PS5 Has Serious Problem With Displaying SDR Image

According to Digital Foundry experts, SDR content on PlayStation 5 is not displayed properly. Dark colors blend together and details present in a scene are lost.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Digital Foundry experts have pointed out that PS5 does not properly display SDR content;
Dark colors are "flattened" and do not have sufficient depth;
The problem appeared in numerous games tested by the website.

Alex Battaglia at Digital Foundry tweeted that PlayStation 5 displays everything in HDR (High Dynamic Range) by default and has issues with SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) content. Colors are not reproduced properly - dark colors "merge" into one and do not have full depth.

The problem is evident in Control, among others, but it's certainly not the only example. As noted by Alex Battaglia's editorial colleague John Linneman, the bug is often seen in various pieces of footage recorded by Digital Foundry.

"(...) the PS5 does not properly display SDR. If we capture the same game from all PS4s and Xbox systems using the same settings, blacks are crushed on PS5 in SDR. I’m convinced SDR output is broken. SDR in HDR container is better here.

That's tricky. SDR just doesn't seem to be quite right - all of our captures from PS5 in SDR are slightly crushed compared to all other machines...but if your display does a poor job with HDR it might still look better in SDR," continues the expert.

Reports of SDR content not displaying properly on PS5 have been appearing practically since the console's launch, and Sony hasn't done anything about it so far. It remains to be hoped that the problem can be eliminated with a software update - and if so, that it will happen relatively quickly.