Roku TV owners have recently been facing a series of annoyances, including forced arbitration terms of service and upcoming ads on the home screen. However, the latest frustration hits some Roku users right in the eyes. Reports on Roku’s community forums and Reddit show that owners of TCL HDTVs are experiencing “motion smoothing” without having turned it on after updating to Roku OS 13. Some users are unable to turn off this feature, as it seems to have been activated unexpectedly, leaving a juddery and awkwardly realistic feel to the video content.
“Action smoothing,” also known as video interpolation or motion smoothing, is the culprit behind this issue. By artificially boosting the frame rate of a video signal, motion smoothing creates a more fluid and smooth viewing experience. However, when left on without adjustment, it can make shows and films look overly realistic and lacking the traditional motion blur, resembling a soap opera or behind-the-scenes footage. Even Tom Cruise addressed this problem in a PSA back in 2018, emphasizing the need to disable motion smoothing for a better viewing experience.
Affected Roku TV users are eagerly waiting for a solution to this sudden activation of motion smoothing. Typically, the setting to control motion smoothing can be found in the “Expert Settings” area of the TV or by enabling “Movie” mode from the quick settings. Ars has reached out to Roku for comment on this issue, and users are hopeful for a quick fix to restore their viewing experience to its original state.
