How to unlock Roku’s hidden Sports mode for a better World Cup experience

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A simple Roku tweak worth making before you sit down to watch the game

Roku remote in front of TV
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Watching the World Cup on your Roku TV should be crisp and clear. Fast-moving action shouldn't blur across the screen or leave trails behind the ball. But if you're using your TV's default picture settings, that's exactly what happens.

Default settings are designed for movies and everyday viewing, not action-heavy sports broadcasts like the World Cup. Two simple adjustments fix this problem immediately: Switch to Sports mode and enable Action Smoothing to reduce blur during fast camera pans.

These settings keep moving objects sharp and defined throughout the match. The difference is noticeable from the opening kick, so here's how to enable these settings on your Roku TV right now.

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Enable Sports mode and Action Smoothing

While watching a live sports broadcast, press the Star/Asterisk button on your Roku remote. Then select "Picture settings."

Go to "Picture mode" and choose "Sports." If the colors look overly oversaturated or unnatural, try lowering the "Color" slider.

Select "Advanced picture settings", find "Action Smoothing" and set it to Low or Medium. This reduces blur during fast camera pans and keeps moving objects sharp.

Your picture will improves immediately. Fast-moving action stays clear without the blur that ruins live sports viewing.

Bonus tip! 🏆

If your TV supports it, enable "Action Clarity" or "LED Motion Clarity" in the same Advanced settings menu. This keeps soccer balls, footballs, tennis balls, pucks, and other fast-moving objects sharp throughout the game.

Not all Roku TVs have this feature, so it may not appear in your settings. If it's available, turn it on for noticeably sharper motion.

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Kaycee Hill
Kaycee Hill
How-to Editor

Kaycee is Tom's Guide's How-To Editor, known for tutorials that get straight to what works. She writes across phones, homes, TVs and everything in between — because life doesn't stick to categories and neither should good advice. She's spent years in content creation doing one thing really well: making complicated things click. Kaycee is also an award-winning poet and co-editor at Fox and Star Books.

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