Forum Discussion

Brian771's avatar
Brian771
Channel Surfer
2 years ago

How to turn off HDR on Roku Smart TV?

Philips 50" Roku smart TV model 50PUL6533/F7.

As Charles and the other customers here have stated there are no options for turning off the HDR picture on the secret menu (home 5xs, etc.) or in the TVs system settings. It's just not available. Also, as someone else mentioned, the 4K & regular HD picture settings are more than fine. There needs to be a fix here. If Roku was able to remove this feature from the secret menu then you should be able to put it back. The HDR feature kills the picture making it dark and dull especially when compared to the reg HD picture settings when not in HDR mode. Also there's no way to adjust/override this manually using the advanced picture settings. I've spent more time than I know trying.

I've been a loyal Roku customer going back to the Roku 1 box that connected via rca cables, as most TVs didn't have HDMI at that time. The product and customer service has always been good if not great. Obviously this seems to no longer be the case. All we are asking for is the option of shutting off the HDR. If it was removed in an update then it should be able to be uploaded in another update. What's the point of owning a Roku TV if you can't see the picture? Especially as more series, movies etc are in 4K. I've included pics of both menus so you can see our lack of options for HDR settings. 

Roku customer.

Brian 

TV Secret menu. No HDR options.

Regular TV menu. No HDR options.

I hope these pictures will help you to see what others have been trying to explain. 

12 Replies

  • Dutton74's avatar
    Dutton74
    Newbie
    11 months ago

    Did you ever figure out how to turn off HDR?  I have the same TV and it is so dark

  • druid13's avatar
    druid13
    Channel Surfer
    11 months ago

    That does not solve the issue and is a poor solution. HDR looks like **bleep** and no amount of fiddling with picture settings will make it look good. The bottom line is, we should be able to turn it off. Please someone at Roku throw us a bone here. This is terrible! Roku puts that it has HDR features to sell more TV's but in the end it's us the customers who suffer.

    • RokuJanadeeK's avatar
      RokuJanadeeK
      Retired Moderator
      11 months ago

      Hi Community users!

      We understand and share your sentiments.

      May we know the following information:

      1. Roku device or TV model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About).
      2. When did you start having this issue?
      3. What troubleshooting steps you have taken so far?

      With more details, we'll be able to provide you with an accurate resolution. Kindly keep us updated.

      All the best,
      Janadee

      • thechowhouse87's avatar
        thechowhouse87
        Channel Surfer
        11 months ago

        In previous software versions, HDR could be turned off which is especially necessary for lower model TVs without the proper display capabilities that HDR requires. 

        Please update the roku tv software to once again allow for this and notify us when a proper update is made available.

        This should be a regular feature option in the TV settings similar to how it is on a roku steaming device. It should not be buried in a secret menu.

        Please pass this message onto your software developers. 

  • Sq78's avatar
    Sq78
    Newbie
    10 months ago

    I know this isn’t the best option but I was watching a movie in Fandango (formerly VUDU) and changed it from UHD to HDX and it took it out of HDR, sooo… Not a perfect solution but it serves my purposes to avoid headaches/migraines from either straining to see what’s going on or having my retinas blown out. #tclroku

     

     

    • Zonexero's avatar
      Zonexero
      Roku Guru
      3 months ago

      This might be helpful to anyone who uses the inputs and other streaming devices.  On my googletv stick, I was able to just go into settings and shut off HDR, however I have been testing a Sling AirTV Mini box, and noticed there was no way to turn it off, no matter what I did.

      I have the TCL Roku TV (various sizes and models)

      Go into 'SETTINGS' and then 'TV INPUTS' on each input you will see an option for HDMI mode, simply change it to 'compatibility' (hdmi 1.4), and there you go, it should be in SDR.  There are some drawbacks I am sure, so far the biggest I noticed was CEC is not working with the remote now, but I rather have the better quality picture is SDR than what I was seeing in HDR.

      At least to my eyes and having worked in video production all my life, HDR just does not look right to me, that all being said, yes there should be an option to turn off HDR mode entirely for the TCL Roku televisions.

       

       

      • atc98092's avatar
        atc98092
        Community Streaming Expert
        3 months ago

        Secret menus are unofficial and unsupported, with functions added and removed all the time. These menus are not designed for users (only internal use), which is why they're hidden.

        I don't know of any HDR capable TV that can "turn HDR off". What Zonexero mentioned is only for the HDMI inputs, and will do nothing for HDR from a streaming source or playing media from a DLNA server or USB drive. 

        HDR content does NOT look better in SDR. You are losing color saturation and potentially brightness. When I've looked at some HDR content on a 1080p TV that doesn't support HDR, the image is dull and washed out. The same goes with SDR content that is displayed in HDR by the device. In this case, the image is artificially (and inaccurately) brightened. In either case you are not seeing the content as intended. The setting that some Roku players offer to turn HDR on at all times is terrible for accurate imaging.