120hz on the xbox movies & tv app?

Greetings!

Yes, the console resolution is indeed set to 4k. The games and other apps look amazing and run incredibly. The only issue Im having is specific to the "movies and tv" app. The movies I own on the app are all UHD (4k) and I certainly have the 2.1 connection and bandwidth to accommodate a higher refresh rate. I guess my question is there any hidden settings or menu in the app itself that would allow me to increase the refresh rate? I couldnt find anything on the available settings (which is incredibly odd and lacking in 2023). Its terribly jarring to have games and youtube and everything else play so insanely smoothly...only for my 4k movies that i actually paid for...to look so clunky. Its incredibly noticeable and somewhat upsetting given all the money ive spent in the app and on my UHD movie collection. If there is no setting in the app that can be changed to allow for higher refresh rates...then there certainly should be! If thats the case I will no longer buy movies on the "movies & tv" app and instead get them elsewhere I guess. Im one of the few people it seems that actually prefers the 120hz "soap opera effect" and I boldly assumed since the movies I purchased were labeled UHD that theyd have a higher refresh rate and not merely higher resolution...which is admittedly my mistake. I havent tried reducing the resolution to 1080 yet as Im currently at work, tho I will try soon as I get home. Lastly, I cant seem to find any information on the movies & tv app website about refresh rates whatsoever; and the settings menu in the app itself on pc and xbox is essentially useless in that regard as well. I cant possibly be the first person to ask about refresh rates on an app that plays HD/UHD media, yet there is basically zero information about it. Very very odd, especially in 2023 with 4k now mainstream and 120hz-144hz tvs becoming far more affordable. Even Youtube has some amazing 4k 120hz content that runs and looks great...but apparently Microsoft's own media app doesnt? How strange!

Thanks!

Shaun

I understand that, Shaun. As far as I know, there's no in-app setting that would allow you to change refresh rate. It's within the Xbox Settings only.
In my opinion, maybe the movies do not support 120hz at all since it depends on the content you play. If you have suggestions or feedback to Team Xbox, feel free to share it through http://feedback.xbox.com/

Kind regards,

Because movies are not made in frame rates above 30fps with rare exception. The amount of media available at framerates above 30fps you can count on one hand. Audiences have rejected HFR every single time it's been offered, and that, along with the not insignificant additional production and post expense is why you rarely see it.

Please watch the following.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J0Dan0WaZk

I think I may have figured it out, and its kinda overly simple. I think its just the "motion smoothing" feature on the tv that adjusts the interpolation, inducing the soap opera effect. This is the tv in question:

TCL 6-Series 2022 Model R655 Review: The Best Value TV Right Now | WIRED

It mentions the soap opera effect in the article... and that coupled with the Top Gun video above rang a bell and somehow reminded me that in "game mode", the tv's motion smoothing option is greyed out for some reason... (but still 120hz enabled), but in "movie mode" the smoothing option can be used and adjusted! As I use the Movies & TV app on pc and xbox its almost always on "game mode". So I guess I'll just have to switch modes each time I want to switch from movies to games? I will double check when I get home but Im pretty sure this is the answer. Either way I appreciate everyone's help as its definitely a complex issue! Still find it weird Im the one of the very few that actually LIKES the smooth "soap opera effect" in my movies tho!

Thanks all!

Shaun

Interesting link, thanks for the info! I guess its rather unfortunate then that I seem to be in the minority and prefer the 120hz "soap opera effect." Oh well. I had assumed that the native 120hz-144hz capabilities (VRR/FreeSync/etc) of the tv would just automatically re-render each frame 5 times (in the case of 24fps video), giving the smooth motion (interpolation)...rather than the movie itself "needing to be filmed in 120". I know movies and tv are typically filmed in 24fps or 59.97fps. I just thought the tv itself would do the heavy lifting so to speak. Ive seen other people play their movies with the soap opera effect and was always wowed by it, (saw a bit of Dark Knight that way and it looked amazing) now Im wondering how they did it! Everything is set to 120hz, tv, pc, xbox, etc. so maybe its just the tv mode? I think the movie mode is a bit different than game mode, but both have 120hz enabled so I dont know if it makes a difference with the interpolation specifically. I guess I'll do more experimenting later.

Thanks!

Shaun