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.
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.
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.)
If I use DOpus and preview a .jxr file all I see a washed out mess. MS Photo (the default viewer) does quite a reasonable job at rendering a HDR image on a non-HDR display, especially compared to what I see in the DOpus preview window.
It would be great if the DOpus image viewer supported JXR format and, for me at least, working tone mapping would be appreciated, even if full HDR support is incomplete.
Could we maybe do a crowd funder to get you an HDR monitor? It wouldn't need to be an expensive one.
I recently bought a laptop with OLED screen and it's lovely, but for development just a basic LED backlit monitor should do. Just for development, could even be used.
Still waiting for the mini/micro*-LED FALD HDR screens that are always just about to come out but never actually happen. OLED isn't suitable for development work, IMO, unless you view the screen as disposable (but they cost too much to treat them like that, on top of it being bad for the environment).
(*I can never remember which is which.)
(I have an HDR OLED TV hooked up to another PC, FWIW. Which is also why I know I'd never want to actually leave HDR enabled on the desktop. It's ruinous in Windows, breaks all calibration, breaks screen magnifiers and screenshot tools, etc. It's still a completely awful experience outside of fullscreen things like games and videos.)
Well I find it's good for my needs, but I'm suggesting we get you a monitor just for testing HDR out, not to replace whatever you normally use. But it sounds like maybe you already have one, since you seem to know a fair bit about working with HDR on Windows.
You might be having issues with your display or drives because mine calibrates just fine (although you need a modern tool that supports HDR, not cheap) and I find it good for development and stuff like that because the contrast is excellent without being fatiguingly bright. I was worried about the sub-pixel layout but on a 14" laptop they are too small to be noticeable, and text looks extremely good.