HBO Max gets 4K streams which is obvious from the image and data consumption.
Netflix is not always getting it. The image looks good, but might just be upsampled. My usual way to be sure I am getting 4K is by the data consumption and the last movie I watched only consumed aroun 4-5GB for 2 hours. Usually 4K content through my TV is 6-11GB an hour.
Why would I not get 4K streams all the time? My display is set to 4K UHD HDR and the Roku checks are all Green confirming my HDMI can receive 4K/HDR at 60fps. My network is always checking out at 40+mbps over WiFi.
NOTE: I also have "auto-adjust display refresh rate" set to on because the image was jerky
I would love a way to check the stream - is there one?
Are you sure Netflix is sending all these programs in 4K in the first place? When browsing Netflix with a 4K Netflix account those programs that are 4K are marked with an "Ultra HD" logo.
Yes, definitely. It describes the film I refer to as "Ultra HD 4K" while browsing on the Roku and when browsing with my TV.
I may have jumped the gun somewhat. I just played 30 mins on my TV and monitored the data usage and even through my TV (Ethernet connected) it only consumed 1.6GB, so my understanding is not as good as I thought. However in directly comparing the two sources (after the 30 mins) I can see that the Roku is very jerky and much less vivid in color. So I may well return it anyway. It is disappointing since I have enjoyed my HD Roku's of which I have two.
Netflix is one of the channels that uses adaptive bandwidth (don't know if the their actual term) that adjusts the quality of the image it sends depending on the quality of the net connections it detects between its servers and yours.
Sometimes re-establishing your Roku's net connection can make a world of difference. This has always worked for me to re-establish my net connection when it has been lost or not performing well:
If that doesn't fix it, try disconnecting the power to your Roku for a few seconds. When it comes back up, see if you then can set up the network connection.
Thanks for these suggestions. I am pretty sure it is not to do with the network since if I switch from Netflix to Prime or HBO then it works without jerkiness and consumes lots of data (so why would only Netflix think there is a network problem?). I feel that points to the Netflix App on this device having issues maybe?