Skip to main content

AMD announces HDR support for gaming, will bring FreeSync to HDMI

AMD Radeon
Image used with permission by copyright holder
AMD is bringing FreeSync to HDMI, meaning monitors can add support for the standard without adding another port. They’re also working to bring High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology to gaming by offering support for the technology in the latest Radeon drivers.

Displays have come a long way, but even in 2015 most of them can’t show you the entire range of color view-able by the human eye. HDR is a technology that seeks to solve this, making it possible for displays to better contrast light and dark colors in a way that’s hard to describe but stunning to see. Some say the impact of this tech is more stunning than 4K displays.

Recommended Videos

A wide range of TVs already offer HDR, and gaming monitors are expected to offer the same feature set in 2016. AMD announced today that its cards will support the technology.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

“Existing Radeon R9 300 Series GPUs will be compatible with HDR displays in 2016 for gaming, while our 2016 GPUs will extend support to both gaming and movies,” says an AMD press release, which adds that it’s working with games publishers to encourage them to offer HDR support.

AMD also announced that its FreeSync standard will work over HDMI starting in 2016. Like Nvidia’s G-Sync, FreeSync is an effort to keep the framerate of a computer and monitor in sync. This prevents screen tearing, a distracting visual artifact that happens when the graphics card outputs frames at a rate different than the monitor. Basically, the monitor adjusts its refresh rate to stay in sync with your game.

Unlike G-Sync, display manufacturers are free to support FreeSync without paying for custom AMD hardware. The idea is to make the technology widely supported. 40 displays are on the market with FreeSync support right now, which AMD claims is twice as many as support G-Sync.

FreeSync was first implemented over the DisplayPort connection, but now the same technology can be used over an HDMI connection. AMD hopes this leads to wider adoption, particularly when it comes to affordable displays (which tend to offer fewer ports).

AMD also announced that the upcoming Lenovo Y700 will be the first laptop to use FreeSync internally, meaning the standard is spreading to portable computing. A small number of laptops, like the Asus G752, already support Nvidia’s G-Sync.

These enhancements will be rolled out as driver updates in 2016. The specific release dates have not been revealed as yet.

Justin Pot
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Justin's always had a passion for trying out new software, asking questions, and explaining things – tech journalism is the…
Leak reveals the small launch lineup of games that support AMD Super Resolution
A character in Godfall video game.

AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) will launch next week on June 22. So far, AMD hasn't announced which games will support the feature, but a new leak provides a glimpse at what the launch lineup could be. AMD plans to launch FSR with support for seven games, but most of them aren't anything to get excited about.

The leak comes from @Broly_X1 on Twitter (via Videocardz), who has accurately leaked information about past AMD launches. In the now removed tweet, the leaker showed Godfall and The Riftbreaker topping the FSR launch lineup. In a follow-up tweet, they clarified that the list doesn't include all of the games that will be available at launch, just the ones that will be supported. This is, presumably, because developers have free rein to implement FSR in their games, so it's possible other titles will support the feature at launch.

Read more
LG’s 2019 OLED TVs won’t add FreeSync gaming feature, report says
55 inch lg um7300 uhd 4k tv c9 oled amazon walmart deals 2 768x768

Attention all 2019 LG OLED TV owners who are hoping to get their hands on the upcoming Xbox Series X: You may want to think about upgrading your display.

LG has confirmed that its 2019 line of OLED TVs will not gain support for the AMD FreeSync variable refresh rate system, as first reported by Forbes. The technology, which is meant to eliminate the "tearing" effect that happens when a monitor won't refresh as quickly as a game's framerate, will be enabled on the yet-to-be-released Xbox Series X consoles.

Read more
Gaming monitor vs. TV: Why a TV could be your next gaming monitor
LG GX OLED Hero

We said it at CES, but now that we've started testing new 2020 TVs, it bears repeating: Your next gaming monitor should probably be a newer 4K HDR TV. This is certainly true for console gamers and I would argue for most PC gamers as well. The console versus PC argument will no doubt rage on, but when it comes to developments in display technology, it's time to rethink what you consider a monitor.

Due to certain advances in TV technology over the past few years (and especially a few we're going to see later this year), I feel compelled to suggest that you seriously consider one of a handful of TVs for your new gaming monitor.
The gaming monitor's legacy
Alienware gaming setup Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read more