Why do HDR highlights look blown out while BetterDisplay is running?

Check the display's saved Image Adjustments, especially gain and other color effects. Some adjustments can clip HDR highlights, losing detail even though HDR itself is enabled correctly.

Open App Menu > display > Image Adjustments and enable Suspend Image Adjustments to compare the same content without the saved color effects. Suspension preserves their values and also bypasses custom LUT effects. Software brightness remains effective. If highlight detail returns, review those adjustments before turning them back on.

To discard the adjustments for that display, choose Reset Image Adjustments. This acts immediately without confirmation: it returns software adjustment controllers to neutral values, includes software brightness, and clears the display's enabled LUT assignments. It does not reset the monitor's hardware settings or delete shared LUT definitions.

You can make this comparison on one display while continuing to use BetterDisplay for other displays or a virtual screen. A saved adjustment is separate from the display's HDR mode or Apple preset. If suspension does not change the problem, this check has not established its cause.

See Image Adjustments for the processing methods, HDR warning and reset behavior.