Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
There's a claim going around that Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2 uses fake HDR, just an SDR image with an HDR label on it. So I measured it properly, and the data completely disproves that. This video shows exactly why.
An HDR analysis of Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2 using my custom HDR analysis tool.
Fake HDR usually means one of two things, that the image never gets meaningfully brighter than standard SDR, or that it doesn't use the wider colour range HDR unlocks. I ran seven of Mario Kart World's tracks through my HDR analysis tool to check both, and the results are conclusive.
On brightness, the game pushes far past SDR. Sky-High Sundae peaks at over 3,200 nits in the raw signal, Rainbow Road hits nearly 2,500 and Bowser's Castle clears 2,000, with every track tested punching well past 1,000 nits at its brightest. On Sky-High Sundae, an average of 45% of the screen sits brighter than SDR white, peaking above 80%. On colour, it reaches deep into wide gamut territory, with Rainbow Road averaging 34% of the screen in DCI-P3 and Bowser's Castle hitting 90% P3 coverage and over 40% BT.2020 at its most colourful, something a relabelled SDR image simply cannot do.
The video also breaks down the display roll-off, showing how a real 1000-nit TV compresses that raw signal down to around 960 nits, proof there's genuine HDR headroom sitting above what most displays can even show. You can't roll off brightness that was never there. The conclusion is clear, this is real HDR, and one of the more impressive implementations on the system.
Let me know which game you want run through the HDR analysis next. Subscribe for more data-driven Switch 2 analysis.
#MarioKartWorld #NintendoSwitch2 #HDR
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There's a claim going around that Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2 uses fake HDR, just an SDR image with an HDR label on it. So I measured it properly, and the data completely disproves that. This video shows exactly why.
An HDR analysis of Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2 using my custom HDR analysis tool.
Fake HDR usually means one of two things, that the image never gets meaningfully brighter than standard SDR, or that it doesn't use the wider colour range HDR unlocks. I ran seven of Mario Kart World's tracks through my HDR analysis tool to check both, and the results are conclusive.
On brightness, the game pushes far past SDR. Sky-High Sundae peaks at over 3,200 nits in the raw signal, Rainbow Road hits nearly 2,500 and Bowser's Castle clears 2,000, with every track tested punching well past 1,000 nits at its brightest. On Sky-High Sundae, an average of 45% of the screen sits brighter than SDR white, peaking above 80%. On colour, it reaches deep into wide gamut territory, with Rainbow Road averaging 34% of the screen in DCI-P3 and Bowser's Castle hitting 90% P3 coverage and over 40% BT.2020 at its most colourful, something a relabelled SDR image simply cannot do.
The video also breaks down the display roll-off, showing how a real 1000-nit TV compresses that raw signal down to around 960 nits, proof there's genuine HDR headroom sitting above what most displays can even show. You can't roll off brightness that was never there. The conclusion is clear, this is real HDR, and one of the more impressive implementations on the system.
Let me know which game you want run through the HDR analysis next. Subscribe for more data-driven Switch 2 analysis.
#MarioKartWorld #NintendoSwitch2 #HDR
Join this channel to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCAJzRD4D3pmd8Jnr4VUY73Q/join
Like, Comment and Subscribe! bit.ly/SubscribeToXiphos
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/Xiphos_YT
Follow me on twitch and hang out LIVE!: twitch.tv/xiphos_live
Let's get 5 likes on this video!
Hope you all enjoy and have a nice day!
-- Watch live at twitch.tv/xiphos_live
