I've had my Nintendo Switch for seven years now and I unfortunately have to admit: I don't play with it on the TV very often, although I do enjoy it with comparatively graphically complex action games likewould like to do.
And that's not just because the low resolution of the games looks pretty washed out on a 4K TV, but also because many contemporary TV features are not supported by the hybrid handheld. Above alland most Nintendo games would benefit massively from this, as I found out in a special test.
HDR is my absolute favorite TV feature and it would also suit the Nintendo Switch 2
When I bought an OLED television a few months ago, it was immediately clear to me which function made the biggest difference for me:HDR.
On the PS5, for example, meCompletely blown away with its bright colors and contrasts, it was on the Xboxwith its varied and brightly lit levels.
With its intensely colored effects and lush green vegetation, every Horizon part is a real feast for the eyes in HDR.
... and then there is the Nintendo Switch.It tempts you with colorful games and they look passable on an OLED television, but that certain something is missing'Punch'.
In direct comparison with real HDR titles, colors in Switch games are significantly paler and have less contrast, deep black is rarely visible and bright image elements are not as dazzlingly bright.
To put it bluntly, games like Super Mario Odyssey, Metroid Prime Remastered and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe lack appeal. And a test with a 4K scaler for retro platforms showed me how good these games could look.
The RetroTink 4K brings the ability to elicit 'HDR' from any game based on the standard SDR color information. The feature is calledHLGand works similarly to Xbox and PlayStation's Auto HDR features. Light colors are emphasized and displayed with intense brightness, while dark colors serve as a contrast.
This is actually what HLG is:
HLG (short forHybridLandGamma) was developed by the BBC - the public broadcaster in Great Britain - to drive HDR displays with an SDR signal. Brightness information is adjusted so that a higher dynamic range can be displayed on HDR screens and SDR screens can manage without color gamut errors.
I played with the HLG function for several hours and have to say:Switch games could look so much better on an HDR screenthe hardware would have such a function!
Unfortunately, capturing the magic in pictures is hardly possible due to SDR restrictions on the internet, but I'll try with a few comparison photos. About here, in which I watched a picturesque sunset:
HDR SDRIt is not entirely possible to show the difference between SDR and HDR, so I took photos with my cell phone camera to record the difference. With Super Mario Odyssey, the gain from HLG was enormous!
InOn the other hand, the pale blue color is clearly highlighted and the overall picture is enhanced with more contrasts:
HDR SDRWith HLG, the color scheme of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze looks much more balanced, even if the shades are a bit very dark.
And shaded areas also benefit from the additional dynamism, forming strong contrasts,like here at the house in:
HLG HDR SDRShadows on the flowers, the house and the characters create an impression of more depth in the image with HLG.
It looks very similar, for exampleandIn short: colors and contrasts are much more impressive in pretty much every game, even though the games were not actually adapted for HDR and HLG also has serious disadvantages.
For example, white screen displays are displayed much too brightly, shadows are usually a bit too dark, bright image areas such as the sun and surrounding clouds clip into each other and colors are largely slightly distorted. It's hard to imagine what would be possible with real HDR...
HLG on televisions
Unfortunately, my Samsung television doesn't allow an HLG setting, so I had to switch to the RetroTink 4K. However, some other manufacturers allow it by changing the gamma settingsHLGselects.
However, on some TVs you have to switch off the game mode to reduce lag or the function is hidden. For example, if you have an LG television, you can activate HLG by going to the picture menu and entering 1113111 on the remote control. Then select the gamma curve for “HLG” under “EOTF”.
So you can test HLG with the Switch, but on other consoles you should, for example, select Auto-HDR instead of HLG, as the fine-tuning from Sony and Microsoft is much better tailored to games.
Real HDR is needed for the Switch 2!
Unsurprisingly, HDR is pretty high on my wish list for the Nintendo Switch 2. And I am convinced that it will also work on the new Nintendo console, because the HDMI standard has developed significantly in the meantime, HDR So it should be technically much easier to implement.
As a reminder:The Nintendo Switch docking station only supported HDMI 1.4 at the time, but HDR actually requires HDMI 2.0 components. These were later also available in the docking station of the OLED switch, but they were not used and the newer handheld model does not have an HDR mode either.
The Steam Deck, for example, shows that HDR can also look really good on handhelds with an OLED screen.
PC games with HDR support can also display their stylish contrasts on a handheld, as GameStar found out in the test:
Technically, on the Switch 2 there should no longer be any restrictions, at least in docking mode, on the contrary. Because HDR doesn't take up any hardware resources, it's practically the "cheapest" graphics upgrade a game or console can get.
In handheld mode it looks a little more complicated.According to current rumors, an LCD screen is supposed to be installed in the Switch 2 again and HDR cannot be contained on it because the backlight seems too bright for deep black and clear contrasts.
You can find an overview of everything that is supposedly built into the Switch 2 here:
Hopefully at least in docking mode I can finally get Mario and Co. intrue HDRenjoy with all its advantages. There will hardly be a better and easier graphics upgrade!
Which TV function do you want most for the Nintendo Switch 2? Would it also be HDR or rather 4K or even VRR?
