Auto High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode upscales older titles automatically. In other words, older games have better visual performance than before without developers needing to do anything. It’s a technology that has been used on smart TVs for some time. Before the announcement and launch of Windows 11, Microsoft brought Auto HDR to the Xbox Game Bar in Windows 10. It was then brought along to the upgrade to Windows 11. However, Microsoft says the new Auto HDR features for the Game Bar are exclusive to Windows 11. One of the new features is an Intensity Slider for Auto HDR. As the name suggests, it allows users to have deeper control over color dynamics.
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“Game Bar Auto HDR Intensity Slider Available to all Windows 11 users today if you download latest Xbox Game Bar from the Microsoft Store. The Auto HDR intensity slider lets you control how vivid and bright you want the colors in your game to be with Auto HDR. In games with extremely bright or dim colors, you can adjust the slider to your liking so you can get the best Auto HDR experience. If you drag the slider all the way to the left, you have the minimum intensity, which is the equivalent of turning Auto HDR off, and if you drag the slider all the way to the right you have the full intensity of Auto HDR. To open Xbox Game Bar you can use the shortcut Win+G. To use the intensity slider, navigate to the Xbox Game Bar, then click the Settings button. Within Settings, click on the Gaming features section. Within that section you will see a button that says ‘Adjust HDR Intensity.’ When you click on that button a pop-up window with an intensity slider will appear. If you want it to stay in your Game Bar overlay, you can pin it down by pressing the pin button at the top right. This lets you control the intensity of the colors in your game. Note that this slider only applies to games with Auto HDR and not games with existing native HDR. The level of intensity is saved per game, meaning that you can set a certain level of intensity for AHDR for a particular game and it will not affect any Auto HDR settings in other games. The next time you play the same game, the Auto HDR slider will remember your previous setting. Below is an example in Minecraft Dungeons of adjusting the intensity of Auto HDR in the game. Notice how the red of the tarp changes in intensity. Game Bar Auto HDR Checkbox Available to all Windows 11 users today if you download latest Xbox Game Bar from the Microsoft Store. In addition to the Windows Settings app, you can also now turn on or off Auto HDR by just accessing the Xbox Game Bar within your game. Navigate to the Xbox Game Bar, then click the Settings button. Within Settings, click on the Gaming features section. Within that section you will see a checkbox that says Use Auto HDR with supported games. Make sure it is checked if you want to use Auto HDR and unchecked if you do not want to use Auto HDR. For your changes to take place, you will need to relaunch the game. To access these new Xbox Game Bar features, you need to have a version of Xbox Game Bar that is newer than 5.721. You can download the latest version of Xbox Game Bar through the Windows Store. Multi-GPU Compatibility Available to Windows Insiders In the last year, we’ve added Auto HDR support for multi-discrete-GPU setups such as Nvidia’s Scalable Link Interface (SLI) and AMD’s CrossFire in DirectX12 games. In other words, if you have a set-up that takes advantage of multiple GPUs, you can now use Auto HDR in more games. This feature is currently available in the latest Windows Insider Program build in the Dev and Beta channels. Click here to find out how you can join the Windows Insider Program. Customize Auto HDR Notifications Available to Windows Insiders Finally, we heard your feedback about excessive Auto HDR notifications. If you are finding the notifications for Auto HDR distracting to your game play, you can turn off these notifications in the settings. Open the Windows Settings app, then navigate to System, and then to Notifications. There you will see a list of Notifications from apps and other senders. Find the one for Auto HDR and switch the toggle to Off if you want the notifications off. We also provide the option to change the settings so that the notification remains on but does not play a sound or show notification banners. This feature is currently available in the latest Windows Insider Program build in the Dev and Beta channels.” Tip of the day: Windows Update downloads can often be frustrating because they are several gigabytes in size and can slow down your internet connection. That means your device may work with reduced performance while the update is downloading. In our guide, we show you how to limit bandwidth for Windows Update downloads, so they won’t bother you again.
