Halo Infinite is one of the first Xbox Series X games with native Dolby Vision gaming support, but it turns out it isn’t working correctly on either the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S.
Vincent Teoh from HDTV Test has discovered that Halo Infinite’s Dolby Vision support results in a flatter, dimmer, and more washed out image than when using HDR10. The black levels are slightly elevated too.
That’s because Halo Infinite’s peak brightness is capped to around 300 to 400 nits when using Dolby Vision, which is significantly lower than what the HDR format can achieve.
The test was carried out on the LG C1, which is capable of a peak brightness of approximately 750 nits. It means that the specular highlights of Halo Infinite’s beautiful futuristic world are noticeably dimmer than they should be, which Teoh demonstrated using a Canon reference monitor to measure the peak nits during gameplay.
You can disable Dolby Vision gaming by heading to Settings > General > TV & display options > Video Modes > and unchecking Dolby Vision for Gaming.
When using HDR10 in Halo Infinite, a new slider appears which lets users control the tone mapping of their display. The default is 50, which results in 1000 nits peak brightness, which is usually a good setting for most HDR displays that don’t have HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group).
If you have an LG OLED with HGiG enabled, you’ll want to target the hard clipping point of 800 nits. Teoh recommends using an HDR value in Halo Infinite of 34 to achieve an output of 800 nits, which will take tone mapping away from the display and instead rely on the game and Xbox Series X.
If you can’t disable tone mapping on your display, stick with the default HDR setting of 50.
Analysis: Dolby Vision gaming support will likely improve
Back in September 2021, Microsoft announced that more than 100 next-gen HDR-capable titles will support Dolby Vision in the near future. The HDR format will also improve thousands of classic HDR10 and Auto HDR games to deliver a richer HDR experience. Developers can opt to add Dolby Vision for gaming support via the tools provided by Microsoft or by implementing the technology directly into a game's engine.
However, it isn’t a huge surprise that Dolby Vision gaming isn’t quite working as it should on Halo Infinite. The HDR format was only introduced a few months ago, and just like with HDR10, it will take a while until developers learn how to utilize it properly.
Still, with Halo Infinite one of the few Xbox Series X games that supports both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision gaming, it’s disappointing that Dolby Vision isn’t working properly. It’s likely that this problem will be fixed via a patch at a later date, but for now, we’d recommend switching to HDR10 if you haven’t already.
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