YouTube app for Xbox consoles can now display videos in HDR

2 min. read

Published on January 22, 2021

published on January 22, 2021

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The YouTube app for Xbox consoles can finally display videos in High Dynamic Range (HDR), Engadget is reporting today. According to an official support page, all Xbox consoles since the 2016 Xbox One S support HDR playback on YouTube.

Microsoft was the first console maker to bring HDR to consoles with the Xbox One S, but it apparently took some time for YouTube to bring its Xbox app up to speed. YouTube probably isn’t the best place to find high-quality HDR content compared to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, but you should be able to find HDR videos on YouTube pretty easily using search.

Most 4K TVs these days support HDR as well as Dolby Vision, two visual technologies that will display higher contrast with more colors than standard digital video. HDR can make a real difference for videos and games, and it’s good to see the YouTube app on Xbox finally supporting this format.

If you’ve enabled HDR in the TV & display options of your console’s setting, your TV should automatically switch to its HDR mode when watching videos or playing games in HDR. Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X and Series S also come with a new “Auto HDR” setting that uses an algorithm to apply an HDR treatment to SDR games, and the results can be pretty impressive.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.