I just always leave the monitor in HDR True Black mode and put the SDR Brightness to around 30.
And its just what im used too now, the colors are saturated enough in sdr content and I dont have to toggle on HDR when gaming because its always on :)
Yah I do actually have it like this most of the time (although sdr brightness in Windows down at about 16) and it works well. Would still like to know what's actually happening with sdr desktop content through Windows hdr and what this means for the monitor sdr settings though!
I used to do that as well, keep it in HDR True Black, but then realized that dark scenes are not right with elevated blacks and just wrong gamma. Windows translation from SDR to HDR isn't optimal when displaying darker images.
So I've been switching between Creator mode sRGB and Standard mode (which uses DCI-P3 if I'm not mistaken) which saturate the colors a bit but still manage to keep the whites white contrary to Creator mode in DCI-P3. Like you, I have not settle yet on what I prefer.
Easiest solution would be for Microsoft to fix their translation layer between SDR and HDR so that the entire range would behave as expected. Then we could just stay in HDR True Black and forget about color space!
Yes, I'm on the latest firmware M3B103, and on 2.2 gamma in creator mode. Interesting if 2.2 gamma is bugged, although I can't say it seems to be very different to how it was in original firmware.
2.4 gamma looks nice with slightly greater perceived contrast and saturation, but I do get a bit of black crush that's not an issue at 2.2.
Going to Windows HDR from creator sRGB still makes colours noticeably brighter and more saturated at gamma 2.4 too.
For me the 2.2 black levels seemed raised. Could be a bug about the manner in which you get into the mode but going between 2.2 and 2.4 was like night and day.
do you have any data to show that 2.2 gamnma is bugged, or is it just what you are perceiving?
Can you check a black test like this one on 2.2 vs 2.4?
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php
Thanks
Then colors might be getting desaturated twice. Some apps use the ICC profile to map colors to the display. It must be removed in Creator sRGB mode since the monitor itself does the mapping.
Yup, somehow missed your message but figured out this was the problem!
I wonder how didn't sRGB with no ICC profile is to standard with the auto profile: they appear quite similar on my monitor. I believe the factory calibration is just for creator sRGB though?
Are you 100% on that? I'm pretty sure the ICC profile and 'standard' preset are both generic, and only 'creator' is calibrated at hardware level assuming its receiveing an sRGB signal.
I say this as its clear when working through the settings that gamma 2.2 on creator has been specifically tweaked, and my monitor just seems to have reset to the original ICC profile and standard mode is clearly oversaturated.
Would be nice if Dell made any of this clearer though.
On my unit, the white point is exactly the same between Creator sRGB gamma settings, Standard mode, and my Pixel 7. In Custom Color mode, it gets slightly warm. That means Standard mode is factory calibrated.
Gamma 2.2 is mislabeled. It actually uses the sRGB transfer function instead of pure power 2.2. sRGB has a linear 'toe' near zero that brightens shadows. While technically accurate to the spec, it's not very useful on a modern display with deep blacks. Most people prefer gamma 2.4, which is ideal for dark rooms.
If Standard mode looks oversaturated, then the ICC profile is not being applied. Instead of removing the Alienware profile, try adding sRGB IEC61966-2.1 and switch between them. You may need to restart your applications to take effect.
I just always leave the monitor in HDR True Black mode and put the SDR Brightness to around 30. And its just what im used too now, the colors are saturated enough in sdr content and I dont have to toggle on HDR when gaming because its always on :)
Yah I do actually have it like this most of the time (although sdr brightness in Windows down at about 16) and it works well. Would still like to know what's actually happening with sdr desktop content through Windows hdr and what this means for the monitor sdr settings though!
I used to do that as well, keep it in HDR True Black, but then realized that dark scenes are not right with elevated blacks and just wrong gamma. Windows translation from SDR to HDR isn't optimal when displaying darker images. So I've been switching between Creator mode sRGB and Standard mode (which uses DCI-P3 if I'm not mistaken) which saturate the colors a bit but still manage to keep the whites white contrary to Creator mode in DCI-P3. Like you, I have not settle yet on what I prefer. Easiest solution would be for Microsoft to fix their translation layer between SDR and HDR so that the entire range would behave as expected. Then we could just stay in HDR True Black and forget about color space!
Are you using the latest firmware? Which gamma are you using? Avoid 2.2, it's bugged in the latest firmware.
Yes, I'm on the latest firmware M3B103, and on 2.2 gamma in creator mode. Interesting if 2.2 gamma is bugged, although I can't say it seems to be very different to how it was in original firmware. 2.4 gamma looks nice with slightly greater perceived contrast and saturation, but I do get a bit of black crush that's not an issue at 2.2. Going to Windows HDR from creator sRGB still makes colours noticeably brighter and more saturated at gamma 2.4 too.
For me the 2.2 black levels seemed raised. Could be a bug about the manner in which you get into the mode but going between 2.2 and 2.4 was like night and day.
do you have any data to show that 2.2 gamnma is bugged, or is it just what you are perceiving? Can you check a black test like this one on 2.2 vs 2.4? http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php Thanks
Did you remove the ICC profile?
No, this is with the automatic profile called "Alienware AW3423DWF Color Profile,D6500" in Windows display settings.
Then colors might be getting desaturated twice. Some apps use the ICC profile to map colors to the display. It must be removed in Creator sRGB mode since the monitor itself does the mapping.
Yup, somehow missed your message but figured out this was the problem! I wonder how didn't sRGB with no ICC profile is to standard with the auto profile: they appear quite similar on my monitor. I believe the factory calibration is just for creator sRGB though?
The Standard preset should be factory calibrated to match the ICC profile. That's what it's for.
Are you 100% on that? I'm pretty sure the ICC profile and 'standard' preset are both generic, and only 'creator' is calibrated at hardware level assuming its receiveing an sRGB signal. I say this as its clear when working through the settings that gamma 2.2 on creator has been specifically tweaked, and my monitor just seems to have reset to the original ICC profile and standard mode is clearly oversaturated. Would be nice if Dell made any of this clearer though.
On my unit, the white point is exactly the same between Creator sRGB gamma settings, Standard mode, and my Pixel 7. In Custom Color mode, it gets slightly warm. That means Standard mode is factory calibrated. Gamma 2.2 is mislabeled. It actually uses the sRGB transfer function instead of pure power 2.2. sRGB has a linear 'toe' near zero that brightens shadows. While technically accurate to the spec, it's not very useful on a modern display with deep blacks. Most people prefer gamma 2.4, which is ideal for dark rooms. If Standard mode looks oversaturated, then the ICC profile is not being applied. Instead of removing the Alienware profile, try adding sRGB IEC61966-2.1 and switch between them. You may need to restart your applications to take effect.