Since Insiders got a shortly removed glimpse of some Dolby Vision gaming features on their consoles a few weeks ago, Xbox fans have been anticipating an official announcement. There has been a lot of anticipation for these features to make their way onto the next-gen consoles, and it seems Xbox is one step closer. Of course, when the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S receive Dolby Vision becomes accessible to the general public, this would go a long way in enabling an improved HDR system and allowing for more consistent performance with HDR.
The news comes after Xbox's Larry Hryb revealed on Twitter through his Major Nelson handle that Dolby Vision gaming has begun rolling out to Xbox Series X and S consoles enrolled with the Xbox Insider Alpha Ring. The potential for HDR remains untapped as many monitors and TVs are yet to implement more substantial support for the feature. Though fans have known about Dolby Vision gaming coming to Xbox for a while, having official confirmation solidifies the news.
Dolby explains the potential for Dolby Vision gaming, "Dolby Vision lets gamers see more of their favorite games while leveling up gameplay with brighter highlights, sharper contrast, and more vibrant colors..." As it so happens, many games nowadays are utilizing bigger, more vibrant open-worlds. Games like Forza Horizon 4 is a good example of this, which offers a large open world with a lot of vibrant colors. "Epic worlds - such as lush rainforests, desolate war zones, or neon futuristic cities - are brought to life in more color."
Dolby Vision can make it easier to see opponents hiding in the shadows and spot hidden clues through expanded contrast and better clarity in both light and dark scenes..." For games like Call of Duty that utilize war zones, it'll be interesting to see what Dolby Vision can do to enhance the contrast of the environments. Not mentioning the advantage it could give players that utilize that technology in multiplayer FPS games. However, Microsoft is still focusing on the shortages of the Xbox Series X/Series S, so despite the impressive features they may include, it's still problematic for players to attain one.
While all of this sounds promising, keep in mind that compatibility is a vital issue. Suppose players don't have a compatible TV supporting Dolby Vision, they won't be enjoying the implementation of all these features, regardless of it being implemented into the Xbox Series X and Series S. To determine if a TV supports Dolby Vision, players must update their Series X/S and navigate to the 4K TV Details page, which now includes that information.
Additionally, Dolby Vision gaming joins the Xbox One's support for Dolby Atmos object-based audio for games, allowing people with compatible TVs and audio gear to experience a complete Dolby gaming experience. Dolby also assures that it will begin sharing more details about the specific games to utilize Dolby Vision through its incorporation via graphics engines. Important to note is that this launch is only available to Alpha Ring Insiders for testing before becoming available to everyone. For that reason, what players see in this version won't reflect the finished version.
Source: FORBES