This is great information! A lot of it is going over my head due to lack of knowledge on how digital videos work and the color ranges are converted.
But I downloaded your sample Full Range videos and I can confirm that VLC player is definitely clipping the color range on both of your sample videos exactly as you outlined. Within VLC Player 3.0.6 both videos appear exactly the same with the text and slight color variations missing.
So that would seem to imply VLC Player is always loading videos in Limited Range regardless if they are Full Range or not. But if that’s the case then that means VLC Player is playing back my raw recording incorrectly (ie: clipping the color range) and the other players (including Windows Movies, Pot Player and Shotcut) are all playing my recordings back correctly.
If that is true then why does the clipped playback within VLC look more visually accurate to the actual game’s rendering than the Full Range playback inside of Shotcut or any other media player? The Full Range playback within Windows Movies, Pot Player or Shotcut looks way too bright and all of the colors are washed out. Which from my research were all indicators of Limited Color Range clipping?
Does that mean the darker, more color accurate version of my recording is actually using Limited Color Range?
I’m just completely confused on how a Limited Color Range playback version of my raw recording would look more accurate to the real time rendering than a Full Color Range version playback would. Shouldn’t Full Range color within the media players show a more accurate representation with correct black levels and colors?
Why do the videos look washed out and way too bright when viewed in Full Range?? I’m so confused as to why this is happening now, lol.