[SOLVED] Enable full-range RGB color output on an old Nvidia card (GT 220)

[tandlion13]

Hello everyone, I'm building a HTPC here using the good old Nvidia GT 220. Connecting the card directly to a 1080p TV display through HDMI for both video and audio. So far the performance is decent. It can do MadVR with DXVA focused settings. And streaming Netflix and Youtube videos is nothing compared to that. But the card stuck with an old driver (342.01) from 3 years ago or so. And there's no option to turn on the full-range RGB color output in the Nvidia control panel. Having moved from a newer card which can install the latest drivers that has the option. I can't really stand the poor color output of this one especially on Netflix. I also have a Haswell-based Pentium CPU, and the drivers for its iGPU have the option too. The color is way better, but then again, the iGPU is too weak for MadVR.

So, is there any workaround for that matter? Through drivers stuff or Windows settings maybe.
Or can we just simply say that the graphics card is not supported the technology?
I'm using Windows 10 Pro x64 by the way.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[kerberos_20]

hi, monitors are designed to run rgb full, TVs usualy arent (tv shows/movies running in rgb limited) if u run movies with rgb limited on rgb full, ull just see color banding
look up your TV settings if there is HDMI black level
if it is there and can be enabled, then thats for full rgb mode
once its enabled, nvidia settings should show u full rgb mode
but u should keep it on auto anyway if u dont want color banding on some youtube content (converted from TV shows/clips/movies)

if there is no hdmi black level option, then u may want to calibrate colors (either on tv or in windows)

 

[tandlion13]

Hello there, thank you very much for the reply.

Well yeah, I have no idea whether my TV or the contents I watch have the full RGB quality. But it's just a way I like to setup all my PCs. I usually set the color profile on my displays, monitors or TVs to flat. And then enable the full RGB on the graphics card. That way the colors just feel right for me every time and I don't have to worry about colors calibration much.

Anyway I checked the settings of my TV. It's an LG with some sort of IPS panel I think. And there's an option called "Black Level" which has 2 choices, high and low, similar to those on LG IPS monitors I own. It was set to high on my TV because when I was using it with a full RGB enabled graphics card earlier, this option helped brighten up darker images a little bit and still have great colors on the bright ones. But now without the full RGB input, it only makes the screen look paler in general and I think that's my main problem here. So I turned it down to low and now the colors come back a little bit. Still not quite there yet or is it just my head, I really don't know xD

Lastly if you don't mind me asking one more question. I still don't get the option to enable the full RGB mode yet. I think the black level thing on my TV is not the same thing you mentioned. But for my peace of mind, I really want to know if there's any other way to get it to work. Like a driver hack, 3rd party tools or some windows settings that force the full RGB output across all apps. But if there's no such thing or not really worth the effort. I think I'll just calibrate the colors on my TV then.

 

[kerberos_20]

if your TV doesnt supports it, than it wont show up as an option, it could be also cable limitation
eitherway, if your TV is set to limited RGB (TV native mode), then your gpu should be rgb limited too
if its set to rgb full, gpu has to be set rgb full
no other combinations are possible
if rgb output is incorrect, then u will see either color banding (on every color) or u will get more white then it should be, like grey will be full white
its color transition

Cloudflare

 

[tandlion13]

I must admit it might be my lack of understanding on the matter. But anyway, seems like my option is clear. Calibrating the colors on the TV it is. Thanks for your reply, it helps a lot, I'll pick one as the best answer. And thanks for the article you shared also. I'll check it out.

Peace.