Best GTA 5 HDR settings and calibration revealed

GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced or next-gen was released for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on March 15, 2022. The game comes equipped with loads of visual enhancements that make use of the latest hardware on next-gen consoles.

Among these enhancements is the HDR feature. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It is the range of bright and dark tones in a photo or video. The human eye is very perceptive of this, which is why details are visible in both shadows and highlights. The new game lets gamers adjust their HDR levels and this article serves as a guide to get the best results.

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Understanding HDR settings and Calibration for GTA 5

High Dynamic Range can do wonders and liven up any scene (Image via Twitter/Linda)

To calibrate the settings better, understanding the basics is very important. There are two modes, SDR (standard dynamic range) and HDR. The former lights up the image/video neutrally, whereas the latter provides extra brightness to certain elements. HDR does this to make those certain elements pop. This also raises the contrast of the image/video.

GTA gamers on the standard version (not on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S) of the game often complain about the game looking washed out, this is due to SDR. Raising or lowering the in-game or monitor/tv brightness will do nothing. This will either make the game incredibly dark or overly bright, which can hurt eyes.

While understanding the three values, it is important to understand what they do, individually.

• Contrast: This setting pertains to the details visible in darker areas. This does not alter the peak brightness at all.
• Paper White: This pertains to the average picture brightness. Altering it alters all elements of the picture.
• Peak Brightness: This setting deals with the highlights. The certain elements that need to pop are controlled with this.

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How to calibrate the HDR settings

Gamers can start by navigating to the GTA 5 or Online Pause Menu and heading over to the settings tab. From there, going into the video settings menu will reveal the HDR Calibration option. Clicking on that will open up a sample image with three adjustable sliders.

This is the default HDR setting GTA 5 provides in the new game (Image via YouTube/HDTVTest)

The game comes with default HDR settings. They are:

• Contrast: 80
• Paper White: 310
• Peak Brightness: 850

These three values determine the output. It is very important to know that the same settings may yield different results on different monitors/TVs.

The default settings may work, but tweaking them slightly can enhance the visuals. The default settings also tend to wash out the picture a bit too much as it tries to brighten everything. This reduces the effect of HDR as the pop isn't as noticeable.

The optimum range for the three GTA 5 HDR settings are as below:

Contrast: To keep details visible in shadows and darker areas, a value closer to 100 (maximum) yields a more realistic contrast.

Paper White: By default, this setting is quite high and the game looks washed out. As mentioned above, this deals with the overall brightness of the picture. Too high a value will negate the HDR effect. Keeping it at a low value between 120-150 works best.

Peak Brightness: This is the main HDR setting that provides a pop in elements like clouds, bright colors, etc. A value between 800-1000 (depending on the screen) is best.

Note: This article reflects the author's views.