How to Use Windows HDR Calibration App

If you are using an HDR-supported monitor, then you might not be getting the best visuals out of your Windows PC. The basic Windows display settings are minimal and if you are into serious business of color enhancements, using default Windows settings is not an option for you. While you can calibrate your monitor settings through the monitor buttons, there is a better way – the Windows HDR Calibration app. So if you have been wondering how to use the Windows HDR Calibration app, I am here to talk about it.

What Is Windows Calibration App?

As you can imagine by the name, the Windows Calibration app is a simple tool that lets you calibrate your HDR display. So you can optimize your display for HDR games to enhance the quality of other HDR content and have a better viewing experience.

The software lets you play around with the brightness and color saturation levels, create a new color profile, and many more.

In short, the app is responsible for helping you improve the color accuracy and consistency of your HDR display. Plus, the software is free to use, and you can download it from the Microsoft Store.

Requirements To Run Windows HDR Calibration App

Before you calibrate your display, there are specific requirements you must meet. These requirements are:

A System is running Windows 11.
HDR-supported display (built-in or external display).
HDR turned on your PC. You can turn it on by going to Settings > System > Display > Use HDR.
App mode: The app must be running full screen.
Graphics: A newer GPU (required for color saturation to work correctly)
AMD GPU: AMD RX 400 Series or later or AMD Ryzen processors with Radeon Graphics.
Intel GPU: Intel 11th Gen (Ice Lake) or later or Intel DG1 or later.
NVIDIA GPU: NVIDIA GTX 10xx or later (Pascal+).
Display driver: WDDDM 2.7 or later.

How to use Windows HDR Calibration app

How to Use Windows HDR Calibration App?

First, download and install the Windows HDR calibration app from Microsoft Store.
Launch the app and click on the Get Started button. If your PC does not support HDR, it will show you this message: HDR isn’t available on this display HDR is either turned off in Display settings, or the display doesn’t support it.
The app will now offer you three test patterns. You have to drag and slider at the bottom of the screen for each of them until the test pattern is no longer visible.
Then click on Next after each test.
After the three tests, you will have to adjust the display colors. It will change the saturation of the colors and adjust it as per your preferences. But by default, it is at the minimum level.
On the final screen, you will get a preview of how your display looks after the calibration. You can move ahead with the change and save the HDR profile by clicking on Save. Or return to the customization Window by clicking on the Back button.

Conclusion

Using the Windows HDR calibration app is a pretty straightforward task. You will get different options to adjust the color accuracy, saturation, and other settings, and you have to set them as per your taste. In case you get stuck at anything, do drop a comment below.

Why Calibrate Your HDR Monitor?

If you have an HDR monitor, calibrating it would straightway improve the overall viewing experience. It will improve the video quality when you are watching HDR videos.

Also, monitors generally do not perform well when viewing a video’s bright and dark parts. The brighter part gets brighter than the maximum supported brightness of the display or darker than the minimum supported brightness leading to a clipping effect that reduces details in bright and dark areas.

But when you calibrate your monitor, it balances out the overall scenes in the brightest part and darkest part of the video.

Does HDR Reduce FPS?

No HDR does not impact FPS. Instead, it improves your gaming experience by providing more details in light and dark areas of your game scenes.

Why Does Windows Say HDR Is Not Supported?

If your monitor does not support HDR, then Windows would say that HDR is not supported. If your monitor has HDR support, check out the Windows HDR calibration app requirements and turn on HDR on your PC.

Why Is My HDR Turning Off?

HDR might turn itself off automatically because of power usage or monitor graphics card settings. To prevent that from happening on your laptop, change the battery settings by going to Settings > System > Display > Use HDR.