Reshade/HDR Query

[DM_Violator]

I've recently been using reshade with Elite Dangerous Ultimate Reshade mod, this includes the HDR shader (fake HDR). Previously I was using the nVidia App to force HDR, which looked quite nice I thought.

Question is, with an HDR shader applied, should I continue with the nVidia HDR on or off? I get it's never going to be proper HDR in ED, but I want it to look decent without messing up too many visuals.

 

[Morbad]

HDR injectors like Windows' Auto HDR, NVIDIA's RTX HDR, and a variety of other methods actually increase the render target bit depth.

The shader I think you're talking about still outputs an SDR signal and is much more limited. It may still achive the subjective visual effect you're looking for, but you can almost certainly do better via other methods.

Personally, I wouldn't use the latter type shaders at all, unless I had exhausted what is possible through manipulating the game's own tonemapper. Increasing the depth of the render targets to create a true HDR signal for an HDR display can significantly expand the dynamic range, but the game's tonemapper should still be tuned in conjunction with this.

There is a ton of subjectivity as to what looks best, but I usually start by making sure everything looks as 'correct' as possible (e.g. I can see what I'm supposed to be able to see, but not more, without crushing, blowing out, or over saturating anythng) within the dynamic range (peak HDR brightness and color gamut) I have available, then tune to taste, if needed.