YouTube is finally enabling HDR support on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles. HDR support works on existing Xbox One S / X devices and new consoles like the Xbox Series X and Series S. As long as you have a TV or monitor capable of displaying HDR videos, the YouTube app will now automatically switch to content output HDR.
The YouTube app on Xbox has never been compatible with HDR before, although HDR has been available on PlayStation 4 since 2019. Both PS5 and Xbox Series X were released in November without YouTube HDR support and are not yet available on PS5 – a step back from what was available on PS4.
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Engadget notes, you can confirm that the HDR is playing correctly from the YouTube app on the Xbox by activating the “statistics for nerds” panel (see above). Many TVs also display an HDR prompt or switch to HDR mode when content is played.
Now, we just need more HDR content to be available on YouTube. Some of the best HDR content on YouTube are still test videos that were uploaded years ago. We’re starting to see more trailers and videos with HDR options, but the vast majority of creators don’t upload HDR content.