Dull color on saved recorded videos.

[pegasusearl]

Hello, I was trying to record but the color looks dull.

I got this problem not only in OBS but also in GeForce experience.
I was googling to fix the problem, I set "Nvidia Control Panel > Video > Adjust video color settings > Advanced > Dynamic range" to Full.
I also tried to set "OBS Settings > Advanced" color space to 601 709 and sRGB then the color range to full or partial. But any settings still look dull.
Then I changed color format from NV12 to RGB, still dull.

This is how it supposed to look like:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wppvKCtfSJgRuFDDi1UH2H_BgbzIhvI8/view?usp=sharing

This is the video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13Fh45wGxFXAotzH9vBWvgIDjIZFA35F8/view?usp=sharing

actually when I tried to screenshot as .jpg using in game screenshot, I realized that the color looks similar with the recording.
this is the jpg screenshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cq-U5obgWmEq0Ss-Rmg4lRABtuFLL-Go/view?usp=sharing
So then I tried to change the recording quality in output settings to high quality (medium file size), same as stream, and indistinguisable. But they still looked dull.

Then I tried lossless, the image is sharper now but the color is more wrong.
Here is the screenshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_XJAiGCFFtvD3ArE6gxICPw-6fB3L3a4/view?usp=sharing
Definitely not what I wanted.
plus the file super big.

Is there a way to fix this dull color? Can anyone help me?

Let me know if there are more information I should provide.

 

[koala]

All your images and your video look exactly the same for me. I assume you configured some "video enhancement" stuff in your Nvidia video driver. This will change the video output of media players, but not the video material itself.

 

[pegasusearl]

It's pretty obvious in my screen. Is it because of my monitor? I'm using IPS monitor atm.
I think it's easier to see the difference on these arrows since they don't have texture and not affected by environment lighting, and it's easy to pick same pixel from the same location and check it's color code. The color code is significantly different.

I did not change settings in nvidia stuff besides changing from 16~235 to 0~255, which is now I changed back to default.

 

[pegasusearl]

Hmm but i guess it's not apparent in the 3D stuffs. I wonder why the text get more distinguishable whiter color.
Eh I can't edit my post, so i will add another reply.

 

[koala]

The nvidia settings are fine. They tell the driver to not mess with the colors.
In your last picture, the blue on the right is less blue on the left, so that's a difference. You never posted a log, so nobody can see it, but make sure you don't have any color filter attached to your source. Not very long ago someone complained a similar issue as you, and in the end it turned out he attached a color filter and distorted the colors himself.

 

[pegasusearl]

Ah I'm sorry, I forgot.
Here is my log: https://obsproject.com/logs/XMIniroxV3uR7_Kc, doing short recording with same setup.
I tried to use filter to try to correct color in the past but this time I make sure there is no filter.

But I found this:
" Image looks very washed out. The most likely issue is trying to push too much quality with not enough bitrate. Consider reducing the resolution, and frame rate (if needed), and try again. If quality improves, then adjust until you find your sweet spot. "
from https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/guides/broadcasting-guide/

So I changed my base resolution to 1280 720 and the color became great!
Maybe I should increase bitrate but the guide there told us to use cqp.

I went to switch to CBR 100k bitrate and switch back to 1920x1080, but... still dull color.

Looks like i can only get good colors when I record at low resolution.
I wonder how can I get good color at 1080p. I have no idea what to try next after failed that 100k cbr.
New current log: https://obsproject.com/logs/4hL9N-lgX_5lEAT1

 

[koala]

For recording, use CQP. You set the quality with the CQ parameter. Lower CQ values is higher quality. Don't use CBR, it's only required for streaming and produces inferior quality.
In your article, I assume with "washed out" it is meant the image is blurry and distorted, if reducing the resolution fixes this. Quality doesn't change color, it changes the sharpness and the amount of detail. Of course, if you remove detail you wash pixels, as used with letters, over a bigger area, so they are not only blurry but also washed out, since they merge with the surrounding color.

Why don't you just try the default and most simple recording settings of OBS first. Usually, they result in best quality with least system requirements.
Set output mode to simple, recording encoder to nvenc, recording quality to "indistinguishable quality".

 

[pegasusearl]

I did. In fact the first time I record it was all default. Too lazy to edit anything. And the color is dull or pale, just like in the images on my first post.
I didn't touch the encoder settings before my second post.
It also happened when recording using GeForce Experience in default settings.

I pick the, "Optimize for just recording, I will not be streaming" setting. Then pick my desktop resolution.

I just tried again witth default settings. The result is still the same. If I record at 1080p, the color will be pale. But if I record at 720p, the color will be accurate.
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/tPO_obBjIV4TXaoZ
Videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1J-AiOLetp0QcEK0E7ycVWBxHNCZd86g2?usp=sharing

I think it's safe to edit the post title as, "Recorded video's color pale on higher resolution" since it only happened in high resolution.

I wonder if it's just nvidia thing. But I don't know how to tell.
edit: I changed encoder on Video > Recording section to Software x264. Still same

 

[pegasusearl]

Just for extras: this problem is similar to this one, except the solution does not work for me:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

this one is also similar:

Question / Help - How do you fix washed out colors?

Does anyone know how to fixed washed out colours because i've had this problem for awhile now and its very annoying! What it looks like: https://imgur.com/Ya0XORx What it SHOULD look like: https://imgur.com/b0IidmJ if anyone knows how to fix this problem, please let me know ;) computer specs...

obsproject.com

The color when I recorded desktop is also not accurate. Maybe I'll test tomorrow.

 

[pegasusearl]

OH HERE!!

color quality loss due to chroma subsampling

Hi guys, been fiddling with this for a while, I finally have my recordings looking ok for the quality I want, but colors remain a niggling issue. Quick bit of info. OBS version 25.0.8 64bit Source PS4 Pro configured to use 4k output, I know rendering is lower resolution. Capture device elgato...

obsproject.com

this post prove how lazy i am.

So if I set color format to I444, the color is accurate. MAGICAL
I'm happy with the result for now.