Display requirements for HDR video in Windows 10

If you wish to run HDR videos on Windows 10, then here is a list of display requirements for it. Before you start reading the requirements, first let’s understand what HDR videos are.

What are HDR videos

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and in these videos, the colors are more vivid. Clarity in the images is better, even if it is a dimly lit room. Basically, it HDR videos offer you a more realistic gaming and creative experience than an SDR video.

It is possible to stream HDR videos on Windows 10 with a display optimized for HDR video. You also need to have Stream HDR video turned on in Windows HD Color settings.

To find out if a display is optimized for HDR video

• Select the Start button, then select Settings > Apps  > Video playback.
• Under Stream HDR video, select Windows HD Color settings.
• Under Choose display, select the display you want to check.
• Under Display capabilities, look for the value next to Stream HDR video to see if it says Yes or No.
• Even if it says Yes for Stream HDR video, you might need to change some other settings to play streaming HDR video.

Apart from this setting, there are certain display requirements for HDR video to be played on a Windows 10 PC. These requirements are explained in detail below.

Display requirements for HDR video on Windows 10

Built-in displays

If you have built-in displays that are made for HDR video streaming, then you don’t need any settings. Even the built-in displays of Windows 10 (version 1803) including the laptop, tablet, or 2-in-1 PC needs to support HDR to play the high dynamic range (HDR) video. To find the specifications for a specific laptop or tablet, visit the device manufacturer’s website. Here are the requirements:

1. The resolution of the built-in display should be of 1080p or more, and a recommended max brightness of 300 nits or more.
2. The Windows 10 device needs to have an integrated graphics card that supports PlayReady hardware digital rights management (for protected HDR content)
3. It must have the required codecs installed for 10-bit video decoding. (For example, devices that have a 7th Generation Intel Core processor, code-named Kaby Lake, support this.)
4. The built-in display needs to let you have control over the backlight and needs to have a max brightness of 300 nits or more.
5. The Windows 10 device manufacturer needs to have enabled HDR on the device.

External displays

To play streaming high dynamic range (HDR) video in Windows 10, your external display and Windows 10 PC needs to support HDR. To find the specifications for a specific PC or external display, visit the device manufacturer’s website. Here are the requirements:

1. The HDR display or TV must support HDR10, and DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.0 or higher. We recommend displays that are DisplayHDR certified.
2. The Windows 10 PC needs to have a graphics card that supports PlayReady 3.0 hardware digital rights management (for protected HDR content). This could be any of the following graphics cards: NVIDIA GeForce 1000 series or higher, AMD Radeon RX 400 series or higher, or Intel UHD Graphics 600 series or higher.
3. The Windows 10 PC must have the required codecs installed for 10-bit video decoding (for example, HEVC or VP9 codecs).

It is recommended that the latest WDDM 2.4 drivers should be installed on the Windows 10 PC, says Microsoft.

TIP: Here’s how you can enable HDR Playback for Video Streaming apps in Windows 10.