How to improve image quality using picture modes on your Roku TV system
Your Roku TV™ system has multiple preset picture modes that adjust the appearance of the image to suit your preferences and viewing environment. Changing the picture mode can provide enhancements, especially given the wide range of input signal types from devices like cable and satellite boxes, Blu-ray™ players or game consoles and the quality of those signals.
How to change picture modes
To change picture modes, start streaming a movie or TV show or switch to the Live TV, HDMI®, or AV input where your other devices are connected.
- Press Star
on your Roku® remote to open the TV Settings menu - Select Picture Settings
- Select Picture Mode
- Change the picture mode using the left and right buttons on your remote
- Tip: Your TV stores unique picture mode settings for each video input. For example, you can connect your cable box to the HDMI 1 input and select the Vivid picture mode, and when streaming content, you can select the Movie picture mode. When you switch between the inputs, your TV remembers your preferences and switches back to the picture mode you selected for each input.
What are the different picture modes?
Learn about the different pictures modes available on your TV in the sections below.
What picture modes are available?
You can choose from the following picture modes on all Roku TV models.
- Auto (recommended): Automatically adjust your TV settings for what you’re watching
- Low Power: Optimized to save energy. This is the default “out of box” setting
- Standard: Good for everyday viewing in moderate to bright rooms.
- Vivid: Intense and brilliant picture for use in rooms with a lot of light
- Sports: Optimized for sports viewing where camera panning, and action shots are common
- Movie: Ideal for darker rooms to view the movie as the director intended
- Tip: Roku TV models that support THX Certified Game Mode have an additional Gaming picture mode that assures you that video games appear as the game creator intended, providing vivid colors, crisp details, and better contrast, all while maintaining fast response times. For additional details, read about the best settings on your TV for gaming.
What are the HDR10 and Dolby Vision™ picture modes?
If your TV is capable of displaying movies and TV shows in High Dynamic Range, or HDR, the standard picture modes described above are only available during playback of SD, HD, and 4K (non-HDR) content. When HDR content is detected, you will be able to choose from either the HDR10 or Dolby Vision picture modes depending on the format of the movie or TV show.
- HDR10 – All Roku TV models capable of displaying HDR content support the HDR10 format.
- Dark
: Balanced picture settings closest to a cinema experience - Normal : Brighter picture settings slightly boosting colors
- Bright : Vivid picture settings for much brighter colors
- Dark
- Dolby Vision – Some Roku TV models capable of displaying HDR content support Dolby Vision. If your TV does not support Dolby Vision, a movie or TV show in Dolby Vision will not appear in HDR and the standard picture modes will be available.
- Dark
: Balanced picture settings closest to a cinema experience - Normal : Brighter picture settings slightly boosting colors
- Bright : Vivid picture settings for much brighter colors
- Dark
When HDR10 or Dolby Vision content is no longer detected, your HDR-enabled TV automatically switches back to the previously selected picture mode.
How to customize picture settings
Picture modes can be fine-tuned to achieve a more tailored image. From the same Picture Settings menu where you change picture modes, select Customize picture.
Below is a list of picture mode settings that can be adjusted (availability depends on your tv model):
- Backlight: Adjust peak backlight level of your TV screen
- Brightness: Adjust how dark black sections appear
- Contrast: Adjust intensity of white parts of the image
- Sharpness: Adjust how sharp or soft edges appear
- Color: Adjust the color intensity or vividness of the picture
- Tint: Adjust the red to green color balance to get satisfactory skin tones
- Picture size: Auto detect and show best image size
- Expert Settings: Fine tune advanced picture settings like micro contrast, gamma, color space, etc
You can also Reset settings for your current picture mode or Apply settings to all inputs.
How to use Expert Picture Settings
If you have a 4K Roku TV system, you can select Expert settings from the Customize picture menu to fine-tune key picture quality settings. Expert Picture Settings is designed for expert AV enthusiasts and professional TV calibrators who are comfortable with, and knowledgeable about, advanced picture quality concepts.
- Tip: Learn more about how to use Expert Picture Settings on your Roku TV system or from the Roku mobile app.