How To Make Your Games Look Better On Xbox Series X Using Dolby Vision

With the rise of High Dynamic Range (HDR), video games have never looked better. Colors pop off the screen, and the dynamic range is so ridiculous that you can be blinded when moving your character from a dark interior to a bright source of light, just as you would in real life. How can it get any better?

Aside from further resolution bumps (8K still hasn't quite taken off) and ongoing improvements to display technology (OLED, anyone?), developers have added another element — Dolby Vision — that will ensure your gaming experience looks as vibrant and realistic as possible. Dolby Vision was once confined to motion pictures on the silver screen, but it's here to spice up your gaming life as well.

Of the gaming console stalwarts, Microsoft has done the most work to deploy this new tech across its latest consoles. Want in? We'll tell you everything you need to know about Dolby Vision for gaming, including how to enable it on your Xbox Series X|S.

Not long ago, the filmmaking industry decided it wanted to reliably and accurately present its content on a wide range of home entertainment screens. Film directors and colorists spend a lot of time perfecting the colors in their craft. According to researcher Andrew Elliot (via Fontiers in Psychology), colors alone can evoke predictable emotions, and many cinematographers use these color theories to record the perfect scene to hit you in the feels.

Dolby Vision's arrival allowed consumers to experience those colors with perfect accuracy, ensuring that viewers could enjoy a film exactly the way the director intended. It's the visual counterpart to Dolby Atmos, which is a surround sound technology that uses spatial audio to deliver immersive, authentic audio. Combined, these two technologies have given consumers much less cause to wander into their local theaters, a boon for everyone given the current health climate.

Now, Dolby Vision has come to video games, ensuring a TV displays accurate colors to give the most lifelike experience possible. "When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver colors never before seen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter and blacks that are 10 times darker," explains Dolby.

In order to use Dolby Vision for gaming on Xbox Series X|S, you'll need an appropriate TV. You'll find that many of the top TVs on the market include the feature as standard. The rare exception is Samsung, which has opted to forego paying the license and instead uses HDR10+, a similar technology that isn't as widely supported, (though there's a petition asking Samsung to change that).

Before you enable Dolby Vision on your console, you'll want to ensure your TV is properly set up to use it. Some TVs limit Dolby Vision support to one or two specific HDMI ports, while others support it on all ports. You might need to head into your TV's settings to enable the feature on the HDMI port you plan to use, as some don't come with the feature enabled by default.

You'll also need an Xbox One X, an Xbox One S, or an Xbox Series X|S, as these are the only gaming consoles on the market that support Dolby Vision for gaming. Finally, you'll need an appropriate game to play it on. Sadly, not all games support Dolby Vision for gaming, but you can find a full list of those titles online if you're interested in checking it out.

If your TV is equipped and ready to go, enabling Dolby Atmos for gaming on the Xbox Series X|S is quite easy. Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Power on your Xbox console and go to Settings.

2. Navigate to General > TV & display options.

   Advertisement

3. Under the "Advanced" label, select Video modes.

4. Make sure to check the box that says "Dolby Vision for Gaming."

If you're not convinced it's enabled, be sure to check your 4K TV details:

1. Open Settings.

2. Navigate to General > TV & display options.

3. Under the "Setup" label, select 4K TV details.

Here, you'll see a full rundown of all the visual technologies your TV supports. If everything is good to go, you may see a green check mark next to Dolby Vision for Gaming, though most people will likely see a yellow caution icon. This typically indicates that there is something wrong and that the feature may function sub optimally. In this case, it's warning you that you may experience increased input lag while using it.