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If you notice a bright glow around subtitles while watching your TV, you are not alone. And it's not a problem with the streaming service or show, either. The glow around subtitles, or other bright parts of the screen, is usually a side effect of local dimming. The feature is designed to boost contrast and make the display look more appealing. It's also a reason cost-effective TVs look better now. But there are some unwanted consequences too, including the halo effect around subtitles.

You will usually notice the problem on TVs that use LED backlights. These have LED lights behind the screen, divided into zones, to control brightness levels across different parts of the screen. When something bright shows up against a darker background, like the subtitles, the TV turns on the LEDs right behind that part of the screen. When this happens, part of the light from these LEDs spills into the surrounding area, creating what's often referred to as the halo effect.

The extent of the glow depends on several factors, but the most important is the number of local dimming zones behind the screen. Budget TVs have fewer dimming zones, while mini LED TVs have far more, allowing for higher lighting precision, and in turn, reducing blooming or the halo effect. Keep in mind that OLED TVs generally don't suffer from this since they don't rely on a backlight.

While you can't completely eliminate the glow, there are a handful of ways to minimize the halo effect around subtitles and other brighter parts of the screen. The easiest option is to control the degree of local dimming.

If your TV supports the feature, you should find Local Dimming under Settings > Picture > Brightness > Local Dimming on Google TV and Options > Advanced Picture Settings > Local Dimming on Roku. If it's currently set to "High," consider switching to "Low" to minimize the glow, or to "Off" to disable local dimming entirely. Keep in mind that the feature can be found under different sections, depending on the TV manufacturer. For Samsung TVs, go into All Settings > Picture > Expert Settings > Local Dimming and choose "Low." You can similarly find and reconfigure local dimming on other TVs that support the feature.

If you still notice blooming, customize how subtitles appear on the screen to reduce the glow around them. An effective workaround is to change the text color from white to gray or add a black box around the subtitles, both of which will make blooming less pronounced. You will find these customizations under the Accessibility settings menu across TVs and streaming devices. If you can't find them, you can also change the subtitle appearance using a web browser for some streaming services, like Netflix.