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Roku warns millions that common ‘TV port’ mistake is ruining your picture quality – exact way to plug your cable in
Plus, how slow internet may impact it as well
A SIMPLE mistake with your TV ports could be preventing you from getting the best picture quality.
Roku has revealed where you might be going wrong – and how to fix it in seconds.
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When it comes to the visual quality of a TV show or movie, there are two very important factors: resolution and dynamic range.
Resolution is how many pixels are on the image, and is usually described by terms like HD, Full HD, and 4K.
The higher the resolution, the more detail can be crammed into an image.
Dynamic Range relates to the range of contrast in an image: If you're watching a movie in an HDR format then it'll have brighter whites and darker blacks.
But to enjoy both of these formats, you need to make sure you have the right TV set-up.
HDMI HAVOC!
Even if you have a 4K HDR TV and some fitting content to watch, you might still be tripped up by HDMI cables, settings, and ports.
"To preserve compatibility with early Ultra HD Blu-ray players, many 4K TVs are factory-configured to use HDMI 1.4 mode, limiting 4K Ultra HD (4K) with High Dynamic Range (HDR) playback to 30 frames per second (fps)," Roku explained.
"Not only is playback less smooth with a lower frame rate like 30fps, but some channels like Netflix will not play 4K HDR content unless 60fps is supported.
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"To ensure support for the higher frame rates, the HDMI connection with your TV and any other devices like an audio/video receiver (AVR) or soundbar must be configured to use HDMI 2.0 mode or later.
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"This newer standard enables 4K playback at 60fps with HDR color such as HDR10 and Dolby Vision as well."
You can check your configurations in your settings.
If your Roku player is connected directly to your TV then you can set it up for 4K HDR there.
Next, make sure that your Roku player is plugged in via a HDMI 2.0 (or later) port.
What is 4K, Ultra HD and UHD?
Here's an easy guide to what 4K means...
- 4K, Ultra HD and UHD are all different names for the same type of TV screen. 4K refers to the number of pixels on your TV screen – or the “image resolution”
- The pixels are the tiny dots of colour that make up the image you see on your telly. A pixellated image is one where the pixels are really obvious, because there aren’t many. But images with lots of pixels – like a 4K movie – generally look sharper and clearer
- A true 4K screen has 4096 x 2160 pixels. That means on your TV screen there are 3840 pixels across, and 2160 pixels vertically. That’s roughly 8.3 million pixels on the display in total
- 4K gets it’s name because it’s got four times the number of pixels as a standard Full HD TV
- Full HD (or 1080p) screens have 1920 pixels across, and 1080 pixels going upwards – for around two million pixels in total. So 4K just means your TV has many more pixels on the screen compared to a more common Full HD display
- Ultra HD, or UHD, is basically the same as 4K. If you buy a UHD telly in a shop, you’ll be able to watch 4K content on it with no bother
- But there is a small difference. Almost every TV you ever buy has an aspect ratio of 16:9. That means for every 16 pixels horizontally, there are 9 vertically
- True 4K footage doesn’t quite fit in with that ratio, so you won’t often find TVs with 4096 x 2160 pixels. Instead, to fit with the 16:9 ratio, most 4K TVs will have 3840 x 2160 pixels instead
- If it doesn’t make sense, grab a calculator and divide 2160 by 9. Then multiply it by 16, and you’ll get 3840. That’s the aspect ratio working its magic. So when you see an Ultra HD TV, it just means it’s a 4K image with slightly fewer vertical pixels
- If you try watching a 4K video on a non-4K TV, the video will still play – but it won’t be in 4K quality. To watch a 4K video in 4K quality, you’ll need to fork out for a 4K TV. Similarly, if you’re watching standard or HD footage on a 4K TV, it won’t magically become 4K quality
- Some TVs promise “4K upscaling”, which converts your standard or HD footage to near-4K quality. This works by using software to guess what colours would fill the extra empty pixels missing in HD footage, and then filling them in. This creates a 4K-like effect, but it’s not true 4K
And finally, make sure you're using a HDMI 2.0 compatible cable.
"Roku players that support HDR ship with an HDMI 2.0 compatible cable," Roku explained.
"If you cannot use the included cable, be sure to purchase a Premium High Speed HDMI Cable or Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable.
"Cables that are not labeled or may be labeled 'high speed' or 'standard speed' may not be adequate for 4K HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision content at 60fps."
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WHAT'S GOING WRONG?
Of course there are plenty of other reasons why you might not be seeing a 4K or HDR picture.
For starters, your TV model might not support one or either of those video formats.
Similarly, you might be viewing content on a streaming device that doesn't support 4K or HDR.
The Roku Channel – what you need to know
Here's the lowdown...
The Roku Channel is a streaming app that's available on a range of devices.
It offers more than 400 live TV channels.
And it promises over 80,000 movies and TV shows on an on-demand basis.
Roku says that the app is available on:
- Roku streaming devices
- Compatible Samsung Smart TVs
- Compatible AMazon Fire TV devices
- TheRokuChannel.com website
- Roku mobile apps (iOS and Android)
Roku notes that the app is only available in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It's also available in Mexico, but only on Roku devices.
You'll also need to ensure that the content you're trying to watch is 4K and HDR – usually it will be labeled as such inside the streaming apps.
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And even if everything else is set up right, slow internet could cause streaming services to degrade the quality of the image you're seeing.
Roku says you'll need up to 25Mbps to enjoy a 4K HDR image, so you might struggle if your internet is particularly slow.
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