Disney+ HDR on Samsung

megagold5

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I have been having some issues with HDR (HDR10) content on Disney+ being way too dark. In my searches for a proper solution I have found a number of other people talking about this, although none very recent. To describe it, it is kind of like if you leave a PS5 game on pause for a while, it will significantly dim the whole screen, but in this case it happens from the start of the show.

For completeness, I am using a 65S95B OLED and have all the relevant brightness setting on their maximum output, with no brightness power saving settings on.

I spoke to D+ support and it basically boiled down to, they think because the TV is so new that a future app update may sort it out, to which I am doubtful but who knows.

I have found that putting contrast enhancer on low makes the picture much more watchable, but that comes with its own issues. No problems with HDR on other apps or inputs. My previous TV (a Philips) had Dolby Vision and that had no trouble whatsoever, I also understand from various comparisons I have seen that HDR10 tends to be somewhat brighter than DV in general, which makes this extra odd.

Basically I was wondering, is this an issue specifically with the HDR10 versions of content on D+ (on any brand), or a Samsung thing? Has it been fixed on previous models where it was a problem?
 
Why are you not using the TV's builtin app? Oh and the tv will also dim the screen automatically after a set time on a static screen to prevent screen retention anyway, seeing as it's a OLED...
 
Why are you not using the TV's builtin app? Oh and the tv will also dim the screen automatically after a set time on a static screen to prevent screen retention anyway, seeing as it's a OLED...
Sorry, to be clear I am talking about the built in app, I was just using what the PS5 does as an example.
 
There is an alternative forum you can go to for assistance with this, as there aren't many owners of this tv in here. Unfortunately forum rules here do not allow me to post links to any AVForum competitors...
 
There is an alternative forum you can go to for assistance with this, as there aren't many owners of this tv in here. Unfortunately forum rules here do not allow me to post links to any AVForum competitors...
Yeah I know. I prefer it here though, far less aggressive. 😅
 
what i can tell u is that the disney+ app on my 2017 65Q7CAM has plenty of brightness in that mode. so i think its a particular issue for OLEDs. could be a firmware mishap
 
I was finding the same thing. I turned the gamma setting to +3 (or 2 can't remember), and it started to look as I expected it. Blacks didn't look washed out either. Try that
 
I was finding the same thing. I turned the gamma setting to +3 (or 2 can't remember), and it started to look as I expected it. Blacks didn't look washed out either. Try that
Yeah, I ended up doing +3 gamma in FMM/movie modes. Standard mode didnt need it though.
 
Yeah, I ended up doing +3 gamma in FMM/movie modes. Standard mode didnt need it though.
I have the exact same issue as you. I own a Samsung TV TU8500 (2020 model) 4K with HDR. I normally use the Movie Picture mode for both SDR and HDR content. Of course I have different calibration depending if it is SDR/HDR. I have picture clarity and contrast enhancer turned off.

So far, I havent had any issue with any content from NETFLIX or Amazon Prime, among others. However, I have now downloaded Disney+ app on both, my Samsung TV and also on my Apple TV. The result is, that when streaming series that have dark scenes, like the Mandalorian, or Andor, it is almost impossible to watch.

It is true the behaviour that you describe. My Samsung TV recognizes it is HDR content and switches to Movie HDR mode, but by doing so, it really dims the whole picture noticeable. This affects dark scenes in particular.

I have tried switching Contrast Enhancement to "LOW" and this kinda solves the issue, but it is inconvenient, as then I have to turn it off when watching NETFLIX, for example. I think Contrast enhancement turned on overexposes bright scenes too often, so I only use it when watching Disney+.

Your suggestion is then, instead of switching on Contrast Enhancement, to simply do +3 on the gamma setting?. Do you move this back to "zero" when watching in other streaming apps?.

This issue is very uncomfortable and i think it narrows down to the treatment of HDR on Disney+ content. Perhaps this issue is worse on Samsung TV's as they don't have Dolby Vision.
 
Unfortunately what works for one model doesn't necessarily mean it'll work on another. The S95B does also require different settings to get the PQ into a good place. It is also an OLED whereas yours is a LED which is a completely different panel with different characteristics.
Can I ask what size yours Is?
 
Unfortunately what works for one model doesn't necessarily mean it'll work on another. The S95B does also require different settings to get the PQ into a good place. It is also an OLED whereas yours is a LED which is a completely different panel with different characteristics.
Can I ask what size yours Is?
It is a 50'' TV. The model is UE50TU8500UXXU. I understand it was only sold in Europe.

True, settings vary from model to model. I absolutely agree with you. However, I just wanted to point out that I was experiencing a rather similar problem. Even though, with a different Samsung TV Model.

As I mentioned before, I calibrated my HDR picture mode following some recommendations I checked online, and I tweaked slightly some of the control. I tend to leave off any enhancement. Still, even when this configuration works for everything else, fails to display properly on Disney+.

My default calibration for the Movie HDR mode is:
Brightness: 50 (max)
Contrast: 50 (max)
Sharpness: 5 (only a little)
Colour: 30 (a bit above mid range)
Tint:0
Picture Clarity Setting: Off
Contrast Enhancer: Off
Colour Tone: Warm 2
Gamma: ST.2084
ST.2084: 0 (goes from -3 to +3)
Shadow Detail: 0 (goes from -3 to +3)
Colour Space Setting: Auto

As said, from here, changing contrast enhancement from "Off" to "low" seems to bring light to those dark scenes in the Disney app. I could also put it in "high", but sometimes I think it is too much.
 
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Thanks, I think the Disney+ app only does HDR10, not HDR10+ with dynamic metadata. With dynamic metadata, those brightness boundaries can be set and changed on a frame-by-frame basis, so the full colour range can be deployed even in scenes that contain only dark or only light elements. The result, in theory, is subtler gradients and therefore more detail.
Thus if the Disney+ app only looks darker with less detail then that might be the reason compared to other content..
 
I’ve had no issues with it on mine, shows that are bright are bright and the dim grades are dim.


Make sure you have downloaded the right app.
Up until the end of October there was no PS5 app - it was the Ps4 app that did not support HDR and was 1080p.

You might need to download the PS5 version of the app manually.

Or just use the built in app which will use a fraction of the electricity.


Edit , I see this is new post people are replying to.
 
Does the PS5 app produce HDR10+ content? Advice generally is not to use any console apps but the tv's own builtin...
 
Yeah I think the underlying issue is basically that D+ basically assumes you have Dolby Vision at this point. The "backup" HDR10 version is simply not up to scratch, either deliberately or otherwise, probably because it's pretty much only Samsung TVs that don't support it.

I haven't watched much on D+ in a while, but I basically just have my S95B in standard mode with ASBL off (the latter of which is probably not relevant to your TV). CE is off and every other brightness related setting is as high as it can go. It's good enough for the most part.
 
Disney just need to get real and realise HDR10+ is the future as Apple have already...
 
I have been having this problem with darker shows and movies in general. For example, I watched the new Batman on HBO Max the other night and I could not get that movie bright enough unless I put contrast enhancer on HIGH.
 
HBO have form when it comes to poor PQ anyway
 
Yeah I think the underlying issue is basically that D+ basically assumes you have Dolby Vision at this point. The "backup" HDR10 version is simply not up to scratch, either deliberately or otherwise, probably because it's pretty much only Samsung TVs that don't support it.

I haven't watched much on D+ in a while, but I basically just have my S95B in standard mode with ASBL off (the latter of which is probably not relevant to your TV). CE is off and every other brightness related setting is as high as it can go. It's good enough for the most part.

HDR10 isn't a backup,that is actually the core "master" of the image.
If Dolby Vision is brighter it's because the TV is handling it differently to HDR10.
 
The series The Last of Us does show that HBO on Sky can get it right sometimes...
 
Okay, I'm having issues with the Disney+ app on my 55" Samsung Neo QLED (QN93A) since October 2022. I'm trying to understand why exactly:

Many films and series with HDR on are displayed very dark on my TV. Even when I set brightness to maximum (50), it's nowhere near as bright as SDR at brightness of 20.

Think of series like The Mandalorian, Boba Fett and National Treasure: Edge of History, then it is incredibly difficult to see everything properly. I know it has already been said that you can play with your gamma setting, but I would like to know why this is suddenly a problem now. It worked fine when I bought the TV until sometime October last year (and no, I didn't change the TV settings).

It can be seen fairly well if I set "Contrast enhancement" to "high", but then my TV will switch very much between very bright and very dark during the scenes. That then disturbs enormously and will only irritate. One shot very bright, 0.5 seconds later another shot, then you suddenly see it dim very low and become very dark.

Has Disney+ pulled some "test" code from their app or something?
 
Was that model exclusive to the Netherlands? If so which model is it comparable to in the rest of Europe?
 

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