Anyone use both a XDR in HDR and Studio Display in SDR?

[dragoon2745]

I currently have a 27 inch Intel iMac from 2020 and pair it with a LG 27GP950-B monitor. When enabling HDR on the LG monitor, everything looks dull and awful. I think it's because Mac isn't rendering the UI correctly to adapt to HDR. If I replaced this setup with a Mac Studio along with one XDR display set to HDR mode and one Studio Display that can only do SDR, will the Studio Display look normal or look awful like my LG monitor? I'm hoping since both monitors would be Apple, MacOS will display SDR and HDR correctly.

 

[DennisdeWit]

I haven’t seen the Pro Display XDR in person, but I did go to an APR to see the Studio Display. Though it is not an HDR monitor, the colors look really nice. Of course, the blacks are not like it should be on an XDR monitor, but I can tell you that 600 nits and a glossy screen do look nice on the Apple Studio Display!

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Do what you will but it’s widely acknowledged that for monitors and TVs that can run HDR or other higher dynamic range’s it’s best to leave them in SDR until a source that is programmed for it needs it.

There’s a reason Apple won’t let you run in constant XDR/HDR as default on their displays and why it’s always best to match dynamic range on TVs. Outside of movies/videos the world runs in SDR 99% of the time and you’ll get more accurate colors than a blown out high dynamic image that was never created with that intent.

 

[dragoon2745]

Do what you will but it’s widely acknowledged that for monitors and TVs that can run HDR or other higher dynamic range’s it’s best to leave them in SDR until a source that is programmed for it needs it.

There’s a reason Apple won’t let you run in constant XDR/HDR as default on their displays and why it’s always best to match dynamic range on TVs. Outside of movies/videos the world runs in SDR 99% of the time and you’ll get more accurate colors than a blown out high dynamic image that was never created with that intent.

If you own a MacBook Pro with an HDR display, how does this work? Does the user run it in SDR most of the time and switch to HDR when needed or is it on HDR mode all the time?

 

[Chesapeaked]

Hi Dragoon2745,

I'm using both the Pro Display XDR and LG Ultrafine 5K monitor. I use the monitors for photoshop, lightroom, FCP and casual web browsing.

In my day to day use, they look very similar in terms of display -- I'd give the XDR more points for:

Better color representation and contrast (the LG tends to oversaturate a bit compared to the XDR. Profiling the LG helps - I have an i1 for that).

Text on the XDR looks a bit darker and more crisp (due to better black levels).

Regarding HDR on the web/browsing, I use Chrome to view HDR images / pictures. Safari is lagging in that area.

I don't think the LG looks washed out compared to the XDR - however, I would say that is a matter of perception and preference regarding "how they look side by side / in terms of displaying content" -- I'm very happy with using both displays.

You might check out Greg Benz's web site on HDR for some insights and explanations on HDR in photography and the web. I've provided a link below:

Create and edit true HDR (High Dynamic Range) images - Greg Benz Photography

B&H is currently offering an outstanding deal: $200 off the brand new ASUS PA32UCXR monitor, which is a stunning 1600 nits monitor with 2304 local dimming zones (4x the Pro Display XDR), automated calibration, and single cable charging/pass-through. I recently bought one of these to test and...

gregbenzphotography.com

The examples on Greg Benz's site look much better on my XDR vs my LG via Chrome. In Safari, the difference is much less noticeable on both the XDR and LG.