[BUG REPORT] DisplayWidget Center 10-bit Brightness unavailable

[TJMGG]

Monitor: XG27WCS

If you turn on 10-bit color depth in the GPU settings, DisplayWidget Center assumes HDR is on and locks the mode and brightness settings even though it's disabled in Windows 11. 

The OSD still lets you adjust the brightness and HDR is shown as disabled / unavailable.

I want to use 10-bit without HDR and be able to adjust the brightness via software.

#XG27WCS

[Aureliannn_ASUS]

Hi @TJMGG ,

we apologize for the delayed response due to the recent holiday.

Regarding your issue, we would like to confirm the following details:

1. You mentioned, "When enabling 10-bit color depth, DisplayWidget Center mistakenly detects HDR mode and locks the mode and brightness settings."

• Do you mean that the mode and brightness settings cannot be adjusted in DWC (DisplayWidget Center)?
• Are these settings still adjustable in the OSD menu?

2. Does this issue occur with a specific monitor firmware version?

3. Besides mode and brightness settings being locked, are there any other functionalities that are restricted?

4. To better understand the issue and reproduce the steps, please record a video showing the complete issue occurrence (MP4 format) and provide it for our reference.

Additionally, please share the following details for further investigation:

1. Monitor firmware version
2. Type of cable used
3. Connected device model
4. Operating System (OS) version
5. DWC version

We appreciate your assistance and understanding. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you!

[TJMGG]

I attached a Video. The OS is in German but you get the point.

To the questions:

1. Yes, you can still control the brightness and modes on the OSD with 10 Bit.

2. I don't have any way to test or access a different firmware for the monitor.

3. Every setting that is normally restricted when HDR is turned on. DWC is interpreting the 10 Bit signal as HDR, even though neither the Monitor itself nor Windows 11 does. It selects Race Mode and locks the other settings.

Details:

1. Monitor firmware: MCM101

2. DisplayPort set at 144Hz (Higher or lower didn't change anything)

3. Custom PC with Nvidia RTX 4070ti

4. Windows 11

5. DWC Version 1.0.8.0

Steps:

1. Switch from 8 Bit color depth to 10 Bit via GPU settings (nvidia control panel in my case).

2. Open DWC, it will switch to Race mode and lock the other settings.

When I restart DWC, I'm able to adjust settings for a few seconds before it locks them again. I might use this trick until it gets fixed.

[TJMGG]

It's worth noting that DWC doesn't actually switch to Race mode but makes it looks like it does. So it just locks the settings and keeps me in the User mode with my preferred color, white point, and gamma settings.

[Veirdan]

I'm having the same exact issue as described by @TJMGG just with a different monitor and application version. I just recently updated the DWC to 1.1.0.0

It seems like others are experiencing this issue as well (even with a newer firmware version, MCM108, than my monitor FW MCM103), https://www.reddit.com/r/OLED_Gaming/comments/1hxzo7q/comment/m6gl4ks/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=w...

Within the comment they state: "The latest widget app (updated within the app) won't let me change color settings. It opens, I see the sliders on different settings, then they all go to zero and nothing is responsive. This also happened with FW105. I had to set SDR and HDR color temp within the OSD."

It appears that no matter the firmware version or monitor model the issue with DWC forcing the HDR setting on (locking the adjustment of the other settings) when using any other color depth higher than 8-bit it persists.

Here is my system information:

Monitor Model: PG32UCDM (Running at 4k 240hz)

Monitor firmware version - MCM103

Cable - HDMI 2.1 (48Gbps data rate) 

Connected to - Asus ROG STRIX RTX4090 O24G GPU

OS - Windows 11 (Build 26100)

DWC version - 1.1.0.0

Attached is a screen shot of the Nvidia control panel showing the color bit depth settings. Switching it to 10-bit or 12-bit causes the issues described in this thread.