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Old iMac2017 and HDR

I have an "old" iMac 2017 that is (officially by Apple) NOT HDR.

I don't know if Apple says this only because the Retina 5K display is not HDR or because this computer, although it has a Thunderbolt3 (so is capable of supporting 4k 60hz HDR10 bandwidth) will not support it even with an appropriate dongle adapter.


Today I bought a UsbC-DP 1. dongle (capable up to 8k 60hz HDR) and put it between my iMac 2017 and my Benq PD2700U 4k (60hz, HDR10) monitor. And this is what I am getting (Screenshots from Apple Big Sur Display settings and from "Display Pilot" BenQ proprietary software, running on the same computer.


So.. Am I in HDR or not?


iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 11.1

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 4:34 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 23, 2020 12:04 PM


Hello MarcelloM1973,


Thanks for asking the Apple Support Communities about playing HDR.


This article has info, and from the picture, looks like your third-party Benq monitor can support HDR: Play HDR video on Mac - Apple Support


"Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Displays, then make sure that High Dynamic Range is selected. It appears only on third-party displays that support HDR10, not on built-in displays. If you don't want to use HDR, deselect this checkbox."


"When an external display tells your Mac that it supports HDR10, your Mac might automatically enable HDR for that display. You can also enable or disable HDR for external displays in Displays preferences."


Thanks and have a wonderful day.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 23, 2020 12:04 PM in response to MarcelloM1973


Hello MarcelloM1973,


Thanks for asking the Apple Support Communities about playing HDR.


This article has info, and from the picture, looks like your third-party Benq monitor can support HDR: Play HDR video on Mac - Apple Support


"Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Displays, then make sure that High Dynamic Range is selected. It appears only on third-party displays that support HDR10, not on built-in displays. If you don't want to use HDR, deselect this checkbox."


"When an external display tells your Mac that it supports HDR10, your Mac might automatically enable HDR for that display. You can also enable or disable HDR for external displays in Displays preferences."


Thanks and have a wonderful day.

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Dec 23, 2020 12:26 PM in response to Eric--F

Thanks I did indeed manage to get to this point... Had to be a little stubborn as Apple itself had told me it couldn’t be done.


now I am in a second phase trying to get it to work properly.


QuickTime seems to show hdr well although all the pro tests I found to test hdr don’t work in QuickTime (just for missing codec I think).


vlc will open them but vlc is NOT switching to hdr colour space I think because it staying with main screen colour space (standard iMac) even if I move the player on the second screen. So it is all washed out.


final cut seems to work as I guess is 100% relying on QuickTime.


Adobe premiere seems a mess. It is consistent between the two screens but is bad. Colors and Luma are clipped. Too hard and too bright.


Da Vinci Resolve seems to work better but I still am not sure that when I look tue direct full screen on BenQ I am actually seeing HDR (this because as a pro software need also to define a correct color space) .


so... seems I can watch hdr (although Apple told me I couldn’t and almost every expert told me)... still I can’t use it for work... still.


thanks!

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Old iMac2017 and HDR

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