Skip to main content

YouTube finally enables HDR support on Xbox consoles

YouTube finally enables HDR support on Xbox consoles

/

We’re still waiting on YouTube to enable HDR on the PS5

Share this story

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

YouTube is finally enabling HDR support on Microsoft’s Xbox consoles. The HDR support works across 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 output HDR content.

The YouTube app on Xbox has never supported HDR previously, despite HDR being available on the PlayStation 4 since 2019. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched in November without YouTube HDR support, and it’s still not available on the PS5 yet — a step back from what was available on PS4.

The YouTube app on Xbox Series S.
The YouTube app on Xbox Series S.

Engadget notes you can confirm that HDR is outputting correctly from the YouTube app on Xbox by enabling the “stats for nerds” panel (see above). A lot of TVs will also display a HDR prompt or switch to a HDR mode when content is played.

Now we just need more HDR content to become available on YouTube. Some of the best HDR content on YouTube is still test videos that were uploaded years ago. We’re starting to see more trailers and videos come with HDR options, but the vast majority of creators don’t upload content with HDR.