Movie Render Queue (MRQ) solves a specific problem: your viewport looks good, but your rendered frames don't match—or they fall apart in motion blur, aliasing, or post. MRQ can produce genuinely film-ready output, but only if you stop treating it like a checklist of random "best settings."
This guide focuses on what reliably moves the needle: output, color management, cinematic overrides, sampling strategy, and fixes for the errors artists actually Google.
Table of Contents
- MRQ Quick Start Checklist
- Why MRQ Renders Look Different From Viewport
- How to Enable Movie Render Queue in UE5
- Best MRQ Output Settings: EXR vs PNG/JPG
- Disable Tone Curve in MRQ: What It Does
- Game Overrides: Force Cinematic Quality
- MRQ Console Variables: Should You Use Them?
- Spatial vs Temporal Samples: Which to Use
- How to Fix Motion Blur Ghosting
- Fix: "Too Many Temporal Samples" Error
- Does Increasing Samples Reduce Noise?
- TSR vs Anti-Aliasing Set to None
- Practical MRQ Defaults You Can Copy
- MRQ Troubleshooting FAQ
MRQ Quick Start Checklist
Use this as your "don't screw it up" baseline:
Quick Start Settings
- Post workflow: EXR sequence
- Color-managed workflow: Color Output → Disable Tone Curve
- Force quality: Game Overrides → Cinematic Quality Settings
- Sampling rule: motion blur = Temporal, no motion blur = Spatial (don't crank both)
- Always: render frames 1–10 as a test before a full run
Why MRQ Renders Look Different From Viewport in Unreal Engine 5
What causes the mismatch? Usually one of these:
- Tone mapping / color transforms differ (viewport "look" baked vs linear EXR output)
- Scalability / cinematic overrides differ (viewport may be preview quality)
- Anti-aliasing method differs (TSR vs None + sampling)
- Post Process settings behave differently under MRQ (motion blur, exposure, DOF)
Fix Approach (Fast)
- Decide if you want viewport match or post-grade flexibility (they are not the same goal).
- Force Cinematic Quality Settings via Game Overrides.
- Lock a sampling strategy (Temporal or Spatial).
- Test frames 1–10 and compare.
For a complete troubleshooting guide on viewport mismatches, see our detailed article: Why Your Movie Render Queue Output Does Not Match The Viewport.
How to Enable Movie Render Queue in UE5
MRQ isn't enabled by default:
- Edit → Plugins
- Search Movie Render Queue
- Enable the MRQ plugins that appear
- Restart Unreal
Open your Level Sequence, then click Movie Render Queue in the Sequencer toolbar. Click Unsaved Config to add settings modules from the Settings dropdown.
Best MRQ Output Settings: EXR vs PNG/JPG
EXR sequence (recommended for post)
What it does: outputs high-latitude frames intended for grading/compositing.
When to use: any serious finishing, color work, comp, or "maybe later" post.
Default starting point: EXR sequence.
PNG/JPG (recommended for quick previews)
What it does: outputs baked images closer to a "final look" snapshot.
When to use: quick reviews, social previews, viewport-matching deliverables.
Default starting point: PNG if you need clean stills fast; JPG if size matters.
Disable Tone Curve in MRQ: What It Does and When to Use It
Add Color Output → enable Disable Tone Curve.
What it does: stops Unreal from baking its tone curve into the render output, giving you a more "raw/linear/HDR-friendly" result.
When to use it:
- You're exporting EXR and grading in Resolve/Nuke/AE
- You want maximum flexibility in highlights and overall look decisions
When to skip it:
- You want frames that match the viewport
- You're exporting PNG/JPG for direct use
One-line reality check:
If you disable the tone curve, your output will not match the viewport by design—that's the point.
Game Overrides in MRQ: Force Cinematic Quality Settings
Add Game Overrides and enable Cinematic Quality Settings.
What it does: forces MRQ to run with cinematic-grade quality settings rather than whatever your editor session/scalability happens to be.
When to use it: basically always, for final renders.
Why it matters: it prevents the classic failure mode where a render looks "mysteriously worse" than expected because you were still bound to preview/scalability settings.
MRQ Console Variables: Should You Paste a "Best Settings" List?
Short answer: no, not unless you're solving a specific problem.
What console variables do: override engine settings at render time.
Why giant CVAR lists are risky:
- Many are redundant once cinematic/scalability overrides are applied
- Some create instability: flicker, ghosting, weird post artifacts, crashes
- They're often copied without understanding what they change
The Correct Workflow
- Render test frames without custom CVARs
- Identify a specific defect (not "it looks bad")
- Apply the minimum CVAR change tied to that defect
- Re-test
Spatial vs Temporal Samples in MRQ: Which One Should You Use?
This is the core quality decision.
If you want motion blur: use Temporal Samples
Set: Spatial = 1, Temporal = 9–15 (start here)
What temporal samples do: sample multiple sub-frame times to create smoother motion blur and temporal stability.
Tip: odd numbers (9, 15, 31) often behave nicely around "center-of-frame" evaluation.
If you want zero motion blur: use Spatial Samples
Set: Temporal = 1, Spatial = 9–15 (start here)
What spatial samples do: improve edge quality and reduce aliasing without relying on time-based accumulation.
Critical gotcha: set Motion Blur Amount = 0 in your Post Process Volume if you truly want no blur.
Should you crank both Spatial and Temporal?
Usually no. You often pay render time twice without getting a clean "combined" benefit.
How to Fix Motion Blur Ghosting in MRQ
Symptoms: blur looks like an echo trail (distinct after-images) instead of a clean smear.
Common culprits: Niagara particles, physics objects, cloth/hair grooms, simulations that don't play perfectly with sub-frame evaluation.
Fix 1: Increase Temporal Samples
Try: 9 → 15 → 31
Tradeoff: render time climbs fast; results can still be imperfect.
Fix 2: The 48fps / 24fps workaround (reliable)
If final output is 24fps:
- Render at 48fps
- Set Motion Blur Amount = 1.0 (instead of 0.5)
Then conform to 24fps in edit (dropping every other frame effectively).
This often reduces ghosting because the per-frame time step is smaller, while the doubled blur amount restores the perceived blur strength.
Yes, you render twice the frames. But it's a dependable escape hatch when ghosting won't cooperate.
Fix: "Too many temporal samples for the given shutter angle/tick rate combination" (MRQ)
This is a copy-paste Google error for a reason.
What it means: your requested temporal samples don't fit the time-step/shutter constraints of the shot.
Fix options (choose the least painful):
- Reduce Temporal Sample Count
- Adjust shutter/shutter angle (if you're controlling it in your pipeline/settings)
- Increase output FPS (the 48/24 workflow above is a practical workaround)
If you don't want motion blur at all:
- Set Motion Blur Amount = 0
- Switch to Spatial samples (Temporal = 1)
Does Increasing MRQ Samples Reduce Noise?
Answer (accurate version): sometimes, but it's not your first or best noise lever.
What MRQ samples reliably improve:
- Anti-aliasing stability
- Edge quality
- Motion blur smoothness
- Temporal stability in motion
What MRQ samples do not reliably fix by themselves:
- Ray-tracing "grain" caused by low samples in GI/reflections/shadows
- Denoiser artifacts (blotchy patterns) that come from the denoiser itself
Better Noise Workflow
- If the noise is from ray traced shadows/GI/reflections, adjust those feature sample controls first.
- If it's denoiser blotching, evaluate denoiser settings/behavior before brute-forcing MRQ samples.
- Use MRQ sample increases as a targeted fix when you know what instability you're addressing.
TL;DR: MRQ samples are great for edges and motion stability; "noise" usually needs you to change the thing generating the noise, not just AA samples.
TSR vs Anti-Aliasing Set to None in MRQ
TSR
What it does: temporal upscaling + AA.
When it's best: fast, good default, especially at lower sample counts.
AA = None + sampling
What it does: disables TSR so your sampling strategy controls AA directly.
When it's best: thin geometry and fine detail (wires, railings, distant branches, foliage) where TSR can soften or "interpret" detail.
Default Starting Point for Final Renders
- AA = None
- Temporal 9–15 (with motion blur) or Spatial 9–15 (no motion blur)
Then test frames and decide. There's no universal winner—shot content decides.
Practical MRQ Defaults You Can Copy
Default: cinematic + post workflow
- Output: EXR sequence
- Color Output: Disable Tone Curve (if grading)
- Game Overrides: Cinematic Quality Settings
- AA: None
- Motion blur shots: Temporal 9–15, Spatial 1
- No-blur shots: Spatial 9–15, Temporal 1
- Console Variables: none unless solving a specific issue
Default: fast viewport-matching
- Output: PNG/JPG
- Skip Color Output
- AA: TSR
- Lower sample counts
- Optimize for speed and "what you see is what you get"
Always: test frames 1–10 first. Most MRQ failures show up immediately.
MRQ Troubleshooting FAQ (Snippet-Friendly)
Why don't my MRQ renders match the viewport?
Because color/tone mapping, scalability, AA method, or post settings differ between viewport and MRQ.
Should I disable the tone curve?
Only if you want post-grade flexibility (usually EXR). Skip it if you want viewport matching.
Should I use console variable quality lists?
Not by default. Add CVARs only to fix a specific, identified issue.
How do I choose temporal vs spatial samples?
Motion blur → Temporal. No blur → Spatial. Don't crank both high.
How do I fix motion blur ghosting?
Increase temporal samples or render at 48fps + blur amount 1.0 for a 24fps deliverable.
What does "too many temporal samples for the given shutter angle/tick rate combination" mean?
Your temporal sampling request doesn't fit shutter/time-step constraints. Reduce temporal samples, adjust shutter, or increase FPS.
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