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decker12's avatar
decker12
Binge Watcher
3 years ago

Roku Ultra with V12 Bug - HDR Always On no longer works

Received the latest update to my 2021 Ultra a couple nights ago. In the Settings / Advanced Screen Settings, I have HDR always turned on for my LG C1 4k TV.

This has stopped working since the update. I'll turn on the TV and immediately notice that it's much dimmer, as if HDR / Dolby Vision is disabled. I'll go into my Roku settings and see that the Always HDR option is still set to "On".

If I turn it that option off and then back on, HDR and Dolby Vision starts working again for the Roku menus and for all content and all channels.

If I do nothing, HDR will kick in if I play Dolby Vision content on something like Disney+ but then stops working when I turn off that content.

This HDR Always On checkbox has been working for the past 15 months since I got my C1 and has only stopped working since the latest software update a couple days ago, so it's a bug in the update.

Adjusting that slider I wrote about above used to keep Dolby Vision active regardless of the content being displayed. Even the Roku menus were in HDR / Dolby Vision. My LG C1 would report Dolby Vision as being active, and of course you can visually tell because everything is brighter.

Now, even though the slider is activated, it no longer does this. The slider will say it's "On", but it's not.

I know this is a bug because if I turn the slider to "Off" and then immediately back to "On", it puts everything in Dolby Vision again. Until I turn off the TV and the Roku and I have to do this "fix" over again.

Previous behavior: Enabling HDR Always On persisted between the Roku waking up, between reboots and power cycling.

Current behavior: Even though HDR Always On is enabled, it is not actually enabled when the Roku wakes up or is rebooted. 

Workaround: Go into Settings / Advanced Screen Settings, note that the HDR Always On is enabled. Slide this to disabled, and then slide it back to Enabled. Now the Roku will be in HDR Always On mode (Dolby Vision in my case) until the Roku turns off at which point you have to do it again.

6 Replies

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

    You might consider that a bug, but I call it a feature. I have no idea why Roku even added that setting in the first place, because HDR always on changes the video image, and not in a good way for SDR content. I realize that some people prefer "brighter" images, but it's not accurate and with some content looks really terrible. I only know of one other player that has such an option (Onn 4K Media Player), and it looks just as bad on that one as it does on a Roku. 

    As a reminder: HDR Always On did not create actual HDR images. It only alters the color mapping and brightness of the display. True HDR/Dolby Vision provides a accurate and vibrant image, but that's because the image is mastered to show it correctly in that mode. Any artificial HDR creation by a player or display is never going to be accurate. 

    • decker12's avatar
      decker12
      Binge Watcher
      3 years ago

      I'm not posting this message to discuss the need (or lack thereof) for it, I'm reporting it as a bug in V12.

      As I said, the slider used to work in the intended way and as of V12, it no longer does.

      I used to be able to tell it to stay on all the time and the feature worked. Now, even though the slider says it's on all the time, it isn't - unless I do the workaround of turning it from On to Off and back to On.

      I'm not sure what TV you have, or what your picture settings are, but Dolby Vision always on looks absolutely stellar on my OLED LG C1. That's the reason I turned it to always on to begin with - I got tired of leaving it off and messing with the picture settings every time I switched apps. It isn't simply a brighter image. Youtube, YoutubeTV, and all other SDR content is dramatically improved with DV set to always on. 

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

        If you're satisfied with the end result, that's all that matters in the end. I agree that the switch should retain its setting, so that would absolutely be a flaw/bug.

        I don't have an OLED set, so can't speak to how it might look different than mine. As I said, your satisfaction is all that matters. My personal experience with HDR always on was it was unnatural looking, and that was with both a Roku and an Onn player, so two different devices with the same result.