[MuonGold]

You suggest that Kodi is broken because it automatically engages HDR only when HDR video is played and disengages HDR mode when HDR video is finished?

I don't suggest HDR is broken at all.  What I propose is misunderstood again.  I simply propose Kodi exit in the mode it started in, this is all.  Kodi clearly leaves the display in SDR regardless of the content it plays.  No other app or program does this, only Kodi

[brazen1]

I don't suggest HDR is broken at all.

Nor has anyone else?  But you have suggested over and over that Kodi is broken.

I simply propose Kodi exit in the mode it started in

That would be ignorant and break the entire working process.  

Kodi clearly leaves the display in SDR regardless of the content it plays.

Wrong.  Kodi switches to HDR when HDR is played.  When finished, Kodi returns to SDR as it should.  To remain in HDR mode would clearly be ignorant because the Windows desktop is designed in SDR as is every other app including the junk your trying to use in a way it wasn't designed for.  We all realize you want your display to remain in HDR because the other programs you use require it.  Problem is... EVERYTHING else is broken in the mean time.  Clearly, your other program(s) are junk because they force you to make up for their shortcomings and you want to avoid that manual laborious task of switching the Windows HDR toggle because Kodi CORRECTLY disengages it when HDR video is finished.  That is never going to happen.

No other app or program does this, only Kodi

There are other programs that handle when HDR should engage and when it shouldn't?  Your displays internal switching for example.  Plug in media via USB.  If it's HDR, it will switch to that mode and when playback is finished it will switch back to SDR.  Did all the display manufacturers get it wrong too?   The API's from GPU manufactures supplied the means to handle HDR/SDR switching for developers to use as did MS Windows API.  They certainly didn't intend for devices to remain stuck in the wrong dynamic range.  That's the whole point.  Knowing when to engage HDR and when not to automatically via the metadata.   madVR auto switches too.  There's a setting for it.  Kodi and madVR are leaders in the industry for what they do because they went the extra mile to develop and code above and beyond.  Those that didn't are what's broken.  They rely on the 'dummy' switch and the task is passed on to the user... like it or not.

[yeahme49]

As a workaround for applications and games that don't toggle HDR properly, I use https://github.com/Codectory/AutoActions. You can have it monitor for applications opening and toggle Windows HDR on then toggle it back off when it closes. That way you can keep Windows HDR off and it gets enabled when you need it.

[MuonGold]

I don't suggest HDR is broken at all.

Nor has anyone else?  But you have suggested over and over that Kodi is broken.

I simply propose Kodi exit in the mode it started in

That would be ignorant and break the entire working process.  

Kodi clearly leaves the display in SDR regardless of the content it plays.

Wrong.  Kodi switches to HDR when HDR is played.  When finished, Kodi returns to SDR as it should.  To remain in HDR mode would clearly be ignorant because the Windows desktop is designed in SDR as is every other app including the junk your trying to use in a way it wasn't designed for.  We all realize you want your display to remain in HDR because the other programs you use require it.  Problem is... EVERYTHING else is broken in the mean time.  Clearly, your other program(s) are junk because they force you to make up for their shortcomings and you want to avoid that manual laborious task of switching the Windows HDR toggle because Kodi CORRECTLY disengages it when HDR video is finished.  That is never going to happen.

No other app or program does this, only Kodi

There are other programs that handle when HDR should engage and when it shouldn't?  Your displays internal switching for example.  Plug in media via USB.  If it's HDR, it will switch to that mode and when playback is finished it will switch back to SDR.  Did all the display manufacturers get it wrong too?   The API's from GPU manufactures supplied the means to handle HDR/SDR switching for developers to use as did MS Windows API.  They certainly didn't intend for devices to remain stuck in the wrong dynamic range.  That's the whole point.  Knowing when to engage HDR and when not to automatically via the metadata.   madVR auto switches too.  There's a setting for it.  Kodi and madVR are leaders in the industry for what they do because they went the extra mile to develop and code above and beyond.  Those that didn't are what's broken.  They rely on the 'dummy' switch and the task is passed on to the user... like it or not.

I do appreciate your enthusiasm for Kodi and the attempts to shed additional light on this subject but holy smokes no, still not getting it.  Test it yourself with two simple tests. 

1) Turn on HDR in Windows.  Open Kodi and play any content.  Then close Kodi.  You'll find the HDR option in windows disabled.  
2) Turn on HDR in Windows.  Open Kodi and close it without playing any content.  You'll find the HDR option in windows enabled.

Regardless of your opinions about whether HDR should be on or off prior to opening Kodi, this is the choice of the operator.  The discrepancy in the way Kodi operates is messy in itself.  My proposal is very simple and suggests Kodi remember the mode the display is in when Kodi opens and restore it to the way it found it when it closes.

[MuonGold]

As a workaround for applications and games that don't toggle HDR properly, I use https://github.com/Codectory/AutoActions. You can have it monitor for applications opening and toggle Windows HDR on then toggle it back off when it closes. That way you can keep Windows HDR off and it gets enabled when you need it.

While I'm not interested in fixing anything except Kodi, my HDR display needs to remain in HDR always and this is incredible thank you!   This is nearly perfect and what a cool project.  I simply set the action to enable HDR when Kodi closes and bam!  Problem solved

[Klojum]

Thread marked solved.

[ezechiel1917]

I tried Windows version and HDR playback some time ago and was also surprised with its SDR/HDR switching behavior.
Not sure why, but I encountered a situation where after exiting Kodi, Windows was in HDR mode (while originally HDR was off when starting Kodi)
Maybe it was because of not proper exit during HDR playback, not really sure why it happened, but it was annoying to have Windows switched to HDR mode until I ran kodi again and played HDR video and stopped it.


I agree with MuonGold that options to start / exit Kodi in mode user expects would be very welcomed addition to Kodi.
Something like:

When starting Kodi set Windows HD color mode to: Keep Windows settings / HDR on / HDR off
When exiting Kodi set Windows HD color mode to: Use HDR mode detected on Kodi startup / HDR on / HDR off

This would pretty much handle every scenario possible.

[brazen1]

Maybe it was because of not proper exit during HDR playback

Maybe eh?  That's a massively important criteria.

This would pretty much handle every scenario possible.

Except the proper handling to always, always, turn Windows HDR off when HDR video is finished playing.

[scott967]

Except the proper handling to always, always, turn Windows HDR off when HDR video is finished playing.

?

Surely the requirement would be that desktop would be restored with same resolution/frame rate/SDR-HDR settings in effect when a program launches when a program exits, unless the intent of the program is to provide desktop graphics management.

scott s.
.

[brazen1]

I've given this more thought.  I suppose right or wrong it should always be a users choice.  Kodi should return to the desktop as it found it regardless if a video was played. 

Currently, with Windows HDR engaged, the Kodi GUI presents incorrectly understanding some users don't care.  I would hope if this was implemented, SDR vs HDR mode for SDR would continue to be metadata selected automatically and not play SDR in HDR mode.  The current behavior is to automatically correct from HDR mode to SDR mode when SDR video starts.  If that was retained I see no real problem exiting any video and/or quitting Kodi and switching the display to HDR because it is the users choice.

[MuonGold]

A bit more info on this.  In my case I have 4 monitors.  I often turn off some displays to save energy using the physical "off" button on the monitor or via another cool app called UltraMon.  Only the top LG C1 display 4 is HDR capable, the others are Samsung ips panels. I found AutoActions and Kodi often confuse, or Windows is incorrectly reporting, the monitor numbers.  Windows still see's all the display devices, they just appear small in display settings if they are off.  Depending on which is on or off, Kodi decides to open on the top monitor, other times, the bottom, sometimes the right or left even and remembers sometimes the wrong monitor so I'm often having to move Kodi around in it's settings.  Obviously this is a new can of worms but does have some relevance to the temporary solution.  Really depends on the state the monitors are in when waking from sleep or at startup.  In any event, AutoActions wasn't turning HDR on all the time on the top monitor when I close Kodi.  Sometimes it decided to turn HDR on for display 3 or 2 or 1, even though Kodi was actually displaying on the LG display.  Basically, both Kodi and AutoActions were confused as to which monitor was which.  To resolve, setting AutoActions to flip HDR on for all monitors when Kodi closes was needed.  This works because the top monitor is the only HDR capable display, the other displays simply ignore the HDR request.  Again, completely new can of worms but is significant in my case for the AutoActions workaround.

[stumpalump]

Basically you have a issue with "other" apps because "these" apps doesn't support auto toggle Windows HDR ON/OFF.

You should be complaining to "Cyberpunk" since you have a problem with these app (not Kodi).

The main issue is "Cyberpunk don't do HDR unless is enabled before".

If HDR is disabled and is played HDR content Kodi toggles HDR ON -------> OK
If HDR is enabled and is played SDR content Kodi toggles HDR OFF -------> OK
If HDR is enabled and is displayed Kodi GUI, toggles HDR OFF (because Kodi GUI is SDR) -------> OK

If you opens "Cyberpunk" and HDR is OFF, it does not turn ON ------> NG

https://www.gog.com/forum/cyberpunk_2077..._hdr/post5
https://www.gog.com/forum/cyberpunk_2077..._is_broken

I have to tell you guys I ABSOLUTELY disagree with your views on this issue. The windows desktop looks so much better with HDR enabled all the time, and so does the Kodi GUI btw. It's pretty clear you don't own HDR monitors and don't fully understand how you are fighting change and the future here. Saying that most apps are not HDR is incorrect also. Most apps are now compatible with the HDR API.

HDR toggle simply allows the display to use its full native color range. Pretty much every app looks great with HDR left on, and it's super annoying that Kodi is always leaving it off upon exit. All I want is for Kodi to respect the HDR API toggle. As I already said, even the Kodi GUI looks great with HDR toggled on.

I watch the github commits pretty closely and I'm pretty sure that the guy developing all the HDR stuff (thexai) has already made Kodi HDR compatible. The interface behavior should be changed completely when an HDR display is detected. It would make Kodi run much smoother instead of feeling like it's constantly a bug that I'm waiting to get fixed by installing the latest nightly every day.

[sloany84]

Just experiencing this problem myself.

Regardless of the reason why, I would expect Kodi to respect my Windows configuration.

[izprtxqkft]

Just experiencing this problem myself.

Regardless of the reason why, I would expect Kodi to respect my Windows configuration.

since this is open source why not contribute so that kodi performs exactly how you expect? - https://kodi.tv/contribute

[Klojum]

Regardless of the reason why, I would expect Kodi to respect my Windows configuration.

It's always so refreshing when we receive constructive criticism.