With the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, Microsoft added Auto HDR. This feature is designed to convert videogames that don’t display a HDR image (also known as a SDR image) into a HDR image. To take advantage of Auto HDR, you will need to connect your console to a television set that can supports the HDR10 format.
If you use this feature, then your non-HDR games will look different. Some games may look better than before while others will look worse than the original image.
If you believe that Auto HDR is making the videogames you are playing on the Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X console look worse than before, then you can check out this step-by-step tutorial from Seeking Tech to see how you can disable this display feature.
How to disable Auto HDR for a single game on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X
In order to turn off Auto HDR for just a single game on your Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X console, you need to take the following steps:
1. To begin, you need to press the Xbox button on your Xbox Series controller to bring up the “Guide” menu.
For the uninformed, the Xbox button has the Xbox logo and should be lit up.
2. Once you get to the “Guide” menu, select “My games & apps” by using the A button on your controller.
3. In the next screen, select “See all.”
4. In the next menu, select “Games” from the left column.
5. You then need to hover over the game that you want to disable Auto HDR for.
6. With the game in question highlighted, press the Menu button on your controller.
For the uninformed, the Menu button is the small buttons with three horizontal lines.
7. In the new pop-up menu, select “Manage game and add-ons.”
8. In the next screen, select “Compatibility options” on the left side.
9. Finally, you should see the Auto HDR setting for that specific game in the next menu.
If the box next to that setting has a check mark, then that indicates that Auto HDR is currently enabled.
To disable it, simply select that setting to uncheck the box.
If you are currently playing the same game you are trying to disable Auto HDR for, then you will get a notification to quit the game in order to apply the new display setting.
How to disable Auto HDR for all games on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X
To turn of Auto HDR for all non-HDR videogames on your Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X system, you need to do the following:
1. Press the Xbox button to use the “Guide” quick menu.
2. In the “Guide” menu, switch taps until you get to “Profile & system.”
For the uninformed, you can use the directional pad, analog stick or LB/RB shoulder buttons to switch tabs.
3. After navigating over to the “Profile & system” tab, you need to select “Settings.”
4. Inside the “Settings” menu, select “General” from the list of options available on the left column.
5. On the right side of the same screen, you then need to select “TV & display options.”
6. Once you get to the “General – TV & display options” menu, you need to select “Video modes.”
7. Lastly, you should see the Auto HDR setting from the “General – Video modes” menu.
If the box next to the setting is checked, then it indicates that Auto HDR is enabled for all non-HDR games (with the exception of games that were manually disabled for using this display feature by you using the first tutorial in this guide).
To disable Auto HDR altogether on your Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X, simply select Auto HDR to remove the check mark.
If you are currently playing a non-HDR game, then you may need to close and then restart a game to remove the Auto HDR effects.