Skip to main content

Do it in ‘Dubly’: Dolby Vision HDR comes to Xbox One S and Xbox One X

Xbox One X review both
Les Shu/Digital Trends

The Xbox One S and Xbox One X currently support HDR10, making games, television shows, and movies pop with a wider range of colors, but what if we could do it in “Dubly?” (to offer a Spinal Tap reference). If you’re a member of the Xbox Insiders program, you can now use Dolby Vision HDR — kind of.

With the latest Xbox One system software update available in Preview, Xbox One S and Xbox One X users can now enable Dolby Vision HDR for streaming video. If you want to use Dolby Vision — or any other type of HDR — for Netflix, you’ll need to pay extra for a subscription to Netflix Premium, which also allows you to watch content at 4K resolution.

Dolby Vision is quite similar to HDR10, which is the more popular of the two formats and is the only one supported for games on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Dolby Vision supports a higher color depth than HDR10, as well as higher theoretical brightness, and it more easily adapts to your individual display.

HDR10 has been more widely embraced by television manufacturers, and companies like Vizio later added support for the format through a firmware update. With updates, it should now be possible for televisions using HDR10 to add support for Dolby Vision, if you find yourself preferring it.

You’ll still have to use HDR10 if you want to see high-dynamic range content in your video games, however. It’s particularly impressive on the Xbox One X on games that also feature native 4K resolution and 60-frames-per-second gameplay, bringing you closer to the action without having to launch a full-on assault on your eyes. Though Xbox One S isn’t capable of rendering games at 4K, it does support HDR, so you’ll still be able to see the crisper colors on the less-expensive console.

The Xbox One system update also includes a few quality-of-life and accessibility features to make your experience even simpler. The console’s search function can now find games in your “ready to install” section so you can locate them more quickly, and the Narrator tool added support for Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Swedish, and Dutch.

If you aren’t a member of Xbox Insiders, you should expect to see the latest system update in the near future.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
I’m secretly hoping that the leaked all-white Xbox Series X isn’t real
An Xbox Series X sits next to both Series S models.

Xbox Microsoft

Xbox’s anticipated mid-generation console refresh might be right around the corner. Over the past few weeks, there have been some rumblings that an all-white Xbox Series X may be coming this year. That rumor kicked into second gear when Exputer posted photos it says it received of the device. The leaked images show a standard Xbox Series X with a white casing. The design is about the same, but there’s one key difference: It doesn’t have a disk drive. If the rumors are proven true, that’ll be the system’s selling point, potentially putting it at a lower price point than the current Series X.

Read more
What is HDR10+? What you need to know about the HDR format
The Samsung QN900C Neo QLED 8K TV in a living room.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is changing the way we experience our favorite movies, shows, and video games. Similar to surround sound codecs from companies like Dolby and DTS, there are several HDR formats supported by everything from TVs and soundbars to AV receivers and game consoles. One of these formats happens to be called HDR10+, and it has quite the interesting history. 

Maybe you’ve heard of the other HDR formats? As of the publication of this article, there’s HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG, and a couple of less standard offerings, including Advanced HDR by Technicolor. So how exactly does HDR10+ fit into the grand scheme of things, and does your TV support it? We’re about to find out!
What is HDR?
The 110-inch Hisense ULEX X mini-LED TV is headed to CES 2024. Hisense

Read more
The most common Xbox Series X problems and how to fix them
Xbox Series X

Like any other consoles, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S aren't without issues. Even after several years on the market giving Microsoft time to push out updates and fixes, there are still some issues that can crop up.

In this guide, we're going to cover the most common Xbox Series X problems, as well as how to fix them, including:

Read more