Chances are, if you have a newer TV, it supports HDR (High Dynamic Range), which greatly improves brightness and color when watching shows, movies, and playing games. Many streaming devices, like Fire TV Sticks, Apple TV, and Roku, support HDR, including formats such as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. All the latest gaming consoles, including the PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X, also support HDR.
HDMI Deep Color was introduced in 2006 with the HDMI 1.3 standard, so it isn't exclusive to newer versions like HDMI 2.1. This feature allows devices such as a PS5 or Fire TV Stick to send more color information using higher color bit depths -- typically 10-bit or 12-bit, depending on what your TV supports (via Sony). The result is more accurate colors when watching HDR content, which is usually mastered in 10-bit color, though some formats use 12-bit.
For reference, SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) uses an 8-bit color depth, displaying about 16.7 million colors. HDR increases that to 10-bit -- or even 12-bit in formats like Dolby Vision -- enabling over a billion colors (via Dolby). This significant increase in color depth greatly enhances color accuracy and reduces color banding, making HDR content look much more lifelike on your TV. So, with HDMI Deep Color enabled, you can enjoy HDR content properly and experience more vibrant, true-to-life colors than with SDR.
"Deep color provides more accurate color reproduction with greater color depth. Deep color expands the colors on the display from millions to billions," Samsung explains. "This gives the display a vividness and color accuracy which has never been seen before in display technology."
HDMI Deep Color should be automatically enabled on your TV
If it's not, you can enable it on the HDMI port your device is connected to
On most smart TVs, when you connect a device that supports HDR, HDMI Deep Color should automatically activate. For example, when I recently set up my LG C5 TV and powered on my PS5 for the first time, I saw a pop-up indicating that HDMI Deep Color was automatically enabled on the HDMI port I used.
LG describes HDMI Deep Color as a feature that "enhances the images of the input device to deeper and richer picture quality," with the option to turn it off or on for 4K.
...if you're experiencing picture quality issues or a device isn't working properly, ensuring HDMI Deep Color is enabled could solve your problems.
It's worth noting that HDMI Deep Color may go by different names depending on your TV model, such as HDMI UHD Color, Ultra HD Deep Color, or Enhanced format.
To double-check whether HDMI Deep Color is enabled on a device connected to your TV's HDMI port, open up your TV's settings menu and look for an option to view HDMI settings. For example, on my LG TV with webOS, I found it under Settings > General > External Devices > HDMI settings > HDMI Deep Color.
If you search online, you'll likely be able to find instructions on how to check whether HDMI Deep Color is enabled on your specific TV model. As I mentioned, it should turn on automatically when you connect an HDR-compatible device, but if you're experiencing picture quality issues or a device isn't working properly, ensuring HDMI Deep Color is enabled could solve your problems.