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Switch 2 HDR Calibration app - HDR Optimized Settings
🕑 Added 2025-06-05 14:19:54 +0000 UTC
Like Xbox, Playstation and PC: finally Switch 2 now also provides an official system-level HDR Calibration app with the same goal of all the others: 1 time setup HDR for your display on system level so for the (supported) games to automatically apply the settings they find there.
It can be accessed from Display settings -> Adjust HDR
In the first screen you see above, there over 250 steps or clicks from the downmost position to increase for matching your display TV luminance, which it would be a gigantic task for me to measure for each step (at least at the moment).
So my recommendation here (for all displays) is to turn off you room lights and then just increase the steps by clicking the Up arrow until the right logo totally disappears...then give an extra click Up and you're good to go to the next section.
If you have issues in not seeing the left logo make sure you're using HGIG before calibration.
Here there is what seems like a system-level Paper White slider.
By default it seems too bright for most TVs, so my suggestion is to bring the slider to leftmost position and then do +7 Clicks to the right which will end up to around 250 nits Paper White which should be universally good for most TVs and room conditions (at around 1.000 nits Peak)
If you have an LG OLED and want absolute accuracy, you can set it to:
+8 Clicks = 200 nits (for most LG OLEDs at 800 nits Peak)
+6 Clicks = 200 nits (for G2/C4 at 1.000 nits Peak)
+5 Clicks = 275 nits (for G3/G4/C5 at 1.500 nits Peak)
+6 Clicks = 300 nits (for G5 at 2.400 nits Peak)
As you can see the Paper White increase value for each click will change based on what Peak HDR Luminance was set in the first section, which is extremely counter intuitive and unnecessary by Nintendo but that's the way it is, so I had to recalculate each click increase based on the different Peak HDR Luminance setting achieved in the first section for the different LG models in this case.
Paper White usually aims to regulate in-game UI and overall exposure so I wouldn't go past 300 nits on any TV as it may just be too bright.
And that's it, you've now calibrated your Switch 2 for HDR at system level :)
Now, I would also add some notes about the HDR experience in general on Switch 2 so far:
Switch 2 LCD display is pretty bad in HDR as it only maxes out at 450 nits peak luminance which is definitely not enough for proper HDR rendition. Luckily you can disable HDR on the LCD panel but keep HDR when docked to an external Display. I highly recommend doing that
Even if the system-level HDR calibration is properly setup, most Nintendo first-party titles (like Zelda, Mario and others) have very raised black levels when played in HDR at the moment. This is NOT a fault of the system-level HDR calibration app but it's all on Nintendo in-game HDR implementation side. This because with third-party native HDR games like Cyberpunk 2077 and others HDR behaves exactly like it is implemented on Playstation and Xbox, so this also means that third-party titles which does leverage system-level HDR calibration will also look as good or at least the same as the other consoles. Hopefully in the near future Nintendo will finally catch up with 2025 gaming standards also for HDR in their games as well
Enjoy!
-P
Comments
P40L0
Because Nintendo games on Switch 2 tend to be overly bright so setting it for 4.000 nits and then enable DTM after may be too bright for them
P40L0
Because I measured around 200-250 nits with 8 clicks after you set the first screen to 800 nits
Sam Peddie
For DTM users, how come you recommend calibrating with HGIG on and then switching to DTM? For PS5 and Xbox, you recommend calibrating with DTM on. So Iβm curious why it is different for switch?
Sam Peddie
The HDTV test chart (shared in an earlier comment) suggests 6 clicks for the paper white slider for a 800 nits peak TV. Please could I ask why you suggest 8 clicks?
P40L0
Use VRR & G-Sync option. That said, VRR seems to only work in handheld mode for now... :/
Jimdoo
Hiya, any guidance on whether to go with "VRR & G-Sync" or "AMD FreeSync Premium" for Switch 2? I would've guessed G-Sync, given that it's an Nvidia GPU, but weirdly I tried both options and the TV was reporting VRR to be switched off either way.
P40L0
Yes
Joshua Stevens
Hi Paolo, a LG C2 with DTM user here. So the most optimal settings for DTM is to calibrate with HGiG, set the paper white to 200nits (+8 clicks) and then turn DTM on? Thank you.
Rhys Church
Hi P40L0, what do you think of the HDTV test HDR settings reference chart? Would you consider this an accurate guide to follow? For instance, for a 4000 nit TV, the guide suggests 392 clicks to clip and +5 clicks for paper white. Iβd love to hear your thoughts as youβre a trusted source I look to.
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/06/17: Updated Paper White accurate values for different LG OLED models with a new re-calibration as Paper White increase amount for each click will change based on the Peak HDR Luminance which was set in the first section of the app (very intuitive Nintendo...)
P40L0
Unfortunately without HGIG it's normal you see that. In this case you can try disabling Dynamic Contrast, do the calibration and then re-enabling it again as suggested in my video guide for it.
Sebastaub
Hi ! Thank you for your amazing job ! I have an old LG C7 from 2017 (I used your video to calibrate the screen) and I'm a little lost on the calibration without the HGIG option. For me when the right logo disappears the left one is also barely visible. Did I miss a step?
P40L0
It's always recommended to very slightly clip both for absolute black reference and also absolute white. For example LG G3 and G4 are not actually 1.500 nits in HGIG (but more like 1400-1450 nits), but it's still better giving a slighter higher target to 1.500 to really fully leverage the whole TV range while staying visibly accurate.
Steve Singer
Why giving an extra click up? Ps5 and xbox calibration is clicking till disappearing without an extra click up?
P40L0
Probably DTM: Off only for the calibration, then DTM: On after
Liam Wilson
What would you recommend for LG TVs pre HGIG? DTM on or off - the right sun never disappears
P40L0
You won't even be able to appreciate the wider color space as tone mapping HDR in a such low nits panel will still make them look duller/dimmer compared to just using SDR there. Also the internal display HDR will just consume more battery while still looking worse than SDR, so it's a big no no in my opinion ;)
MossyHermit
First of all, thank you very much for your tips and advice! I always enjoy trying out the recommendations. Regarding the deactivation of HDR in handheld mode: Of course, the brightness of the LCD panel is not really adequate for displaying HDR contrast. However, there is also the extended color space for titles that support HDR. Wouldn't it therefore make sense to at least activate HDR for native HDR titles that presumably use the extended color space? ... or am I making a mistake?! π
P40L0
You need ColorControl app via PC/Windows to enable HGIG in FMM
MOD3
On LG C3 on FMM you can toggle to HGiG, on previos updates a didn't see that option can you confirm?
P40L0
Yeah, +7 clicks is pretty universal like stated. The other values is if you want to be "reference accurate" based on model, but this may not translate to how visually pleasing the image will be. +7 should look good on most TVs instead.
Sam Peddie
Playing on a LG C2. Find the UI in Mario Kart World looks very dim and dull with Paper white set to +5 clicks. +7 clicks looks much better.
P40L0
It's not that important. It seems that each click from the bottom adds around +10/+15 nits, so if you just follow the instructions until the right logo totally vanishes and then you do a +1 extra Click Up you would basically have an accurate calibration (when using HGIG of course)
wowoweewow
It's 71 clicks from the bottom for an 800 nits HGIG mode (CX in my case). Anyone with a 1000 nits HGIG mode care to share how many clicks from the bottom for them? It's a bummer that we don't get actual numbers in the calibration, especially for Samsung TV owners.
P40L0
If not specifically mentioned among LG OLEDs (like C3), use 200 nits = +5 Clicks That said Mario Kart will still look raised even when everything is calibrated as it just doesn't have a good in-game HDR implementation unfortunately...
Patrick Joyce
Thank you so much for all of your work with this! For an LG C3, would you recommend 200 nits or 250 nits? I followed the steps for 250, but Mario Kart World still seems bright in some instances. It's almost like there's a grey wash over the screen. I followed the PS5 settings and used ColorControl to enable HGiG before calibrating within the Switch 2. Thanks again!!
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/06/07 - Added accurate Paper White values for LG OLEDs
P40L0
There are over 250 clicks/steps to measure which is just overkill compared to just follow the instructions. Maybe you can ask help to someone to just tell you when to stop (when right logo totally disappears but the left is still visible and then just do 1 additional click Up) For the second screen (for Paper White) it's easier: leftmost position and then +7 Clicks on the right.
Samantha Tich
Anyone figured out number of clicks (or estimate) for LG CX and/or C1? (Visually itβs hard for me to use the calibration tools on all platforms, unfortunately)
KNasty
Any reason why you recommend "Console Screen HDR Output: Off?" Doesn't that negate all these recommendations? I thought I asked this already, but don't see it on here, apologies if this is redundant. Disregard: Realize now it's referring to the actual Switch screen, and not when it's docked.
P40L0
If you stay too much on that square or at the second screen the display will gradually dim to avoid burn in, which is normal. Just follow the guide with HGIG and you will be good to go.
Jamie Dosdale
I keep getting a slight brightness change when using the hdr. I have used the chart and colour control but nothing seems to fix it. Any ideas?
P40L0
UPDATE 2025/06/06: - As the default seems too bright for many, I've updated the Paper White Slider suggestion to +7 Clicks from leftmost position to achieve 250 nits Paper White (which should be universally good for all TVs)
P40L0
You can't do anything in-game at the moment to fix them but if you will in the future, sure, I'll also cover them ;)
P40L0
Just the right one, then as soon as it totally disappears, give an extra click Up.
Steve Singer
Should both logos disappear or just the right one?
Derrion
Will u covering individual recommended settings for games like Zelda and Mario to help fix the raised black levels?
KNasty
Awesome, thanks for being so quick with this!
Derrion
Thank you as always!!!
