HDR file viewer?

Hi,

I've been a user of your very splendid Directory Opus for a while now
(20 years?) and can't imagine using a PC without it.

Just a quick question - do you have any plans to incorporate an HDR file viewer (.jxr files) at any point? I mean something that will display them in proper HDR format (on an HDR monitor, obviously) both in thumbnail but more importantly via double-click.

I've been using a big HDR monitor for about six months now, and can take perfectly good screenshots via the Xbox Game Bar, and this produces both an HDR ".jxr" file and a simultaneous SDR ".png" file. THe only way to view the .jxr properly is via MS's lousy viewer program, but that will only do one file at a time, you can't just work your way through a list with it. You either have to start a new instance manually for each file or do a "File - Load" to get the next file (which loads a new instance of the viewer anyway).

It'd be great if you guys would get DO to do this. Icing on the cake.

cheers,

Andy

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Possibly in the future, but not the very near future. Part of the problem is HDR is still a complete mess in terms of both Windows and desktop monitors, as well as the file formats.

We have recently learned how to make Microsoft's viewer allow you to go to other files when launched from something other than File Explorer, and we will be making that work at some point in the nearer term. (Can't say exactly when, as it's still new and we're experimenting with the API.)

Any update on this? Chrome supports HDR on Windows without issue now.

The new Auto Colour Management API means you don't have to worry about any of the mapping yourself, you just pass everything to Windows via the DisplayInformation class in WinAppSDK.

I’m still waiting for an HDR monitor suitable for desktop use (i.e. not OLED, as great as it is for games and TV) that isn’t complete garbage.

Some are meant to come out this year, if we believe the monitor industry (I’ll believe it when I see it).

A couple of years ago I bought some LG 27" 4k ones on sale as the new model was coming out. The HDR effect is moderate but it does work, and the picture is otherwise excellent when calibrated. Not quite pro photography grade, but I do amateur photograph and a lot of CAD/software development on them.

I might get an OLED when prices come down, but you don't need one to test HDR. These were around €150.

The HDR on those monitors is in name only, IMO (and that of monitor reviewers). I have screens that can take an HDR signal and tell Windows they are HDR, but the results are so bad it’s better to run them in SDR mode.

(I have an OLED as well, with exceptional HDR, but it’s not suited to desktop use. And even then Windows is kept in SDR mode except when playing a fullscreen game or movie, because turning HDR on wrecks the Windows desktop. Everything goes out of calibration and looks washed out. You can’t even take screenshots anymore (without them looking like they went through a posterisation filter). The whole thing is still a trash fire. Somehow Windows isn’t even caught up to the PS4, which could at least take screenshots and tone map them properly back to SDR.)

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I know the HDR effect isn't great, I'm just saying that if you need a monitor for development they are cheap and readily available.