Best Xbox Series X Video Settings | VRR, YCC 4:2:2, 10 bit color, HDR calibration

The Xbox Series X has an excellent setup process, walking you through the key settings but it doesn’t cover everything. To game with the best video settings on your Xbox Series X you'll need to go into the deep menu settings.

To get the most out of your Xbox Series X, a modern TV with features including HDMI 2.1, HDR, UHD color, VRR, and a 120Hz panel. But even on more modern TVs, you might have to pay attention to your HDMI ports, if there is one labeled 4K 120Hz, you’ll want to use that one. And it may be that you have to turn variable refresh rate on or otherwise enable it. Some newer TVs are supposed to make the right adjustments automatically, but that doesn’t always work, so the takeaway here is to always double-check.

The Video Modes section is going to be a very important home during this process with a plethora of adjustable options, but what does this stuff mean? Allow 50Hz means it will play 50Hz content from video apps. We don’t get a lot of that in the U.S., but it doesn’t hurt to leave it on. Allow 24 Hz is for playing movies at their native frame-rate, and that’s especially important for DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray playback. Auto Low Latency Mode, leave this on because if your TV supports it, it should go straight into game mode for the least amount of lag -- doesn’t always work on some TVs, though. Allow variable refresh rate: I say leave this on, it’s going to be a bigger and bigger help as more games support it. The only reason I’d turn it off is if you are running into some problems and want to shut it off to troubleshoot.

Allow 4K and Allow HDR10, pretty self explanatory. Now, Auto HDR, what does that do? Well, for the most part, it allows the Xbox to present non-HDR games as if they were in HDR and I am hearing that it works really well. If you are old-school, though, and want to play the game exactly as it was developed to look in SDR, by all means, feel free to turn this off. But I wouldn't.

Allow Dolby Vision, this is for games and movies and if you have a Dolby Vision TV absolutely leave this on if you can. Again, though, if you run into problems and you ever think Dolby Vision being on could be a culprit, you can always turn this off in a sequence to check.

Now let’s jump into video fidelity and overscan. Under display, leave this on auto-detect. It knows what kind of connection you have. Color Depth: Now here’s a spot where you think more is better right? Not necessarily. This has a bit to do with that chroma subsampling stuff I talked about before. First off, no need to ever select 12-bit because in most cases that would push the Xbox past its 40 gigabits per second boundary, so pointless to click this. You CAN click 10-bit if you want, but its not like the Xbox is able to add and bits per pixel that aren’t already there, so if it isn’t getting an HDR signal, then it isn’t really going into 10-bit territory. If you leave it at 8-bit, it WILL automatically jump to 10-bit when you go into HDR mode and that’s what matters. So, pick eight or ten. Whatever you like, because it isn’t going to matter much.

0:00 - Intro
1:02 - TV Settings
2:06 - Calibrating The TV
3:01 - HDR Calibration
3:54 - TV and Display Options
4:32 - Troubleshooting
5:18 - 4K Resolution and 120Hz Refresh Rate
6:00 - Auto Low-Latency Mode, Variable Refresh Rate, HDR, and Dolby Vision
7:18 - Chroma Subsampling
8:23 - Video Fidelity, Overscan, and Color Depth
9:09 - Color Space
9:32 - Device Control

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[Mr-Orange-X]

65” CX and a Series X. It’s heaven. Really.

[stuartbagley]

I’ve got one. My wife came to the basement over the weekend and asked me how long the speaker with the light had been there. 😂

[sniperheem]

For those in the alpha skip ahead. The update messed up certain features when enabling 120hz. It’ll be fixed soon which is why u may see frame drips in the UI

[mattg]

LG CX Xbox series x and ps5. Only cost nearly 3K with games extra controllers etc. But 3k well spent considering lockdown and I still had to work through all of it. I deserved a present for me.

[krissynjeremy]

55" LG CX oled and Series X and in my 40+ years of gaming this setup up is pure heaven.

[juliansandler]

Got my series x back in December. It’s now my favorite console

[ericcarlton]

Pro tip: RB+LB+RT+LT will bring up secret menu displaying nits value. OLED users 800 nits HGiG, 1200 nits DV, 3000 DTM.

[wolverinelgamerbeast]

I have a brand new series S. And I just bought the series X digital version!. Excellent graphics . Just like my playstation 5

[JD-qcyc]

Just did receive my Xbox series X console. Been looking for one for over a year. Love the video..

[MobsterSx]

Thanks for the info my guy. Finally got myself a last week Series X and a decent 4K TV. Definitely going to use this video as a guide to set it up.

[ARSJ]

I got mine on November 10th and it was the BEST investment I made in 2020, but I have a
2 1/2year old LG TV and it has 4K HDR but I came from a Xbox One and it’s super super clear and awesome!!!!

[TonyG]

I have an Xbox Series X and a PS5. Both machines are beast. Looking forward to see how future games will utilize the power of both systems.

[alexscott]

Got series x 6 weeks ago, and my new Nanocell 3 days ago. Tv gaming has never felt this good

[christopherhope]

Gaming on series x. Absolutely love it.

[mash]

Got a Series X and S. Had to wait in line for a few hours, but to me it was worth it. Also bought a new 2020 LG BX and love the combo!

[ChavelliBoy]

I could watch these videos all day! Caleb knows his stuff.

[Humorsopa]

I've got it. Ordered it a week before Christmas and to my huge surprise and happiness I somehow passed all the frustrated people who are STILL waiting having pre-ordered theirs months before I ordered mine.... and got it two DAYS later, in good time BEFORE Christmas! 😍😍😍

[beloved_doug]

My LG CX65 OLED and my Xbox Series X is a match made in heaven. I'm future-proof for a long time with this set-up.

[robbyrockets]

48-inch LG CX and XSX are stunning, just bought Forza Horizon 5 and can't get enough, absolute stunner.
Run my RTX 3090 equipped PC through a 65-inch CX and its breathtaking.

[joshhummel]

Got one!! Had it since launch on my LG CX10 and DAAAAMMMNNNN!!!! I've completely stopped gaming on my $5k PC! This thing is Amazing and I really appreciate all your coverage and optimization tips! Thank you!