Roku’s Latest Update Broke HDR Viewing on a Lot of TVs

“Unwatchable” is a strong word. Having seen examples of the affected devices, though, I’d say unwatchable is a fair way to describe the issue that’s been plaguing some Roku users in the past week, in which colors on Disney Plus shows appear extremely desaturated and washed out.

“We’re investigating the Disney Plus HDR content that was washed out after the recent update,” wrote a moderator on Roku’s official support forum last Thursday, May 1. As they wait for a fix, affected Roku users say they can hardly stand to watch their TVs.

sudden problems

From the sound of it, the problem became apparent in the last week or so after Roku pushed out a minor update to the Roku 14.1 release that’d been live since January.

“To dig a little deeper, can you share some details here?” the moderator asked on the support board. “What specific content is affected? Could you give us an example? Also, please provide your device details below:

“Roku device model, Device ID, Serial Number, and Software version (It can be found in Settings > System > About)
Tracker ID (Press Home five times, then press Back button five times)
App build version (Highlight the app from the Home Screen and press the Star * Button)”

Disney+ was the service for which the issue was most reported, at least initially. Now, though, users are reporting that it’s affecting Prime Video, Netflix, and Apple TV+. And it doesn’t seem to be tied to a specific TV brand, with TCL, Hisense, and Sharp users all chiming in to say the issue is affecting them, too.

That said, Roku is still my favorite streaming service, and the Roku Ultra 4K my best-overall pick in my guide to the Best Streaming Devices. I’ve used all the major services over the years, and again in the past few months to write that guide.

My main pick at home, as in what I use to watch TV and movies in my personal time, has been Roku for the past 11 years. SNAFUs like this are out of the ordinary for the service, and it doesn’t make me any less ready to recommend a Roku if you’re looking for a new streaming service.

You just might want to wait a few days until the fix is out.