Stranger Things Season 5: Adjust your TV as Ross Duffer says for the best finale experience

Before diving into Hawkins’ final chapter, make sure your TV is ready. Ross Duffer warns that five common settings can ruin Stranger Things.

Before viewers return to Hawkins for the final showdown, the team behind Stranger Things has one request: adjust your TV settings. Co-creator Ross Duffer says several built-in modes can distort how the last season is meant to look, and he wants fans to switch them off before pressing play.

Ross Duffer advises fans to adjust TV settings for the best viewing experience of Stranger Things Season 5. (Instagram/ @strangerthingsnetflix)

By MD Ijaj Khan

Ijaj Khan is a technology journalist and Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, with over three years of experience covering the consumer technology industry. His work spans smartphones, laptops, wearables, gaming, appliances and AI - from hands-on reviews, comparison and buying guides to breaking news and in-depth features that help readers cut through the noise and make informed decisions. Before joining HT Tech, he worked with Jagran New Media, where he sharpened his instincts for fast-paced digital reporting. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in English Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. Whether he's testing the latest flagship smartphone, tracking a major AI announcement, or putting a gaming laptop through its paces, Ijaj approaches every story with the same goal - making technology feel relevant and easy to understand for everyday users, not just enthusiasts. When he's not in front of a screen for work, he's usually travelling to a new city, hunting for great food, or keeping tabs on what's next in tech before everyone else catches on.

Read moreRead less

Duffer posted a short PSA on Instagram, guiding viewers through their TV menus to help them watch the show as intended. With his camera aimed at his own screen, he walked through picture mode options and urged fans to disable a set of common features. He noted that every TV labels these settings differently, but the goal remains the same: turn off anything that alters the original image.

Five Settings That Change the Show

He identifies five major settings that can affect the viewing experience. At the top of his list is motion smoothing, a feature TV makers promote under names like TruMotion or MotionFlow. Duffer says it creates a “soap opera” effect that changes the feel of the series and makes scenes look artificial.

He also points to dynamic contrast, super resolution, and edge enhancers. These options often come switched on by default and aim to boost sharpness or brightness. Duffer says they do the opposite, making scenes look inconsistent and removing the visual texture that the team built into the show.

Another control he warns against is the colour filter feature found in many expert or advanced menus. He says it shifts the tone of each scene in ways that do not match the show’s intended design. Noise reduction settings fall into the same category, flattening details and reducing clarity in darker shots, central to the series.

Avoid Vivid Mode for True Colours

Finally, Duffer cautions fans to avoid vivid mode, a setting commonly used on display TVs in stores. He says it increases brightness and saturation far beyond what the creators planned, changing how colours appear in key sequences.

The message is simple: the final season deserves a clean and accurate display. Stranger Things Season 5 will release in three parts—four episodes already out as of November 27, three more arriving on December 25, and the finale scheduled for December 31. Netflix will stream the episodes worldwide, with the final chapter also screening in more than 350 theatres across the United States.

Duffer’s last reminder to fans is straightforward: spend a moment fixing your TV settings, and enjoy the series as it was meant to be seen.