PG32UCDM Console Mode HDR issue

[FallenDeity]

My and other's PG32UCDM monitors have a clipping issue on PC when using the console HDR mode in Windows 11. Currently, the monitor clips at 450 nits in the Maximum Luminance window but it clips correctly in the Max Full Frame Luminance window. Is there a firmware update in the works for this or is this an RMA issue?

[silverbolt81]

Interesting,have you tried to uninstall the graphics driver with DDU and do a clean installation to see if that works?

[Rogex47]

@BiscuitJar and @Richu6
I have tried Horizon Forbidden West a little bit and I think you are both right, it simply depends on the scene itself and the size of the bright area. In the opening scene for example if I look at the clouds I dont see any clipping, the difference between GamingHDR and ConsoleHDR is only the overall brightness but no difference in the details. Howerever in an area with the sun being visible ConsoleHDR is clipping details:

If you compare the left side of the sky towards the sun, you can see that GamingHDR is offering more details over ConsoleHDR, but the clouds on the right side have more or less the same amount of details, at least I didn't notice ConsoleHDR clipping here.

Zoomed in:

I have also tested Forza Motosport.
Previously I could set ingame HDR to 1000nits in ConsoleHDR before the logo became unvisible, now max I can do is 400nits:

 

  

The white area is pretty large in the menu and ConsoleHDR starts clipping at 450nits while previously it was at around 1.100nits similar to GamingHDR and CinemaHDR.

In HDR videos it seems like ConsoleHDR can reach 1.000nits peak brightness (could not measure it yet) but in scenes with high APL it starts to overexposure and looks more like HDR400. Pay attention to the sun and the shadows on the sunflower:

So far my impression is that ConsoleHDR is behaving like Gaming/CinemaHDR in small APL scenes but more like TB400 in high APL scenes and this is what I personally wanted. The overall brightness of the image in ConsoleHDR is significantly higher compared to FW103 at cost of accuracy/details in some scenes. Personally I prefer FW104 over FW103 and I don't mind clipping/overexposure in high APL scenes, because to be honest if I would look directly at the sun in real life I would rather be blinded than seeing every shadow and every detail, hence to some extent overexposure in some scenes is more realistic than seeing every little detail.

Personally I am happy with the update and appreciate the work done so far by the engeneering team aswell as by the mods of the forum @Silent_Scone.

[silverbolt81]

I dunno guys,clipping at 400 nits in games is not an acceptable solution for me...

Does somebody own Cyberpunk 2077 to test it there on the neon signs.

This is a good test to see if the highlights clip,some signs are not readable if there is clipping and they are blown out.

[Arhat1984]

I think the beta FW is a step in right direction, with patience I think they solve all issues in due time. I suspect because of burn-issues they are very cautious. 

[Rogex47]

I do have Cyberpunk 2077.
My ingame HDR settings are:
Peak brightness: 1.000
Paperwhite: 250
Color: 0.7

All neon signs are readable. Depending on the size of the neon size on the screen it might look slighly overexposured and softer in ConsoleHDR compared to GamingHDR. It is not ideal to take photos of the screen but this is the best I can do I guess:

Looking at the monitor in person I would say that the 24h sign on the left side does look a little softer in ConsoleHDR but overall both modes look fairly similar.

Another example:
In GamingHDR the lines on the lamp are more pronounced than in ConsoleHDR but the overall picture of ConsoleHDR is brighter.
In the end it is a trade-off: More overall brightness with less details or less overall brightness but more details in the highlights.
At least with FW104 there are more options to choose from. If you find ConsoleHDR to be overbrightened you can still either adjust the ingame settings or swtich to GamingHDR/CinemaHDR.

[packene]

Hard to tell if that is clipping or just dynamic range compression in the highlights.

[RogLover1221]

I don't like FW104 like @Richu6  says erverthing is blown out. I am back on FW103 it is much better.

[Richu6]

For me clipping is nothing i can accept!...

And gaming or cinema mode i dont like the look of it...

For me console mode on fw 103 is still the best HDR experience!

Nice popping small highlits 1000 nits bright, and no clipping.

Yes of course the overall image is less bright, but that does not bother me. For me its everytime bright enough.

And the small higlits pop even moore!

I hope if they make a new final firmware they dont destroy console mode for people like me.

They would better add new modes..for example a "Console mode bright" version. So everyone can choose what he likes moore.

[packene]

Its a beta firmware, relax.

And to your point, at least you CAN choose the mode. On AMD there are no modes, what you see is what you get. And with 103, the full-screen brightness is atrocious.

[BiscuitJar]

Hopefully ASUS can just adjust the ABL tonemapping curve for peak highlight values so that it mitigates clipping without lowering mid-low tone brigthness for high APL scenes.

I'm kind of worried that they might end up just lowering the overall brightness and as I prefer how the current firmware is now as bright as TrueBlack 400 mode, if they lower it again then I'll be stuck on beta firmware permanently. But then again, clipping is solvable with tonemapping adjustments, that is what tonemapping is about. When ABL starts limiting brightness there must be some kind of tonemapping algorithm at play to ensure the image behaves as expected, but how much control the devs have over it I don't know.