Question Videos are washed out in many apps such as Google Photos/Chrome

[Luke14789]

Hello all,

This has been an issue since I got the pixel 6 at launch. When playing videos, the shadows appear washed out. It appears to be some sort of gamma shift or HDR tone mapping issue. This happens when in google photos, chrome browser, imgur, even other apps. (youtube is fine).
I've confirmed in person this happens to other pixels one of which was pixel 6 pro.

The issue is recorded here:

I tried changing the color setup under display options in system settings, turning off H265 in camera settings, booting into safe mode, forcing 60hz refresh rate, but it still washes out the videos.
This does not happen with videos shot by other phones, for example my wife's iPhone shot video then sent it over to me and the gamma shift does not happen...

Strange thing is, in Chrome while playing the video, as soon as I swipe up from the bottom to open the recent apps, the video jumps back to normal as seen here:

https://imgur.com/a/Va3l5fQ

I reported this to google, and their chat support to me to fully nuke my phone to factory....

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening, and could other Pixel 6 users verify it's happening on their devices as well ?
Thank you

 

[manjaroid]

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening, and could other Pixel 6 users verify it's happening on their devices as well ?

I seldom shoot video with phones and usually don't like to reference reviews. But from what you described Dxomark's summary about video performance is looking to be spot-on.

Google Pixel 6 Camera review: An outstanding performer in its segment

The Google Pixel 6 camera displayed an outstanding performanc and is currently the best option for photographers who prefer smaller devices.

www.dxomark.com

My experience with dark objects in still photos has been somewhat similar. Recently I couldn't get enough detail photographing black camera bodies I'm selling online. Even with direct light from a daylight LED lamp I ended up using night mode. Every speck of dust showed up which wasn't ideal either.

Over all, though, I like the Pixel 6 camera.

 

[paperfortress]

Hello all,

This has been an issue since I got the pixel 6 at launch. When playing videos, the shadows appear washed out. It appears to be some sort of gamma shift or HDR tone mapping issue. This happens when in google photos, chrome browser, imgur, even other apps. (youtube is fine).
I've confirmed in person this happens to other pixels one of which was pixel 6 pro.

The issue is recorded here:

I tried changing the color setup under display options in system settings, turning off H265 in camera settings, booting into safe mode, forcing 60hz refresh rate, but it still washes out the videos.
This does not happen with videos shot by other phones, for example my wife's iPhone shot video then sent it over to me and the gamma shift does not happen...

Strange thing is, in Chrome while playing the video, as soon as I swipe up from the bottom to open the recent apps, the video jumps back to normal as seen here:

https://imgur.com/a/Va3l5fQ

I reported this to google, and their chat support to me to fully nuke my phone to factory....

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening, and could other Pixel 6 users verify it's happening on their devices as well ?
Thank you

Did you ever find an answer to this? I'm having the same issue... though it's not for every video, just in certain programs/websites.

Cheers.

 

[Luke14789]

I've been able to remedy this in chrome by turning off HW Overlays in Developer Options.
It's still an issue in Google Photos.

 

[paperfortress]

I've been able to remedy this in chrome by turning off HW Overlays in Developer Options.
It's still an issue in Google Photos.

Thanks for this. I'll let you know if I discover any other fixes.

 

[vladimirhr98]

Hello all,

This has been an issue since I got the pixel 6 at launch. When playing videos, the shadows appear washed out. It appears to be some sort of gamma shift or HDR tone mapping issue. This happens when in google photos, chrome browser, imgur, even other apps. (youtube is fine).
I've confirmed in person this happens to other pixels one of which was pixel 6 pro.

The issue is recorded here:

I tried changing the color setup under display options in system settings, turning off H265 in camera settings, booting into safe mode, forcing 60hz refresh rate, but it still washes out the videos.
This does not happen with videos shot by other phones, for example my wife's iPhone shot video then sent it over to me and the gamma shift does not happen...

Strange thing is, in Chrome while playing the video, as soon as I swipe up from the bottom to open the recent apps, the video jumps back to normal as seen here:

https://imgur.com/a/Va3l5fQ

I reported this to google, and their chat support to me to fully nuke my phone to factory....

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening, and could other Pixel 6 users verify it's happening on their devices as well ?
Thank you

This also happens on samsung note 10 plus . But the developer option fix helps . Contrast is now much better everywhere not just chrome ! Looks like this is bug is affecting all apps except maybe video player and camera Thanks

 

[Daenjel]

This also happens on samsung note 10 plus . But the developer option fix helps . Contrast is now much better everywhere not just chrome ! Looks like this is bug is affecting all apps except maybe video player and camera Thanks

what's the option??

 

[vladimirhr98]

what's the option??

Author of the post found the solution and you should be able to see it in the thread. "turning off HW Overlays in Developer Options." It helped me a lot

 

[Daenjel]

Author of the post found the solution and you should be able to see it in the thread. "turning off HW Overlays in Developer Options." It helped me a lot

Sorry if I didin't understand it at first, the toggle to disable HW Overlays in the developer options will always turn off again, at least in Pixel 6, so that's what confused me

 

[vladimirhr98]

Sorry if I didin't understand it at first, the toggle to disable HW Overlays in the developer options will always turn off again, at least in Pixel 6, so that's what confused me

Huh it stays on on note 10 . In that case i am not shure how u can keep it on. Can u elaborate on when it turn itself off back again?

 

[Daenjel]

Weird, after I turn it on, I can go to any other screen on the phone, if I come back the toggle it´s off again, maybe it´s a bug on my end, here´s the example