tone map. Two transformations are therefore involved: the console’s conversion and the screen’s HDR processing. A conversion can make skies, fire or neon signs appear more vivid, but it can also clip bright detail, raise blacks, crush shadows or make mid-tones look unnaturally bright.
Why the same game differs between displays
Microsoft’s Advanced Color documentation explains that SDR reference white is the brightness at which diffuse white is intended to appear inside an HDR scene. Desktop HDR monitors are typically set around 200 nits (Microsoft, 2022), while televisions and monitors may use very different targets and tone-mapping curves. Tone mapping compresses HDR luminance and color so the signal fits the panel’s actual capabilities. Consequently, a converted image that appears balanced on one screen may look washed out, dim or oversaturated on another.
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On When Supported
Sony’s description is explicit: “If you select On When Supported, games and apps that aren’t HDR-compatible display in SDR (standard dynamic range).” This setting preserves the game’s native output. HDR activates for a title that supplies HDR, and SDR remains SDR for a title that does not.
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Always On
Sony also states: “If you select Always On, even games and apps that aren’t HDR-compatible automatically convert to HDR output.” Always On is therefore not a universal quality upgrade. It is a preference to have the console generate an HDR signal even when the game was authored in SDR.
| PS5 behavior | SDR game signal | Likely advantage | Potential drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| On When Supported | Remains SDR | Preserves the game’s native brightness, gamma and color intent | May look less punchy than a deliberately boosted HDR conversion |
| Always On | Converted to HDR | Can add apparent brightness or saturation on a well-calibrated display | Can clip highlights, lift blacks, crush shadows or produce a washed-out image |
To change the setting, open Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output > HDR and choose the available behavior. Menu wording can vary slightly with system software, but the relevant choices are Always On and On When Supported.
After changing the mode, compare a fixed scene rather than judging from the home screen. Use a dark interior, a bright outdoor area and a scene containing skin tones or neutral gray objects. If Always On makes any of those scenes less detailed or less neutral, return to On When Supported.
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Selective enhancement, not a blanket conversion
Xbox says: “Auto HDR automatically enhances SDR games that pre-date HDR technology, enabling them to deliver brighter, more colourful worlds.” The wording matters: Auto HDR applies to supported backward-compatible games, not every SDR title. The game must be on Xbox’s compatibility and Auto HDR support list or otherwise recognized by the console’s feature.
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For an eligible game, Auto HDR can expand perceived highlight brightness and color separation while retaining the original game engine. For an ineligible game, the output remains governed by the game’s SDR path and the display’s SDR settings. Seeing HDR enabled in the console menu does not mean every SDR game is being converted.
How to verify it is active
- Open Settings > General > TV & display options and confirm that your television or monitor reports HDR capability.
- Start a backward-compatible game known to support Auto HDR. The console may display an on-screen notification when the feature engages.
- Compare the title with Auto HDR enabled and disabled, using the same display picture preset and the same in-game location.
- Keep the feature enabled only if highlights, shadows and color remain convincing. A brighter image alone is not proof of better accuracy.
On Xbox, the sensible default is to leave the HDR pipeline available and evaluate each supported game. Disable or bypass Auto HDR for a title that develops clipped highlights, gray blacks, excessive saturation or a visibly altered artistic look.
Compare modes using the details that matter
| Comparison point | Native SDR | Forced conversion or Auto HDR | What to inspect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference accuracy | Closest to the game’s authored SDR output | Depends on console mapping and display tone mapping | Neutral grays, skin tones and familiar reference scenes |
| Highlights | Usually follows the SDR grade | May appear brighter; can clip bright detail | Clouds, lamps, snow, explosions and sky gradients |
| Shadows and blacks | Uses the display’s SDR gamma and black level | Can lift blacks or crush near-black detail | Dark rooms, hair, foliage and shadow texture |
| Mid-tone brightness | Generally stable across SDR games | May become too dark, too bright or gray-looking | Faces, walls and ordinary daylight surfaces |
| Color | Original SDR saturation and hue | Can increase color volume or oversaturate | Skin, grass, red lights and blue skies |
| Compatibility | Works for every SDR game | PS5 Always On converts all non-HDR apps; Xbox Auto HDR is selective | Whether the game is actually HDR-compatible or Auto HDR-supported |
| Calibration effort | Uses the display’s SDR preset | Requires trustworthy HDR and SDR presets, sometimes separate calibration | Whether the display switches picture modes correctly |
A reliable A/B test for your own setup
Use the following procedure before deciding that an SDR game “looks better in HDR.” It avoids the common mistake of preferring the brighter image simply because it is brighter.
- Stabilize the display. Disable vivid mode, dynamic contrast, automatic brightness and other aggressive processing for the comparison. Leave the same motion and sharpness settings in place for both tests.
- Record the starting state. Note the TV or monitor input, picture preset, brightness, contrast, gamma and black-level setting. Some displays store separate SDR and HDR values.
- Choose repeatable scenes. Use one dark scene, one bright scene and one scene with faces or neutral objects. Pause in the same camera position where possible.
- Check detail, not just impact. Look for texture in bright clouds and dark clothing. If white objects become featureless or shadows become a solid mass, the conversion is clipping information.
- Check color neutrality. Gray objects should remain gray, and skin should not turn orange, red or gray. Extra saturation is not automatically extra dynamic range.
- Allow your eyes to adapt. Spend at least a minute in each mode before switching. Rapid toggling can make the brighter image seem preferable even when it is less accurate.
- Keep the winner per title. A display can store a global console setting, but your preference may differ by game. Record which titles benefit from Auto HDR or Always On and which do not.
Why SDR games look washed out with HDR enabled
Incorrect SDR reference white or tone mapping
If the display expects a different SDR reference white than the console conversion assumes, mid-tones can look gray and highlights can lose contrast. A television’s HDR tone map may also compress the converted signal more aggressively than another panel.
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Separate picture presets are mismatched
Many screens save independent controls for SDR and HDR. A change made in HDR mode may not affect SDR, and copying HDR brightness or gamma values into an SDR preset can produce a poor result. Use the display’s own SDR controls for SDR games and its HDR controls for HDR games.
Black-level or range mismatch
A mismatch between the console’s RGB range and the display’s black-level setting can make blacks gray or hide shadow detail. Set both devices to the same automatic or matching range option, then rerun the console’s HDR calibration.
Overactive enhancement
Dynamic contrast, live color, local contrast boosters and vivid presets can exaggerate the conversion. Turn them off for diagnosis. Once the image is correct, reintroduce one feature at a time if you accept its trade-off.
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- SDR is significantly lighter or darker than expected: revert to native SDR on PS5, disable Auto HDR for the Xbox title, and verify the display’s input-specific SDR preset.
- Black bars or a smaller image appear: check the console’s resolution, aspect-ratio and display-area settings. Microsoft’s XR-131 guidance treats black bars and smaller images as failure examples for an HDR/SDR presentation.
- Shadow detail disappears: lower the display’s HDR contrast or shadow-control setting only within its recommended range, then repeat HDR calibration. If detail still remains crushed, use native SDR.
- Black areas turn gray: check the RGB range and black-level pairing on both console and display. Do not compensate by raising overall brightness, which can wash out the entire image.
- Highlights lose texture: reduce HDR tone-map intensity or peak-brightness compensation if your display offers it. If the game still clips, choose SDR.
- Colors look cartoonish or skin tones shift: disable dynamic color and compare a neutral object. Auto HDR or Always On may simply be a poor match for that game.
- The picture changes when switching games: confirm whether the console is switching between SDR and HDR presets correctly. Re-run the console HDR calibration after changing the television’s picture mode.
When each choice makes sense
Choose PS5 On When Supported when accuracy is the priority
- You want SDR games to retain their authored gamma and color.
- Your display produces raised blacks, clipped highlights or inconsistent brightness in Always On.
- You use more than one television or monitor and do not want to tune a conversion for each screen.
- You frequently switch between SDR and HDR games and want the console to select the correct format automatically.
Try PS5 Always On when you prefer its converted look
- You have compared identical scenes in both modes.
- Your display’s HDR preset is calibrated and preserves shadow and highlight detail.
- You prefer the converted game’s contrast or color and accept that it is a stylistic remap rather than native HDR.
Leave Xbox HDR available for supported Auto HDR games
- You play backward-compatible titles that the console identifies as Auto HDR-supported.
- The enhancement improves separation in bright and dark scenes without obvious clipping.
Disable enhancement for a particular Xbox game when it harms the image
- The title’s original SDR palette is intentionally muted or stylized.
- Auto HDR introduces gray blacks, neon colors, crushed shadows or distracting brightness changes.
- The game is not supported and enabling the console pipeline provides no visible benefit.
Calibration and room conditions
Room lighting changes perception. A bright room can make a correctly calibrated SDR image seem dull, while a dark room can make an aggressive HDR conversion feel painfully bright. Judge both modes under the lighting in which you normally play.
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Run the console’s HDR calibration after changing the television’s HDR picture mode, peak-brightness option or tone-map setting. Do not reuse HDR slider positions as SDR targets. If your display supports separate game presets, create one neutral SDR preset and one neutral HDR preset, then let the console switch between them.
For a neutral comparison, disable dynamic contrast and vivid color, use the display’s game or low-latency mode, and avoid judging from a paused menu. Menus often use different brightness rules from the game renderer.
Bottom line for PS5 and Xbox owners
On PS5, On When Supported is the correct starting point because it keeps non-HDR games in native SDR. Always On is worthwhile only when a side-by-side test on your display shows a clear preference without lost detail or unnatural color. On Xbox Series X|S, leave HDR capability available so supported backward-compatible games can use Auto HDR, but evaluate each title because the feature is selective and display-dependent. If an SDR game becomes dramatically lighter or darker, develops black bars, loses shadow detail or looks washed out, return to native SDR and correct the display’s input-specific settings before trying conversion again.
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