The term HGiG is often used in connection with televisions and gaming. In fact, you can use it to significantly improve the quality of your television picture.
We explain in detail what HGiG is and why every video game fan benefits enormously from the function. (Source: LG)
- What is HGiG?
- What does HGiG do?
- What do I need?
- Which TV sets offer HGiG?
More and more televisions that are currently coming onto the market are equipped with HGiG. But some older models already have HGiG. Unsurprisingly, these four letters are an abbreviation.
What is HGiG?
HGiG stands for “HDR Gaming Interest Group” and describes, among other things, a voluntary association of companies in the gaming and television manufacturing industry that have set common standards for better HDR gaming and implement them in their products, including smart TVs and game consoles.
HGiG is often incorrectly referred to as an image mode or image technology. In contrast to VRR or ALLM, HGiG is more of a function that is used regardless of the display mode set on your television and console.
Although HGiG is only used on HDR-capable consoles, PCs, screens and TV sets, it is not an HDR standard like HDR10. Rather, you can see HGiG as an additional tool to enhance and adjust HDR image quality while gaming.
What does HGiG do?
While all the information for processing the HDR signals is available in the data stream for the image display of series and film content and these can be implemented accordingly, this is not the case with video games. These generate the content to be seen on the screen dynamically. So there are no fixed requirements.
This is where HGiG comes in and optimizes the setting for the tone mapping of your device, also called display mapping. Tone mapping is responsible for processing incoming (HDR) image signals. With HGiG, your device adapts the image signals as well as possible to the capabilities of your device.
The image quality of video games is significantly improved with HGiG, as a comparison shows. (Source: LG)
The aim is to create a picture that is as good and free of interference as possible, in which you can see all the important details. Without HGiG, it could happen that incoming image signals from the console “overwhelm” your television because it does not have enough power for the display. The result is an incorrect, or at least suboptimal, image display. With HGiG, such signals are scaled and optimized for your television.
It can become problematic if both your TV screen and your console are actively using HGiG and both devices are changing the settings for tone mapping at the same time. Different adaptations of the devices can lead to incorrect image display.
Therefore you should always make sure that only one of your devices controls the tone mapping via HGiG. Ideally, you choose your console, since HGiG usually leads to better results here. With game consoles you can activate or deactivate the function in the picture settings, with many smart TVs you will also find a corresponding option in the system settings.
What do I need?
In order for HGiG to work properly on your devices, both the screen, i.e. usually the television, and the console must have HDR support. In addition, at least one of the devices must have a switchable HGiG mode. Current game consoles such as the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S already have both functions by default.
With HDR, the image appears much brighter, more detailed and richer in contrast. So that you can also enjoy such an image while playing, HGiG automatically adjusts the settings of your television for the best possible HDR quality. (Source: Amazon)
Not only selected smart TVs, monitors and game consoles are equipped with HDR and HGiG, you can also use these advantages on the PC. Here, however, you should also make sure that either only the PC or the monitor with activated HGiG function is actively running.
Which TV sets offer HGiG?
Many TV manufacturers now rely on the advantages of HGiG, such as Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and LG. There are also monitor manufacturers such as Asus or HP and even game publishers such as Ubisoft, EA, Capcom, Sony and Epic Games. They are all members of the HDR Gaming Industry Group.
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Of course, members of this association do not equip all their TV models with HGiG functionality. As a rule, only selected devices from the individual manufacturers are also HDR-compatible. You should therefore not blindly reach for any Smart TV, but check beforehand whether it is HDR-capable and, if you wish, whether it also has an HGiG mode.
Since there is currently no uniform HGiG logo emblazoned on devices with this function, it is not easy to recognize which televisions and monitors offer an HGiG mode. However, this property is often noted in the product descriptions of the device. If in doubt, ask the seller.
It is much easier to see whether a television is HDR-capable. HDR compatibility is usually advertised as one of the central picture settings of TV sets. You will also find a corresponding seal on the packaging of an HDR-capable device. Among other things, you will find an HGiG mode in many Samsung QLED TVs and LG OLED TVs produced after 2018.
The HDR seal on packaging shows you which consoles, monitors and smart TVs are HDR-capable. With the PS5 you can see the seal on the top right of the box. (Source: depositphotos.com / Oleksandr_UA)
If you now want to start looking for a new Smart TV with HGiG support, we can recommend our TV buying guide. There we always list the currently best bargains for smart TVs from various manufacturers and retailers.
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