As Stranger Things Season 5 premiered on Netflix Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST, series co-creator Ross Duffer issued an important PSA for fans planning to watch the highly anticipated final season. In a video shared on Instagram, Duffer walked audiences through critical TV settings adjustments, urging viewers to disable features such as motion smoothing, dynamic contrast and other picture enhancement tools that distort cinematic-quality visuals.
With his phone camera facing his television, Duffer said he wanted to ensure fans experience the episodes exactly as the filmmakers intended. While acknowledging that settings vary across TV brands and models, he emphasized that the steps should be similar for most devices.
What Ross Duffer Wants Viewers to Disable
Duffer instructed fans to enter their TV’s picture mode settings and then navigate into advanced or expert controls. On his television, he highlighted several settings he encourages viewers to switch off entirely, calling them “garbage”:
Dynamic Contrast
Super Resolution
Edge Enhancer
Color Filter
He then moved into picture options and pointed to other features that degrade cinematic quality, including noise reduction and motion smoothing—also known as TrueMotion, SmoothMotion or MotionFlow, depending on the manufacturer.
“The worst offender of all,” Duffer said of motion smoothing, explaining that it creates the dreaded “soap opera effect” that makes scripted television look unnaturally smooth and artificial.
Use Filmmaker or Movie Mode Instead
Duffer recommended enabling the Dolby Vision – Movie Dark mode on his own television, noting that movie or filmmaker preset modes typically disable the problematic processing features. However, he warned viewers not to rely solely on defaults without checking manually.
“Whatever you do, do not switch anything to ‘vivid,’” he warned. “It turns on all the worst offenders, destroys the color, and it’s not the filmmaker’s intent.”
The reminder aligns with industry-wide concerns among directors and cinematographers who oppose automated motion enhancement technologies that interfere with creative planning.
Epic Premiere Night and Release Schedule
Ross and Matt Duffer directed three of the four episodes in Volume 1 of the new season. Episode 3 was directed by Frank Darabont, celebrated for The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist.
Following the launch of Volume 1, Volume 2 will arrive on Christmas Day with three more episodes. The series finale will debut both on Netflix and in theaters on New Year’s Eve, marking the end of one of the most influential television franchises of the streaming era.
The excitement around the premiere was so intense that Netflix temporarily experienced outages as fans rushed to watch the new season.
A Final Season Worth Watching Properly
With massive visual effects, large-scale action sequences, and dramatic lighting central to the final battle against Vecna, proper display calibration can significantly impact viewer experience.
Duffer concluded his message by encouraging every household to make the adjustments:
“Just double check everything—trust me, it’ll make a huge difference.”
For dedicated fans who have waited years for this final season, the instructions are clear: set your TV correctly before pressing play.
