The Auto HDR feature that Xbox Series X users have enjoyed since launching the console in November comes on Windows PC Games, boosting approximately 1,000 games to high dynamic range lighting and color.
HDR offers a deeper contrast, a richer color brightness and a wider range of colors to an image. Of course, you need an HDR-enabled monitor to take advantage of this. Original HDR games have already been released for computers; Auto HDR enhances the imagery of games mastered in standard dynamic range with DirectX 11 or DirectX 12.
Auto HDR for PC is currently a preview feature available in the Windows Insider application (join the application here if you do not have access). When fully unrolled, PC gamers with an HDR-equipped monitor can access the feature with a switch on the Windows HD Color Settings page.
Microsoft program manager Hannah Fisher notes in the announcement that an Auto HDR image is not as detailed as native HDR games, but it is a “significantly improved experience compared to regular SDR,” Fisher writes. This ‘luminance heatmap’ gives an idea of the difference in contrast and color range between SDR, Auto HDR and native HDR:
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Image: Microsoft DirectX Developer Blog
At the moment, Auto HDR also has a ‘for development and evaluation only’ feature that enables a split screen mode that displays both original, SDR-rendered content and the Auto HDR image side by side. Fisher says the trick is “for advanced users only” but gives instructions in her blog post to make it work.