No HDR Support on Intel 630, need advanced troubleshooting

[proverbs]

Dear Intel Support Team,

I have a Zotac MI572 computer and it shows that Intel 630 HDR NOT SUPPORTED in Windows.  I have gone through all the troubleshooting steps from Zotac and Samsung, and so far, no luck.  All the basic stuff has been cleared--

Samsung RU8000 is HDR capable and the HDR function was turned on from the TV

HDR on other devices and apps work (there is a little HDR icon that pops up so you know it's working)

All the latest updates and drivers have been installed for Windows, display drivers, and the Samsung TV

The BIOS is the current version

Installed Intel Command Center and Intel Control Panel

DxDiag shows TV is HDR Supported but Intel 630 is HDR Not Supported

I browsed through the forums and saw that there was a similar problem with a similar Zotac computer, however, the issue was not fixed because the person just ended up getting a new computer--

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/Intel-HD-620-and-HDR-Support-on-Windows/td-p/542531/page/2

I've included my screenshots showing the updates and also the DxDiag.  Could you please help me get this working???  I can provide any additional information.

Thank you so much for your time!

Isaac

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello, 

Thank you all for the information shared. 

@ATsai1, in case you still have problems with the driver 27.20.100.8476, please open a new thread with your system's configuration and exact behavior received.  

@proverbs, please check the following information: 

• As the firmware update you installed seemed to at least give you the HDR option, this shows again that this can be a problem related to your Zotac* mini PC. 
• After firmware, BIOS updates, we personally try making sure that the BIOS settings are set to default, and they are not changed after a reboot. You can try checking with Zotac* and load BIOS defaults, then shut down the computer and turn it on again. 
• As you can check here, HDR for Intel® HD Graphics is validated with HDMI 2.0a and DP 1.3, other adapter and converters in between are not recommended since we cannot ensure they will work. It is better to use a straight connection.  
• Based on this behavior and due to the fact that it has been validated that current Windows* versions and Intel® graphics drivers work, I will recommend you double-checking with Zotac* for every possible hardware limitation, as the internal adapter used.  

Regards, 

Sebastian M.  

Intel Customer Support Technician.  

[proverbs]

I sent Zotac your response and they replied with--

I found this item is not strictly needed for playback of HDR Video (using Microsoft's Movie & TV Player, or Cyberlink Power DVD Player) on the ZBOX.
Even when I set this item (in CMOS Setup) to "SGX = Diasbled", the Players can play very good with HDR Video Files.

See the attached document (extracted from intel) for the list of their HDR playback requirements, which included SGX as part for the factors.

Also included my pictures and screen capture to check for SGX (CMOS Default : SGX = Disabled / Software Control)
Change this to "Enabled", Save, Reboot, then check the valid content in Windows Device Manager for SGX.
If this do not show up properly in the Device Manager, try " Windows- Update " to get the proper SGX device driver from Microsoft.

My testing equipment is using PC Monitors (Dell or LG, 4K, with HDR capability).
I have no "HDR TV" in this office.

In my tested configuration, Youtube HDR Video play very good with HDR effects, running in Firefox (Broswer).

I do not prefer to use Youtube HDR Video Playback as the only way to justify the HDR capability, because playing Youtube HDR imply running inside a "Broswer".
While the result might be affected by different types of "Browser"...... Microsoft Edge / FireFox / Chrome .......etc.

Playing HDR Video files "locally", using available Players (Microsoft Movie & TV, Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra Ver 18 / 19) avoid the uncertainty of a "Broswer"

So far, I haven't been getting much useful troubleshooting instructions from them.  The email prior to this, they just told me to turn the "global" HDR off and it should work.  It turns out when I turn off the HDR, the HDR doesn't work 😕

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello proverbs, 

Thank you for sharing the outcome provided by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). 

As mentioned, Intel® Graphics drivers do support HDR with no problems, we did the previous testing with one of our mini-PCs, and other users report the HDR feature working with different systems. In this case, the problem is most likely the OEM design. Unfortunately, we do not have any Zotac* equipment in our labs so we cannot replicate this behavior or guide you in the settings to apply or remove since we are not the manufacturers of these mini PCs. We highly recommend you to: 

1. Keep checking with Zotac* until they are able to replicate this with the proper HDR equipment (latest drivers, OS, and monitor/TV HDR-capable), test if it works or not; and if it works, to provide proper Trouble Shooting to make it work.  
2. Also, you can double-check with Microsoft*, since they are the Operating System developers and see if they have any other advice in regard to HDR support for the system you have, but as we mentioned; we were able to make it work with the latest Windows* 10 2004 version.  

Regards, 

Sebastian M.  

Intel Customer Support Technician.  

[ATsai15]

1. driver V.8476 doesn't support HDR with 10th gen. CPU. But if you use 7th generation CPU, it works. I tested.

2. maybe Zotac "HDMI firmware" problem (maybe, not sure).

3. maybe samsung TV setting issue. You may have to enable the UHD option.

[proverbs]

Hi Sebastian,

It looks like they didn't have much of a response.  Only--

for the hdmi port, the unit is actually a DP bias unit, with hdmi bridge connection.
And according to the engineers the updates to the firmware allowed the hdr to function according to the manufacturer of that video port.

So it looks like I'm out of luck since Zotac themselves can't help me.  A Thunderbolt to HDMI cable that's capable of 4k HDR 60hz would be the best alternative option, correct?

Thank you.

[ATsai15]

 A Thunderbolt to HDMI cable cannot help you. All of the thunderbolt3 to HDMI dongle use Parade PS176 to convert DP signal to HDMI2.0 but PS176 doesn't support HDR. The only one thunderbolt3 to HDMI using Parade PS186 which supports HDR is designed by me. But still cannot be bought in USA.

[proverbs]

AT, how about something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-QGeeM-Thunderbolt-Compatible-ChromeBook/dp/B073J9ZZY6/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=qgeem+hdmi+60hz&qid=1596646724&sr=8-3

or this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDNSGY2/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Here is how Zotac responded--

Yes the thunder bolt should support HDR, as it a higher bandwidth connection.
Note that some dongles will limit the vertical refresh rate, so you may want to research that a bit to make a informed purchase.

[ATsai15]

both of these link are not Thunderbolt3 devices. They are thunderbolt3 host "compatible" DP alternate dongle. The USB-C to HDMI one was sold from 2018. I don't think it will support HDR.

Zotac was wrong. Thunderbolt3 "host" can support HRD, that's true. But not all Thunderbolt3 to HDMI "device" can support HDR.

You can try this.

https://www.amazon.com/Club-3D-USB-HDMI-2-0/dp/B078TTHWT3

I knew people active HDR with intel Graphic 620 successfully.

you can see this thread.

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/No-HDR-on-Intel-UHD-620-with-Kaby-Lake/td-p/551520

[proverbs]

I don't think this will work --

1. Sebastian said that it has to be HDMI 2.0a

2. The product says that it needs DP 1.4

As posted before, these are the specs of my computer--

https://www.zotac.com/us/product/mini_pcs/mi572

[n_scott_pearson]

You don't need DP 1.4 to get 4K with HDR. If you have a LSPcon IC that properly handles the conversation from DP 1.2 to HDMI 2.0a, then it *is* possible. I was told that it is NOT possible using the DP 1.2 output on USB-C connectors (apparently because of the USB-C controller IC itself), but it would be if the processor outputted DP 1.4 (alas, you need new 10th gen G processors for that). Have you asked Zotac if there is a firmware upgrade for the LSPcon IC they are using?

...S

[ATsai15]

DP1.2 still can work. Doesn't need DP1.4.

[proverbs]

I bought the adapter you recommended and it worked like a charm... so I thought.

After I plugged the adapter, I enabled the HDR on the computer and TV.  HDR was finally detected on both TV and computer!  I restarted and couple times and there were no issues.  I was so thrilled.  I quickly put on a HDR Youtube clip... it was not crisp and I remembered it was more clear when I watched the clip previously without HDR.  Hmmm, very strange.  So I put on a HDR movie and this was also not very clear.  So I compared by turning the HDR off and restarting the computer and removing the adapter, and the movies were much more vivid WITHOUT HDR enabled.  I adjusted the brightness with both options, but the HDR picture is just not as clear.

Why do you think this is happening?  Is the quality being lost with the adapter?  Should the quality be the same where I use the TB port with adapter vs HDMI directly in the computer?

Thank you

[ATsai15]

1. I don't have that C to HDMI dongle, therefore I cannot sure if it's design issue.

2. Does your internet bandwidth good enough to play 4K HDR?

3. Does your HDMI cable good enough?

4. I tested this Thunderbolt3 to HDMI dongle before (please see the link) and HDR10 works fine with intel NUC 7 generation. Please note not all TBT3 host can support dual monitors output, you may only active with 1 monitor.

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Thunderbolt-Resolution-Detachable-TH-S3H2/dp/B08F2TYZQ5/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=sabrent+thunderbolt+hdmi&qid=1597278147&sr=8-7

[proverbs]

I bought the adapter that was recommended by AT and it seems to work depending on the browser and video player that I'm using.

I also noticed that it is currently set to 8-bit.  Is there a way I can change to 10 or 12-bit?  I did a search and can't find an answer to this.  

Thank you.

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello proverbs, 

I hope you are doing fine. 

Regarding the HDR problems we have been discussing, since Zotac's customer support confirmed HDR works on this system (as you mentioned on the post of ‎07-31-2020 11:37 PM) I would proceed to close this inquiry from our side, confirming that we have tested our generic drivers and got HDR to work properly. 

My advice would be to work with Zotac* and get as much information as possible from them on how they got HDR to work, including but not limited to: 

1. Which drivers did they use? 

2. Can they play a local HDR video file? (e.g. http://ww25.demo-uhd3d.com/fiche.php?cat=uhd&id=101&subid1=20200819-0708-5442-b4b0-3669b1ed65a6 or http://ww25.demo-uhd3d.com/fiche.php?cat=uhd&id=45&subid1=20200819-0709-09f4-b5b4-bdb8500564dc)  

3. Which video player did they use? 

4. Type of video output used and that should help identify what is different in your system 

In regards to the color depth, Intel® Graphics support up to 12-bit color depth, however; this might also depend on the display. As for HDR, we have tested internally and received reports that the color depth works with Intel® graphics. Remember that we do not recommend the use of any kind of adapters, this is because we cannot test all of them so we cannot guarantee that these are going to work. The best solution is to do a direct connection with a single cable that has the same connection type on both ends. In case you have further questions for color depth, please submit a new thread with all the details.  

If you need further support, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer being monitored. 

Note: Links to third-party sites and references to third-party trademarks are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, Intel® is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third-party endorsement of Intel or any of its products is implied.  

Regards, 

Sebastian M.  

Intel Customer Support Technician.