Proper HDR monitors are coming to PC. High dynamic range, to bin the acronym, makes each of your pixels work harder, displaying a better contrast between deep blacks and bright colours.
It’s supposedly the next big thing, and it’s something the new wave of mid-gen console upgrades are latching onto. On PC, there’s not currently much to support it, even if you do have a capable card and monitor. Luckily, YouTube are integrating the tech, so at least you’ll have something.
You’ll need a pretty beefy GPU too, so check out our list of the best graphics cards.
I lack a HDR-capable console, but I got a new 4K, HDR TV today, so I spent the day watching games on YouTube. You can now do the same thing with your 4K HDR monitor. Don’t get too excited.
“Starting today, you can watch YouTube videos in HDR on supported devices, such as HDR TVs with the new Chromecast Ultra, and soon on all 2016 Samsung SUHD and UHD TVs,” YouTube said, via MCV.
“Starting today, any creator can upload HDR videos to YouTube. To make sure creators can tell awesome stories with even more colour, we’ve been working with companies across the industry. We’ve worked with the DaVinci Resolve team to make uploading HDR just as simple as SDR videos to YouTube.”
Expect more HDR monitor options to pop up over the next year or so, if you’re considering taking the plunge. When we spoke to Xbox boss Phil Spencer earlier this year, he seemed keen on more PC developers supporting the new tech.