How to Enhance Video with TrueTheater in PowerDVD
Get a sharper, brighter, more colorful picture from the movies and videos you play.
Updated Nov. 4, 2026 · 3 min read
In a hurry? Use the TrueTheater video quick guide instead.
PowerDVD's TrueTheater video enhancements improve the picture while you watch. They sharpen detail, adjust lighting scene by scene, and make colors more vivid. Use them on an older DVD that looks soft, or on a home video that came out dim or flat.
- While a video plays, click ••• on the playback controls.
- Click the eye button to turn on TrueTheater video.
- Click the gear button at the top right and select TrueTheater Settings.
- On the Auto tab, drag the Video Enhancement slider.
- Under Display mode, click split screen to compare the original with the enhanced video.
- On the Advanced tab, check the enhancements your video needs and set each slider.
Steps to Turn On TrueTheater Video
TrueTheater works while you play a video file, a DVD, a Blu-ray Disc, or a YouTube video in PowerDVD, so start playing one first. Some PowerDVD editions don't offer TrueTheater for Blu-ray Discs or YouTube.
Step 1: Open the More Controls
While the video plays, click ••• (More) at the right end of the playback controls. A row of extra buttons opens above it, including the TrueTheater eye button.
Step 2: Turn On TrueTheater Video
Click the eye button. It turns blue, and PowerDVD shows TrueTheater Video On at the top right of the video. Click it again to turn the enhancements off.
The ear button next to it turns on TrueTheater audio, covered in the TrueTheater audio tutorial.
Step 3: Open the TrueTheater Settings
Click the gear button at the top right of the window and select TrueTheater Settings. The TrueTheater settings open over the video.
Step 4: Set How Strong the Enhancement Is
On the Auto tab, Video Enhancement is checked with its slider in the middle. Drag the slider to the right for a stronger effect or to the left for a lighter one. It sharpens detail, improves lighting, and optimizes color in one step.
Step 5: Compare Before and After
Under Display mode, click the middle button for split screen. The left half of the video plays as the original, and the right half plays with TrueTheater.
Or click the third button to watch the original and the enhanced video side by side. Click the first button to go back to the normal view.
Step 6: Fine-Tune on the Advanced Tab
Stay on Auto to adjust the whole picture with one slider. Switch to Advanced when one problem stands out, such as dim scenes or shaky footage. Use only the enhancements your video needs.
Video Enhancements
Click the Advanced tab to choose the enhancements yourself and set the level of each one. With Video Enhancement checked, TrueTheater HD, Lighting, and Color are on by default. You can also check the others:
| Enhancement | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| TrueTheater HD | Upscales video to a higher resolution, for example 480p to 1080p. The slider sets the sharpness. | DVDs and other low-resolution video. |
| TrueTheater Lighting | Adjusts brightness and contrast scene by scene. | Video with scenes that are too dark or too bright. |
| TrueTheater Color | Makes colors more vivid without changing skin tones. | Video that looks faded or flat. |
| TrueTheater Noise Reduction | Reduces video noise, such as high-ISO grain and TV signal noise. Not available for discs. | Home video shot in low light. |
| TrueTheater Motion | Raises the frame rate from 24 fps to 60 or 72 fps, depending on your display. | Action movies with a lot of panning. |
| TrueTheater Stabilizer | Compensates for camera shake. Not available for discs. | Home video shot without a tripod. |
| TrueTheater HDR | Boosts the dynamic range to HDR on systems and displays that support it. | SDR video on an HDR display. |
Close the settings with the X at the top right. The enhancements stay on while the video plays.
GPU Video Super Resolution
At the top of the tab, GPU Video Super Resolution upscales video files and YouTube videos and removes blocky compression artifacts, if your graphics card supports it. On an NVIDIA card, it also needs Super resolution turned on under RTX video enhancement in the NVIDIA Control Panel.
It also needs hardware acceleration. Click the gear button, select Player Settings, open Video, Audio, Subtitles, and check Enable hardware acceleration decoding whenever possible.
The Result
At the default settings, the TrueTheater half of the example clip is brighter, with more vivid colors.
We tested these steps in PowerDVD 365 version 24.0.1923 on Windows.
Don't have PowerDVD yet? Get a sharper, brighter picture from the movies and videos you already have.
Download PowerDVD Free →FAQ About TrueTheater Video in PowerDVD
Some enhancements depend on the video. TrueTheater HD, Motion, and Noise Reduction work on video up to 1920 x 1080, and Lighting and Color work up to 4096 x 2160. Noise Reduction and Stabilizer aren't available for discs, and TrueTheater video doesn't work on MOV files with alpha-channel PNG video.
Yes. Stop playback, click ••• on the playback controls, click the eye button, and make sure Enable TrueTheater Whenever Possible is checked. PowerDVD then applies TrueTheater to every video that supports it.
TrueTheater HDR needs a graphics card and a display that both support HDR. It also can't be applied to video that's already HDR, to DVD movies, or to 360° video. The other enhancements still work without it.
