Uncovering the HDR Surprise in the Newest Nvidia Driver Update

High dynamic range can enhance PC gaming with richer colors and immersion, but not all hardware and software support it. However, a new feature called “RTX Video HDR” discovered in Nvidia’s GPU drivers can potentially convert standard range video to high dynamic range, making it accessible for more games. A modder named “eMoose” found that this tool could be applied to PC game visuals on the fly in a mode called TrueHDR, although it is not yet enabled. The modder released a tweak on NexusMods that can activate TrueHDR for older games that don’t natively support high dynamic range color, possibly working on DirectX9, OpenGL, and Vulkan games as well. The tool allows users to choose between low, medium, and very high settings, with performance impacts, and includes an HUD indicator. While testing showed varying results, it is expected that Nvidia could turn this feature on as an alternative to Windows AutoHDR in the near future. However, it is unclear why Nvidia did not mention this capability for games when it was announced for standard video at CES, so there may still be kinks to work out.