Solving playback issues

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Scottf589
Reel Rookie

Picture quality on some shows are not clear

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I have the Roku ultra 4800R and the picture quality looks to be more soft or cartoon looking on some shows I stream. I thought it was just amazon, but noticed it on some other streaming shows. I notice that if I stream the same content though my Blu-Ray player, it does not look like this and is clearer and sharper looking. I have a 32 inch Sony TV that does not support HDR or Dolby vision. I bought this better player to have faster launches and better quality. By the way, my TV is does not support any 4K video, but 1080p max. I can not find how to change any video settings, except the auto input and refresh rate. Is there any other setting that I am missing or is this Roku wrong for my type of TV? Thanks

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Scottf589
Reel Rookie

Re: Picture quality on some shows are not clear

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I returned the Roku Ultra and got the Express+ and that fixed the picture problem. Apparently, my TV was affected by the Dolby Vision and they may have been a setting or something to turn it off, maybe not, they do not have phone service and chatting makes it very hard to explain in detail what is wrong. That is why I went here to see what everyone thought. Apparently, nobody really knows here and doing a lot of looking up stuff online it is the Dolby Vision that is clashing with my TV. That is what I got out of it. Feel free to tell me otherwise. 

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makaiguy
Community Streaming Expert

Re: Picture quality on some shows are not clear

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Overall picture resolution setting on your Roku: 
Settings > Display type.  You may want to set to the actual resolution of the tv instead of the "auto" setting. When you get to the countdown screen click on the "yes" option to lock it in.

Note that some channels use adaptive transmission that reduces the image resolution when it detects net slowdowns that would cause buffering at full resolution.  You may be able to reach settings for this by logging into your account at such a channel.

Roku Community Streaming Expert
I am not a Roku employee, only a user like you.  Please, no support questions via private message -- post them publicly to the Community where others may benefit as well.
If this post solves your problem please help others find this answer by clicking "Accept as Solution.".

Streaming Stick 4K+ 3821 | Streaming Stick+ 3810 | TCL Roku TV 43S245/C107X
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Scottf589
Reel Rookie

Re: Picture quality on some shows are not clear

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That did not change anything. I am going to try the Roku LT to see if there is a difference in the picture quality. Funny thing is, when it plays a great quality video or plays YouTube, the quality is great. We have 75 MPs and should be plenty for it also. The. Videos always start the way it stays though out the shows. I tried my Blu Ray player to stream the same shows and they are clearer. We have the Roku 2 in the main family room and it is not doing this. Strange.... Tell me if I should follow through to getting the Rou LT and if that will make a difference. Thanks 

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Scottf589
Reel Rookie

Re: Picture quality on some shows are not clear

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I returned the Roku Ultra and got the Express+ and that fixed the picture problem. Apparently, my TV was affected by the Dolby Vision and they may have been a setting or something to turn it off, maybe not, they do not have phone service and chatting makes it very hard to explain in detail what is wrong. That is why I went here to see what everyone thought. Apparently, nobody really knows here and doing a lot of looking up stuff online it is the Dolby Vision that is clashing with my TV. That is what I got out of it. Feel free to tell me otherwise. 

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bspencer
Channel Surfer

Re: Picture quality on some shows are not clear

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I had this same issue as my TV only supports 1080p. I was initially unable to use the ‘Auto detect’ option in Settings ->  ‘Display type’ as my screen never displayed the confirmation dialog which resulted in the Roku Ultra requiring me to select a specific type. ‘1080p TV’ in my situation. This resulted in the cartoonish rendering while streaming. I eventually determined that I had to use the HDMI cable that came with the Roku Ultra in order to successfully select ‘Auto detect’. With that setting, the streaming quality looked great and was no longer cartoonish. I had always been of the mindset that, within reason, all HDMI cables are created equal. However, this seems to not be the case. Maybe using the ‘Auto detect’ option allows Roku to detect that my TV does not support Dolby Vision and, in turn, disables it resulting in non-cartoonish rendering?

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