Subtitles causing screen brightness change (pumping brightness) on HDR content.

codlord

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PROBLEM:
I watched Netflix "Giri/Haji" or "Duty/Shame" (which is in HDR), it's half English and half Japanese and when the subtitles appear on screen the whole screen goes a tiny bit brighter, and when the subtitles disappear the screen goes a tiny bit dimmer. So the effect of subtitles coming and going is for the entire screen brightness to "pump". It's subtle but distracting and of course once you know it's happening you can't not notice it.

If I watch Netflix "Bordertown" (SDR content) I don't see the same issue with the subtitles which hints that the problem only occurs with HDR content.

What I tried with no success:
tweak brightness/contrast and local dimming settings

A workaround that DID fix the problem is setting Netflix subtitles to be semi-transparent. The down side of that is they are sometimes nearly impossible to read against some light pattern backgrounds :( . I tried black subtitles with a white drop-shadow and still had the problem.

I saw a couple of mentions of this same problem on the Q90T thread here and here, but no real discussion or solution so posting here to start a thread to discuss this issue and see if others have the problem or have solutions or other workarounds.

My setup is: Samsung Q95T on firmware 1497 with PlayStation 5 Netflix app (PS5 app, NOT Samsung TV Netflix app).
Currently I have Game Mode on constantly (as the PS5/Q95T doesn't yet play nice with ALLM auto game-mode switching).
 
I have a hearing loss so have sub-titles on all the time time, with most streaming services can get them very small, but as you say do seem to bloom when on dark back grounds.
This on an LG C8 OLED, its still better than the huge sub-titles on 4k/UHD bluray discs!
 
I have a hearing loss so have sub-titles on all the time time, with most streaming services can get them very small, but as you say do seem to bloom when on dark back grounds.
This on an LG C8 OLED, its still better than the huge sub-titles on 4k/UHD bluray discs!
Just to be clear - I am not speaking about blooming issues around subtitles, I am speaking of the entire screen brightness change up/down, exactly like you get if you change the TV brightness setting up/down.
 
Just to be clear - I am not speaking about blooming issues around subtitles, I am speaking of the entire screen brightness change up/down, exactly like you get if you change the TV brightness setting up/down.
Ah I see sorry, i guess this is the back light on LED coming on to much or similar over whole screen when subs are on.
 
Have you tried turning Game Mode off? it might be related to the reduction in processing in order speed up response time.

I've heard that the latest firmware improves Game Mode as well so that be worth a try?
 
PROBLEM:
I watched Netflix "Giri/Haji" or "Duty/Shame" (which is in HDR), it's half English and half Japanese and when the subtitles appear on screen the whole screen goes a tiny bit brighter, and when the subtitles disappear the screen goes a tiny bit dimmer. So the effect of subtitles coming and going is for the entire screen brightness to "pump". It's subtle but distracting and of course once you know it's happening you can't not notice it.

If I watch Netflix "Bordertown" (SDR content) I don't see the same issue with the subtitles which hints that the problem only occurs with HDR content.

What I tried with no success:
tweak brightness/contrast and local dimming settings

A workaround that DID fix the problem is setting Netflix subtitles to be semi-transparent. The down side of that is they are sometimes nearly impossible to read against some light pattern backgrounds :( . I tried black subtitles with a white drop-shadow and still had the problem.

I saw a couple of mentions of this same problem on the Q90T thread here and here, but no real discussion or solution so posting here to start a thread to discuss this issue and see if others have the problem or have solutions or other workarounds.

My setup is: Samsung Q95T on firmware 1497 with PlayStation 5 Netflix app (PS5 app, NOT Samsung TV Netflix app).
Currently I have Game Mode on constantly (as the PS5/Q95T doesn't yet play nice with ALLM auto game-mode switching).
With firmware 1497 you can use standard mode to get rid of this. This only appears in Movie and Filmmaker modes with high or standard local dimming.

There's a new firmware 2014 on samungs support site that fixes this issue in Movie and Filmmaker modes also.
 

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