High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a feature available on many modern TVs that allows for greater contrast between the brightest whites and darkest blacks, resulting in a more realistic and visually impressive image compared to standard dynamic range.
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What is HDR and Why Should I Use it?
HDR provides the following key benefits:
- More realistic contrast – With a higher dynamic range, HDR content can showcase much brighter brights and far darker darks, closer to what we see in real life. This creates a greater sense of depth and realism.
- Wider color gamut – HDR uses 10-bit or 12-bit color for over 1 billion possible colors. This is drastically more than the 16 million color limitation of standard dynamic range using 8-bit color. Vibrant colors will seem even more lively and realistic.
- Better detail in bright and dark areas – Fine details in very bright or dark parts of an image are easier to see with HDR due to the expanded contrast. Shadow and highlight details are retained better.
By turning on HDR mode, compatible Vizio TVs can take full advantage of HDR content from sources like 4K Blu-ray players, streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, gaming consoles like the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, etc. This results in a major improvement to picture quality.
How to Turn On HDR Mode on Vizio TVs
Turning on HDR mode properly requires enabling a few specific settings on your Vizio TV. Follow these steps:
1. Use Correct HDMI Input
Make sure your HDR-compatible device, like a 4K Blu-ray player, game console, or streaming box, is connected to an HDMI port on your Vizio TV that supports HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 specifications. For most modern Vizio TVs, this will be HDMI port 1 or 2. Older HDMI ports may be limited to HDMI 1.4 bandwidth instead of the 2.0 bandwidth required for HDR.
2. Enable Full UHD Color for the Input
In your TV settings, go to the Input menu and select the HDMI input your HDR device is connected to. Make sure the “Full UHD Color” or “HDMI Color Subsampling” option for that input port is enabled. This allows the proper bandwidth for HDR and wider color gamuts.
3. Set Picture Mode to Calibrated Dark or Calibrated
Navigate to Picture settings and set your Picture Mode preset to “Calibrated Dark” or “Calibrated”. This will configure optimal HDR settings like brightness, contrast, color, etc. You can tweak from there if desired.
4. Adjust Backlight, Brightness, and Contrast
Since HDR can reach much higher peak brightness, you may need to bump up Backlight, Brightness, Contrast settings from their default SDR settings. Go too bright and you’ll crush detail, go too dark and the image will appear dull. Find a good balance for your room lighting.
5. Enable HDR Content Detection
Make sure any auto HDR detection settings are enabled under your TV’s general, picture, or input settings so your TV can recognize HDR10 and Dolby Vision content and switch modes automatically. Useful for watching a mix of SDR and HDR content.
Once the above steps are completed, you should see a notification on your TV confirming HDR is active when playing a HDR video source. Make sure to disable HDR settings if watching standard dynamic range content, as they will look worse with HDR settings still enabled.
HDR Support on Different Vizio TVs
To take advantage of HDR, your Vizio TV must support either HDR10, Dolby Vision, or Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG). Here is HDR format support for current and recent Vizio TV lineups:
- P-Series Quantum/Quantum X – HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
- P-Series – HDR10, Dolby Vision
- M-Series – HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
- V-Series – HDR10, HLG
- E-Series – HDR10, HLG
- D-Series – No HDR support
So for example, P-Series Quantum X models will work with all major HDR formats while D-Series TVs do not have any HDR support. Check your user manual or visit Vizio’s website to confirm your exact TV model’s specifications.
Troubleshooting HDR Issues
If you are encountering any problems getting HDR content to display properly on your compatible Vizio TV, here are some troubleshooting tips:
No HDR notification showing up – Make sure all the above settings are configured correctly to allow for HDR. The source content itself must also be HDR-enabled. Try different HDR-capable source devices to narrow down the issue.
Dark, dull image in HDR mode – Bump up Backlight, Brightness and Contrast settings incrementally until the image snaps into a vivid, colorful picture with bright highlights and deep blacks. Don’t go overboard or you’ll overexpose the image.
HDR looks worse than SDR – This is usually due to incorrect picture settings for HDR content. Make sure to use the Calibrated Dark or Calibrated picture mode presets. Additionally, make sure your HDMI input’s Full UHD Color setting is enabled as described above.
Weird colors or contrast in HDR mode – Make sure any special picture processing features like Black Detail, Active LED Zones, or Color Enhancement are disabled when viewing HDR content. This will provide the most accurate colors and contrast.
Still having HDR issues – As a last resort, perform a factory reset on your Vizio TV to make sure there are no lingering setting conflicts or firmware bugs affecting HDR functionality.
By following this guide and using the troubleshooting tips above, you should have no problems enjoying stunning high dynamic range video on your Vizio TV. Just take things step-by-step to get HDR correctly set up. Let us know if you have any other questions!
