Nvidia Is Areparing A Converter Of SDR Games To HDR
Apparently, Nvidia is working on a feature that will convert SDR games to HDR on the fly using its Tensor Cores. The new feature was discovered by user NexusMods, who published a mod with it, allowing anyone to test out the upcoming HDR game conversion tool.
A game converter from SDR to HDR was found in hidden TrueHDR profile settings in NVIDIA 511.23 (and later) drivers. It is supposedly a development of the similar RTX Video HDR converter, designed for converting video, not games. The presence of such a tool is difficult to overestimate: many games still do not support HDR, and in supported titles its implementation is far from ideal – just remember the release of Starfield, which was devoid of HDR calibration tools, one of the largest in Microsoft’s product range.
There’s little incentive for developers to spend enough time developing HDR content: making a game with SDR and HDR doubles the amount of work that needs to be done for color grading, but the increased labor costs actually go towards the needs of the relatively small number of users who can take advantage of HDR today. Many HDR monitors, although labeled accordingly, cannot provide high enough brightness to display an HDR image. With the advent of the converter from NVIDIA, the task of developers will be simplified.
Of course, it remains to be seen how good this new tool is. Considering that Nvidia has not yet officially introduced this feature, it may not be fully functionally ready. But since the feature appears to be based on Nvidia’s RTX technology for video, hopefully the gaming HDR adaptation will deliver similar quality.
