Features, settings & updates

[Anonymous]

"I've turned it off since HBO Max and the latest Vudu play clips as you are selecting content.  Changing the selection causes my screen to go blank for about 10 seconds each time and makes it nearly unusable.  Much easier now that I've disabled the auto-adjust although I won't get the best/designed refresh rate anymore."

Try it after the 12.0 update. Basically, app menus can display at 60Hz or 24Hz. They'll STAY at whatever that preceding video preview displayed at. Paramount+ went from intolerable to just fine now. Too bad I cancelled a couple weeks ago because I thought their app was still unusable. I've got it for a couple more weeks, and it's fine now.

[atc98092]

The accepted solution is incorrect. There is no "auto" setting. It's either on or off. For most people, it's a personal preference. Some are more sensitive/annoyed by a mismatched frame rate, and it's also dependent on the capabilities of the display.

Most people complain about frame rate matching because it causes the screen to blank for several seconds (or longer) while the Roku and the display sync at the new rate. That was the biggest reason channels like Netflix were locked at 60Hz, regardless of this setting. As the video began playing in the background, the screen would blank. Then when the viewer moved to a different title, the screen blanked again while it switched back to 60Hz, then blanked again as the next video preview began. I agree it was extremely annoying. A better solution would be for Netflix to stop with the background video playback, and I understand that is finally an option. 

Most movies are streamed at 24Hz, although some are at 23.976Hz (these fractional frame rates likely go back to analog TV broadcasting limitations). Same thing happens at 60Hz, with some content actually at 59.94Hz. 

Most modern TV displays are capable of matching the incoming refresh rate to the screen's native rate. There are also a number of displays that can accept a native 24Hz signal and display it as is. Sometimes it's better to have the player (in this case the Roku) send the content at the media's native rate and let the display convert it or display it as is, depending on the capabilities of the display. My suggestion is to try it both ways and see if one has any better imaging than the other. One note of caution: media at 24Hz is likely going to be a bit dimmer than the same content at 60Hz. So if you're in a brightly lit room it might be better to leave display rate matching off. 

[Anonymous]

I think everyone understood that "auto" meant auto on, not off. This is a year old discussion. I posted because the 12.0 update addresses the issue that @TomMCE stated was his reason for disabling the feature. If he (or anyone else who turned it off for the same reason) sees this and toggles it back on, they may decide they prefer it on once they update to 12.0.

[makaiguy]

[Sorry about the inadvertent "Spoiler" tag, now removed.]

@Anonymous-

I haven't received Roku 12 yet.

If I understand correctly, what you're saying is with Roku 12.0 under frame rate matching the channel app menus are displayed at the frame rate from the video previously displayed in order to eliminate the frame rate transition blackout at that point.  If the next video also uses that frame rate I'd expect it should start right in with no blackout, but if the next video uses a different frame rate I expect there is still a short blackout.   So blackouts would not be eliminated, but the number of them should be reduced.  Have I got that right?

With Netflix, Disney, and others adding ad-supported tiers there will likely be more and more of these frame rate transitions to contend with going in and out of commercials.  This and one's tolerance of blackouts may play into any individual's decision as to whether to eliminate frame rate transition blackouts by deactivating Roku frame rate matching.

[Anonymous]

@makaiguy : You're right. I was describing the situation where menu navigation is actually interrupted multiple times because of the menu always unnecessarily defaulting to a 60Hz refresh instead of remaining in whatever state the video preview left it.

In your second scenario, I consider the commercial to be the interruption. Your navigation is continuously interrupted when 24p previews start and end only to return to 60p for no reason, but you're not trying to use your remote when commercials occasionally interrupt a program. The commercial is the interruption; whether a refresh rate change at the same time bothers you is a personal thing.

What bothers me in that situation is that it's not really at the same time, it seems to me the refresh changes before the video leaves the buffer and the commercial actually begins. I haven't checked to see if that's been addressed, but I think that's a different issue. Regardless, there's going to be a flash of black screen whether the timing is right or not.

I suggest you turn the feature on now and see the difference after the update.

P.S.: Does anyone know of voice commands to toggle this feature on/off? The two programmable buttons on my remote are currently programmed as "What day is it?" and "What time is it?" Changing that to "Auto-adjust refresh on" and "Auto-adjust refresh off" would come in handy.