A SIMPLE mistake with your TV ports could be preventing you from getting the best picture quality.
Roku has revealed where you might be going wrong – and how to fix it in seconds.
When it comes to the visual quality of a TV show or movie, there are two very important factors: resolution and dynamic range.
Resolution is how many pixels are on the image, and is usually described by terms like HD, Full HD, and 4K.
The higher the resolution, the more detail can be crammed into an image.
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Dynamic Range relates to the range of contrast in an image: If you're watching a movie in an HDR format then it'll have brighter whites and darker blacks.
But to enjoy both of these formats, you need to make sure you have the right TV set-up.
HDMI HAVOC!
Even if you have a 4K HDR TV and some fitting content to watch, you might still be tripped up by HDMI cables, settings, and ports.
"To preserve compatibility with early Ultra HD Blu-ray players, many 4K TVs are factory-configured to use HDMI 1.4 mode, limiting 4K Ultra HD (4K) with High Dynamic Range (HDR) playback to 30 frames per second (fps)," Roku explained.
"Not only is playback less smooth with a lower frame rate like 30fps, but some channels like Netflix will not play 4K HDR content unless 60fps is supported.
"To ensure support for the higher frame rates, the HDMI connection with your TV and any other devices like an audio/video receiver (AVR) or soundbar must be configured to use HDMI 2.0 mode or later.
"This newer standard enables 4K playback at 60fps with HDR color such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision as well."
You can check your configurations in your settings.
If your Roku player is connected directly to your TV then you can set it up for 4K HDR there.
Next, make sure that your Roku player is plugged in via a HDMI 2.0 (or later) port.
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And finally, make sure you're using a HDMI 2.0 compatible cable.
"Roku players that support HDR ship with an HDMI 2.0 compatible cable," Roku explained.
"If you cannot use the included cable, be sure to purchase a Premium High Speed HDMI Cable or Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable.
"Cables that are not labeled or may be labeled 'high speed' or 'standard speed' may not be adequate for 4K HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision content at 60fps."
WHAT'S GOING WRONG?
Of course there are plenty of other reasons why you might not be seeing a 4K or HDR picture.
For starters, your TV model might not support one or either of those video formats.
Similarly, you might be viewing content on a streaming device that doesn't support 4K or HDR.
You'll also need to ensure that the content you're trying to watch is 4K and HDR – usually it will be labeled as such inside the streaming apps.
And even if everything else is set up right, slow internet could cause streaming services to degrade the quality of the image you're seeing.
Roku says you'll need up to 25Mbps to enjoy a 4K HDR image, so you might struggle if your internet is particularly slow.
