Driver issue: Full Quantization Range (0-255) not available with Displayport to HDMI adapter

[TKody]

I'm using Intel HD Graphics 630 via active Displayport->HDMI 2.0 adapter (because Intel chipsets don't natively support HDMI 2.0 yet), but there's no way to output 0-255 Full RGB Range even though it works when using HDMI.

This is because the Quantization Range setting in Intel HD Graphics Control Panel is not visible when using the adapter.

(I tried enabling EnableRGBFullRange = 1 in registry & changing display type from TV to Digital Monitor with CRU but this doesn't help either.)

It's an Intel driver issue since RGB Full Range works fine when the adapter is used with Nvidia GPU Displayport.

Steps to reproduce this bug:

1) Get an active Displayport->HDMI adapter such as CAC-1070.

2) Enable iGPU in bios and plug a HDMI Display into a Intel motherboard using the DP-HDMI adapter.

3) Make sure your display expects 0-255 and notice iGPU is outputting 16-255 (full black looks gray in e.g. desktop). (on LG TVs the setting "Black Level = High" means the display expects 0-255.) Notice the "Quantization Range" setting in Intel HD Graphics Control Panel is not available.

Optional steps to confirm the bug:

A) Uninstall Intel HD Graphics driver and reboot, notice black is proper black with the basic Microsoft display driver until Windows automatically updates & installs Intel HD Graphics driver.

B) If your Intel motherboard also has an HDMI output, remove the adapter and connect the display to HDMI (use 4K 30Hz signal or lower), enable Full Quantization Range in the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel and notice iGPU correctly outputs 0-255 as black is now proper black.

C) Connect the DP-HDMI adapter to a Nvidia GPU Displayport and enable full RGB range in Nvidia Control Panel, notice black is proper black.

Suggested fix: Enable "Quantization Range" setting also when a Displayport->HDMI adapter is used.

A temporary/manual solution would be appreciated too. (Manually putting MP_QuantRange_32623 = 2 in registry doesn't help as for some reason the value isn't read/used when the DP->HDMI adapter is used.)

My motherboard is Asus IX Hero Z270 and my CPU is Kaby Lake i5-7600k with HD Graphics 630. My DP->HDMI adapter is Club3D CAC-1070 which fully supports RGB 0-255 4:4:4 4K 60Hz HDCP 2.2. My display is LG OLED55B7V.

I'm using the latest Windows 10 1709 (16299.19) & Intel HD Graphics driver 22.20.16.4815. The same issue happens with drivers 22.20.16.4749 & 23.20.16.4819.

Here you can see my Intel HD Graphics Options and Support Information Center info .txt export file: https://ybin.me/p/8139b16cb216b334# olo1K/Pr5cSdbl8glvYMEcRe+QpP1O2BJfZ6VGnqihU= ybin | private paste

Added on January 12th 2019:

A work-around until the drivers are fixed (has been broken 2,5 years and counting): 

If you want Full Range, after every reboot Limited Range is enforced and in order to get Full Range you have to open Intel Graphics Control Panel Display settings, change a setting and hit cancel. Changing to another resolution/refresh rate and hitting Apply also works. Full Range will persist until next reboot. 

If you want Limited Range, reboot and do not touch Intel Graphics Control Panel Display Settings. Use Windows' own Display settings to change resolution & refresh rate if needed.

Using this buggy behaviour you are able to choose between the modes (alhough going from Full Range to Limited Range will require a reboot).

Dear Intel, please let your driver developers know about this problem, it's a quick fix as the latest working driver version is known (21.20.16.4678). Thank you!

[CMeij]

Hi there,

I'm using a monitor connected through an USB-C > HDMI adapter.

The suggested solution using Video > Input range won't change my normal display rgb range. It might when I play video, I did not test that yet.

However, I found a temporary workaround for it. When you change any value in section Display and then choose Cancel (so, don't Apply the changes) the display will show full range rgb. Strange behaviour. It also shows that full range is supported by the USB-C to HDMI adapter and the rest of my configuration.

The quantization range is fine until you reboot or login again.

This is an annoying bug for me, since I work with video and do a lot of color editing. Are you guys gonna fix this any time soon?

Regards,

Chris Meijer

[idata]

Hello ChrisThatsMe,

Thank you for joining this Intel Community and providing feedback regarding the steps suggested by Ronald M.This workaround seems to be really helpful. Hopefully, other users will benefit from your experience with this issue. I would like to forward this feedback to the proper team so that we can shed light on this concern you have. We will get back to you as soon as possible.Wanner G.

[idata]

Hello ChrisThatsMe,

In order to continue working on this issue reported, we would like you to attach a video.-Try the suggested solution by Ronald M. > Intel Graphics Control Panel > go to Video > "Basic " or "Color Enhancement" > Input range > Driver Settings > Full.-Try the workaround you provided on this thread, too.We would like to see how these steps affect your display and how the issue is fixed. Wanner G.

[idata]

Hello ChrisThatsMe,

I am writing to follow up on your concern. If you still need any assistance, we will be glad to assist you. Wanner G.

[CMeij]

The suggested Basic setting is already in place. It does not solve anything for the standard display setting. Maybe when you play a video... I don't know.

My solution is not a solution but a workaround. When do you guys gonna fix this?

[idata]

Hello ChrisThatsMe,

Unfortunately, we do not run into this issue when we use USB Type-C to HDMI or DP-to-HDMI adapters. Besides, the steps suggested above have been tested already. Because you are experiencing this issue, we can attempt to replicate it. For these reasons, it will be really helpful if you could attach a video/pictures describing the problem. Wanner G.

[MGill2]

Hello,

I have the same issue and I saw that you created a KB article for this:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000029572/graphics-drivers.html Quantization Range Option Is No Longer Visible on the Intel® Graphics...

The workaround suggested by changing the video setting does absolutely nothing. I don't know about video but I need this for general PC use.

I tried this with both a Thunderbolt 3 to HDMI adapter and a Thunderbolt 3 to DisplayPort cable and they both produce the same RGB limited range with no ability to change it.

I might understand why it would do so for HDMI since the standard by default works with limited range but why would a simple Thunderbolt 3-to-DisplayPort cable produce RGB limited range which is inadequate for general PC use?

This issue is highly annoying. Even popular websites such as Facebook don't show up correctly. The gray text bubble in Facebook comments show up as pure white. If there was at least some proper conversion of colors from the full to the limited range that would have been acceptable, but colors that fall out of the limited range are just not showing up.

My only other option is to use the built-in HDMI port but it only supports HDMI 1.4 which allows for only 4k@30hz (not 60hz) which is also inadequate for general PC use.

Is there any way to fix this?

I'm using an ASUS ZenBook Flip UX561UD and the driver version is 22.20.16.4836 which is the latest driver provided by Asus.

[idata]

Hello matang,

Thank you for joining this Intel Community.It will be really helpful if you could attach a video/pictures describing the problem.Wanner G.

[GPajo]

Unfortunately this still remains broken. The last driver to manage quantization range properly was 15.45. I too am using a USB-C to HDMI 2.0 adapter for 4k output and with the latest driver there is no way to set full range output, it is always limited. I do not understand why the driver still does not let you configure it as in 15.45 -- the current "work around" (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000029572/graphics-drivers.html) is not a true work around replacing that functionality, as that would only apply the full range situationally which is not useful. We need full range at all times, for both general desktop use as well as in videos. The rest of our devices in the video chain are configured to expect the quantization of either 15-235 or 0-255, having both limited and full

As was mentioned before, it is clearly possible to output full range via non-native HDMI ports (evidenced by the proper functioning of this in the older 15.45 driver, and in the buggy case mentioned above by CMeij where you change a setting but then cancel and it temporarily outputs 0-255, which is not a work-around).

Please re-enable the option to specify quantization range in the new drivers for non-native HDMI output. I do not see the reason this was disabled without any alternative to replace this important functionality.

[PGroo1]

I agree, totally unacceptable. I'm still on a very old driver which doesn't have the option to switch the range but has it fixed to full range. Until this is fixed I'm not going to recommend a NUC to anybody who uses it as a living room media machine.

[TKody]

Hello,

unfortunately switching between Full & Limited Range is still not available on the latest 25.20.100.6471 drivers when using an adapter. The latest driver that has this working (21.20.16.4678) is already 1½ years old.

A work-around until the drivers are fixed (has been broken 1,5 years and counting):

If you want Full Range, after every reboot Limited Range is enforced and in order to get Full Range you have to open Intel Graphics Control Panel Display settings, change a setting and hit cancel. Changing to another resolution/refresh rate and hitting Apply also works.

Full Range will persist until next reboot.

If you want Limited Range, reboot and do not touch Intel Graphics Control Panel Display Settings. Use Windows' own Display settings to change resolution & refresh rate if needed.

Using this buggy behaviour you are able to choose between the modes (alhough going from Full Range to Limited Range will require a reboot).

Please let your driver developers know about this problem, it's a quick fix as the last working driver version is known.

[TKody]

Hello,

unfortunately switching between Full & Limited Range is still not available on the latest 25.20.100.6471 drivers when using an adapter. The latest driver that has this working (21.20.16.4678) is already 1½ years old.

A work-around until the drivers are fixed (has been broken 1,5 years and counting):

If you want Full Range, after every reboot Limited Range is enforced and in order to get Full Range you have to open Intel Graphics Control Panel Display settings, change a setting and hit cancel. Changing to another resolution/refresh rate and hitting Apply also works.

Full Range will persist until next reboot.

If you want Limited Range, reboot and do not touch Intel Graphics Control Panel Display Settings. Use Windows' own Display settings to change resolution & refresh rate if needed.

Using this buggy behaviour you are able to choose between the modes (alhough going from Full Range to Limited Range will require a reboot).

Please let your driver developers know about this problem, it's a quick fix as the last working driver version is known. Thank you!

[Dmitry]

Dear Intel, I am having the same issue using an Intel i5-6200U-based system and an LG OLED TV. The graphics driver is ver. 26.20.100.7373 (latest as of this writing). With HDMI connection I am allowed to choose between Full and Limited quantization range and it works fine, provided I choose the corresponding range in the TV settings. When connecting through a displayport to HDMI 2.0 adapater by Dell I am not allowed to choose the quantization range and the default range is Limited. I can tell this because the colors look fine only if I choose Limited range on the TV. How do I fix this?

Update: Quantization Range while not selectable works fine on the old driver - 15.45. Full range is used by default.

[AHoff8]

Hello,

I've been using a NUC7i5DNKE running Windows 10 (drivers 26.20.100.7529) for some time, and now I'm experiencing exactly the same problems since I swapped my old Sharp Aquos TV against an LG OLED C9 (HDMI 2.1).

The picture seems way too bright and washed out, as if the display drivers were using limited RGB range even though the LG TV expects an unlimited RGB range.

The Sharp Aquos only supported limited RGB range, which is probably why I didn't have any problems with it.

I understand that the NUC's HDMI ports are in fact DP1.4-ports, with an internal DP->HDMI adapter, which might be the reason for my problem.

When watching satellite TV/Netflix/Amazon Prime directly on the TV, the picture is absolutely okay, and connecting a raspberry pi4 to the TV also results in a pleasant picture, so I cannot blame it on the TV.

I also tested 3 different HDMI cables without success.

Unlike @Dmitry above, I don't even find the a proper means to tell the TV to treat the HDMI's RGB range as limited, only an option to switch from SDR to HDR on a HDMI-port basis.

Experimenting with HDR settings (disabling HDR in Windows, the TV and/or both) doesn't really solve the problem, the picture is always too bright.

Unfortunately, this renders the NUC (at least this model) completely useless as a media player for me, so I'd appreciate any workaround (and even more so - a working configuration option in the display driver)

Kind regards.

[AHoff8]

At least I think I've found a way to tell my TV to use limited RGB range: LG C9 seems to call it "black level", with "low" meaning limited RGB range, "high" meaning full RGB range, and "auto" being the default setting, which appearantly didn't work well in combination with the NUC.

Still, I'd prefer being able to use full RGB range and not having to mess around with the TV settings.

Kind regards.

[Dmitry]

My nettop (asus vivo un65h) offers two display connection options: HDMI and DisplayPort. When I use HDMI, there's a switch in the graphics control panel between Full/Limited RGB for both the desktop and video playback. When I use the displayport out, however, and a DP to HDMI adapter (because LG OLED TVs do not have DP inputs), only the video playback RGB range switch remains. The desktop one is gone. I believe that the graphics driver used to default to full RGB if the source output was DP (for instance as of v15.45) and then they made a change to say: if the display is a TV, default output to Limited RGB. That could have been a smart idea had they offered the means to override the default, but they had not. So now we're stuck with Limited RGB for any TV connection (except for video playback where you can still choose Full RGB).

I created a support ticket specifically for this issue and turns out nothing has been done to address the issue since the thread's creation and neither it is in the development backlog. According to Intel, 'TVs only support limited RGB range' and they have submitted my request to the dev team which they will some day consider.

[EddyM]

I've just got a new laptop and I'm now also having this issue. It's a Razer Blade Stealth (late 2019 GTX edition), which doesn't have any HDMI ports, so the only way to use it with an external monitor is via a USB-C to HDMI adaptor. That is how the laptop is designed to be used, so I don't have any option of connecting my monitor any other way.

I already found the page saying to change the setting in the "Video" section instead, but as others have said, it makes absolutely no difference. I tried the workaround mentioned here (changing a setting and then cancelling), but unfortunately that seems to make no difference either for me (perhaps they've "fixed" that bug in newer versions?). Changing to a different refresh rate makes no difference either - the only thing I've found that makes it change to full range output is changing to a different (lower) resolution, which is completely unusable, and it goes back to limited range as soon as I set it to 1920x1080 again.

I'm pretty sure using older drivers isn't an option for me either, as this is a brand new laptop with a 10th-gen Intel CPU, Iris Plus graphics and an NVIDIA GTX 1650 in Optimus mode (meaning everything goes via the Intel graphics even when the NVIDIA GPU is in use, and the NVIDIA Control Panel has almost no settings). So I doubt any older driver versions would support it (especially as it looks like this issue has been in the drivers for several years old now)!

So this is very disappointing, there seems to be no way of getting a proper HDMI output on a brand new (and not to mention rather expensive) laptop because of this bug, and I don't understand why it hasn't been fixed by now. If anyone has any other suggestions to try, I would be very grateful (I've already tried setting "EnableRGBFullRange" in the registry as I found mentioned elsewhere on the Internet, but to no avail, so I'm guessing that was probably only for much older driver versions. This thread is the only mention I can find of "MP_QuantRange_32623" anywhere though, so some more info on that could be helpful?)

Thanks

[GTayl7]

I'm experiencing the exact same issue. Intel, Please help!

[CLang26]

Chiming in because I have the exact same issue on my Lenovo Yoga Y730 based on the Whiskey Lake Intel core i5 8250u... Luckily I have an HDMI-port next to the USB-C port, so I can output FULL-RGB over that (although I can't change the settings in the control panel even for HDMI, countrary to what Intel states); over USB-C I'm only getting limited range.

Quite disappointing.