Artifacts and banding - darker colour problems in HDR ("HDR Gaming" mode)

[JacekJagosz]

My brand new monitor suffers from terrible artifacting, but only in "HDR Gaming - Freesync" mode (I want to use it, because it only supports FreeSync). Dark colours become completely black and there are lots of artifacts around slightly less dark ones. Problem with HDR turned on in Windows persists with FreeSync both off and on, 60 and 75 FPS. Everything is fine in "VESA 600" and "HDR Video" mode.
My best guess is monitor in problematic mode identifies itself as HDR 1000 not HDR 600, because in Assassin's Creed Odyssey I can set maximum HDR brightness, and reducing it from 1000 gets the image darker. This would explain why I am loosing shades of gray.
This looks like a software problem. I would be very grateful for any help!

[Jeet_singh]

@JacekJagosz,

Thank you for posting this on HP Support Forums!

I see from your post that you're having issues related to display resolution. Don't worry we'll work together to help you find a solution.

Let's start off by performing a Hard reset on the notebook: 

Before power resetting your computer, do the following:

1. Disconnect or remove all peripheral devices. Start up the laptop and test the computer by itself, and then reconnect one peripheral device at a time.

2. Turn over the computer and look for a battery compartment door.

   • If there is a battery compartment, use the steps in Reset a laptop with a removable battery.

   • If there is no battery compartment, use the steps in Reset a laptop with a sealed or non-removable battery.

 I recommend to restore the BIOS defaults.You could restore the BIOS with this document selecting the reloading the BIOS default settings. That way it will look at the Hardware installed on the Notebook.

Once done, restart the computer and check.

Next thing, I would suggest here is to check the settings: Setting the graphics processor for one software program or game

Please ensure you click on Global settings rather than program settings. 

In the figure 5: Program settings, please select Use global settings (Auto-Select: NVIDIA GPU)

Alternatively, I would suggest here is to Run Windows Updates troubleshooter -

Download and install the troubleshooter from this link.

Now try to perform Windows Updates - 

1) In the search box, type and open Windows Updates. 
2) Check for updates. 
3) If the updates are available, click on install and restart the computer. 

If the issue persists, I would suggest here is to uninstall the display drivers on your PC from device manager.

Right-Click on start button> click device manager> expand display adapters>then select the display drivers that are listed and right-click on it and uninstall the drivers.

Check the box that states delete the software for this device.

Now restart the computer and then update the Bios, Chipset and graphics card drivers on your PC either from our HP support website, using this link or download it using HP Support Assistant

Download and install HP support assistant on your PC. It should automatically download and install the latest updates and drivers for your PC.

Refer this link to know how to use HP support assistant.

Could you please respond to this post with the details and with the results of the troubleshooting as this will help me in further assisting you.

Eagerly waiting for your response!

that said, If the information I've provided was helpful, 

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[JacekJagosz]

I have been troublehooting it for more than two weeks, and already did all you said.

But I finally found the reason myself. Local dimming is disabled in "HDR gaming - FreeSync" mode! It adjusts backlight backlight in zones, so it greatly improves contrast for HDR and is necessary for HDR 600 standart this monitor is certified for. So basicially with FreeSync enabled our monitor becomes HDR 400 instead of HDR 600. If it notified the system and GPU about that, it would just displayed a bit worse image. But it doesn't, so it has to squish higher dynamic range to a smaller one, as without local dimming it can't get parts of the monitor as bright and as dark. This is why there are artifacts, washed out colours and loss of dark details.

So this is not a problem with my monitor, but a design decision, as it probably would be way harder for the monitor to both controll the backlight so precisely and adapt the refresh rate. So I get why HP did that.

But anyways, this is not what I paid for! In the description this was VESA HDR 600 certified and FreeSync monitor. And I can get either that HDR range in "VESA HDR 600" mode, or FreeSync working and broken and lower pec HDR in "HDR Gaming - FreeSync" mode. I would be completely fine with that, if it was stated anywhere in the description. I ask for clarification. I will still leave review in many places as I can to inform future buyers about it.

[Jeet_singh]

@JacekJagosz,

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number.

Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.

[carewolf]

In the "HDR Gaming - Freesync" mode, I can't even enable HDR. I can only enable HDR in the VESA600 and HDR modes.