KDE, thepopular desktop environment for Linux, is making significant progress in its support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays, promising a more immersive and visually stunning experience for users, especially gamers.
Recent developments, outlined in a blog post by KDE developer XaverHugl, highlight advancements in both KDE’s KWin compositor and Valve’s Gamescope compositor. These improvements pave the way for a more seamless and vibrant HDR experienceon Linux.
Enhanced HDR Control in Plasma 6.1
Plasma 6.0 introduced an option to adjust SDR brightness when using an HDR display. Plasma 6.1 takes this further, refining the brightness slider to provide a moreintuitive and robust control, similar to what users experience on laptops and other displays.
EDID-Based Color Profiles
Plasma 6.1 also introduces the ability to utilize the color information from the display’s Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) to automatically set the monitor’s color profile. This simplifies the process of achieving accurate color representation, ensuring that images and videos are displayed as intended.
Gamescope’s New Backend for Enhanced HDR Support
On the Gamescope front, a new backend has been developed that leverages Waylandsubsurfaces to forward content to the host compositor, instead of Gamescope handling all the compositing. This allows Gamescope to pass HDR content directly to KWin, resulting in a more efficient and streamlined HDR experience. The new backend also minimizes image copies, further improving performance.
AMD Radeon and Linux 6.8for Optimal HDR Gaming
Currently, the recommended setup for experiencing HDR gaming on Linux involves using AMD Radeon graphics with the Linux 6.8 kernel or newer. This combination ensures optimal performance and compatibility for HDR content.
Display Next Hackfest: Pushing the Boundaries of Display Technology
The upcoming Display Next Hackfest, scheduled for next week at Igalia’s offices in Spain, will focus on further advancements in HDR technology, alongside other display-related enhancements. Developers will explore topics such as color management, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), frame timing, content-adaptive scaling/sharpening, and more.
TheFuture of HDR on Linux
These advancements in KDE and Gamescope, coupled with the ongoing efforts at the Display Next Hackfest, signal a bright future for HDR support on Linux. As these technologies mature, users can expect a more immersive and visually compelling experience across various applications, particularly in gaming.
References:
*Xaver’s blog
* The Igalia event page
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