Roku Ultra LT color errors

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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I recently replaced my Roku Premier with an Ultra LT.

HEVC files send my Sony Bravia into bt2020 mode, sometimes with HDR on and sometimes without.

The only workaround I have found is to go into the TV menu and manually select bt709 and shut off HDR in the Sony’s Video Signal menu.

Of course, when actually playing bt2020 content, I must switch it back.

I’m pretty sure it’s a Roku issue, and I post this here hoping it might help others facing this issue. Since Roku isn’t passing the proper color signal information to the television, the easiest way to correct it is to change your TV settings manually.

Hope this helps until Roku figures it out.

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Start reading this thread. Its a Roku firmware problem.

1 Like
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Yes, I am in that topic posting June 4 and getting chided for being off-topic. So I created this one.

Here is the response I got:
" gbballpackPlex Pass

Jun 4

@Cafe_Diem @chroma601_gmail_com,

This thread is specifically about the “always on Dolby Vision upscaler” that occurs with the 4800x aka, Roku Ultra 2020, when watching SDR, HEVC video, which occurs even if a person is only using a 1080p television set. This is an old issue, dating back to at least December of 2020.

No other issues are applicable to this thread. @Cafe_Diem, If you are experiencing an oversaturation issue due to a recent Roku update, you are describing a different problem from what this thread is about and I would suggest starting a different thread for that issue. The issue described in this thread has existed with the 4800x since at least December 2020, with no change.

@chroma601_gmail_com, With the 4800x we know that color info in the container of MKVs specifically causes the issue. As others have stated in this thread, the issue is likely an unrepairable hardware issue.

If this test file does not activate the “always on Dolby Vision Upscaler” issue when direct played to the Roku, you have a different issue than what this thread is about:"

So this topic is for a clumsy but 100% effective workaround to Roku’s inability to inform the TV set what type of video signal is being presented. This is certainly a Roku issue, not a Plex one, and I wanted to show people the way I’ve found to display images correctly using the TV menu. For my Sony Bravia, the controls are in a Picture Settings menu called Video Signal. I hope users of other brands will post the location of their settings.

While this workaround is easy for me, my technophobic wife can’t figure out how to do it on her own. So I hope Roku can fix the issue. On a side note, the Bravia has a native Plex amp (Android TV) that probably doesn’t have this issue, but the Bravia I have is not playing nice with my Yamaha receiver and rarely sends audio to it via eARC or optical, so I can’t use it.

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I am completely frustrated with Roku for not fixing this issue, the Roku 4 does not have this problem, just the Ultra. I’ve found that Forcing Direct Play on mkv files works for me when played on a 1080 TV.

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@chroma601_gmail_com, I never intended to “chide” you.

That thread is specifically about the 4800x model. If you look at @Cafe_Diem’s issue, it has to be a completely different issue from the issue in that thread, as Cafe_Diem said his issue was from a recent firmware change. No firmware change has had any effect on the 4800x issue I described since at least October 2020 thus, Cafe_Diem must have a different issue than the one described.

What I was requesting you to do is test the two files I linked. If the two files are displayed differently then you have the issue I described. If those files both displayed the same then you have a different issue than the one I described in my thread.

Recently, various firmware issues with Rokus and x265 video content have resulted in issues being crossed. I wanted you to test the two files I gave you links to verify that you indeed have the same issue with your Roku Ultra LT as the 4800x Roku Ultra has. The easy way to know for certain is to test the two files I linked you in my previous post.

You did not reply back to my last post so, I have no idea if your Roku Ultra LT has the same issue causing you issues as the 4800x Roku Ultra or if your Roku is suffering from the same strange behavior the current Roku streaming stick is having with x265 content or if it’s some other unknown issue with x265 content and the current generation of Roku hardware.

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My apologies. I didn’t check the files, but if they’re still up I will try to do so when I get more time next week. I started a separate thread specifically for the bt709/bt2020 failures, which also include random HDR errors (sometimes it gets switched on when it’s not supposed to be on). I just hope it’s fixable. Meanwhile, I found a clumsy manual workaround for this particular problem I wanted to share with the group.
Chiding is minor. I was in the wrong thread and deserved that. Roku needs a LOT of chiding from its 4K Plex users, however.

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