We live in exciting times where 4K TVs are no longer unattainable. Their prices are already quite
Once you go to settings you will seemany functions with eye-catching names – for example, “Ultra Black” or “Vital Colours”. Many of these features, however, are just marketing gimmicks designed to make the picture stand out from other TVs in the store's demo area. In fact, many of them deprive the picture of volume or cause distortions and artifacts that degrade image quality. In order to get a really good result, you should turn to manual settings – and we will tell you how to do it.
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Features that can be turned off
Open your TV's settings.Before you start changing anything, make sure the display mode is set to “Cinema” (on TVs from different manufacturers there may be other names – for example, “Expert” or “Cinema”). This ensures that key brightness, contrast and color settings are as realistic as possible – at least as much as possible without fine-tuning.
Now you can go to advanced settingsImages. Again, on TVs from different manufacturers, this can be called differently. Note that all of the following is true for conventional TVs, as well as for models with HDR.
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Dynamic contrast
Sometimes called “Superiorcontrast” or “Advanced Contrast”, makes the dark parts of the picture darker and the light parts – brighter. Thanks to this, the image looks clearer and brighter, but many shades are “eaten” and turn into just black or white. This may also result in image artifacts. Turning off this function allows you to get a more detailed picture.
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Black tone
Like Dynamic Contrast, this feature is designed tomake dark shades deeper. This leads to distorted color reproduction, when the shades appear darker than they really are. Gray details will appear black, which will reduce detail. This feature is also best left aside.
Black details
This function is the opposite of the previous one.It is designed to improve detail in the shadows by brightening them. It would seem like a great idea: the more details, the better. No matter how it is: in fact, this is almost guaranteed to lead to the appearance of artifacts.
Clear edges
Makes the image sharper.Excess sharpness causes halos to appear around details – You've probably seen pictures and photos in which this effect appeared due to improper compression. In most cases, it is better to refuse this function.
Vibrant colors | GDR + | Skin tone
All these functions are in one way or another aimed atadditional image processing to improve colors. “Living colors” make the image more saturated, HDR+ tries to make regular content look like HDR, and “Skin Tone” trying to make people's skin more realistic. But if you're watching a movie or TV series, it's better to turn off such functions: as a rule, specialists spend a lot of time selecting colors, and automated filters are unlikely to make them look better than they are.
Super resolution | Smooth graduation | Active noise reduction
These and any other functions aimed atsharpening followed by artifact suppression does a good job of improving low-resolution content. If you are watching, say, YouTube in 1080p or a movie on Blu-ray, it is better to turn them off, since they can, on the contrary, blur the bright and clear picture. At the same time, these algorithms can be useful if you are watching an old DVD or even cable TV and you feel that using the mode makes the image more pleasing to the eye.
Dynamic interpolation
Almost every manufacturer has for thisown name. For example, Sony has MotionFlow, Samsung – Auto Motion Plus or Motion Rate Supreme, from Sharp – AquoMotion, from Toshiba – ClearFrame or ClearScan, for LG – TruMotion – The list can be endless. Regardless of the name, they literally do the same thing: add intermediate frames between existing frames for super smooth movement. The result is something called the “soap opera effect” – the feeling that the picture is too smooth, and it shouldn’t be that way. Few people like it, and besides, it can create artifacts – so we recommend turning this feature off (unless you like the effect it creates).
Auto Image Mode
This is one of the features of some Sony TVs,allowing you to adapt the picture mode depending on the contents of the screen. As a rule, a properly configured TV does not need anything like this and it is better to turn it off and switch to the “Cinema” mode.
Please note that not all of the options listed may bebe available on your TV. Typically, cheaper models have fewer features. Perhaps we have indicated most of the functions that manufacturers mention in advertising their TVs. Please note that everything said above is not a direct guide to action. For the most realistic image, it is worth disabling as many of the listed functions as possible, but each viewer is individual, and if it seems to you that with “Smooth gradation” TV is more enjoyable to watch, leave this add-on.
Optional settings
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Disable image post-processing features– The easiest part of setting up your TV. Now let's move on to the options that can make the image much better or much worse – depending on what panel you have and what content you use it to view. Here are a few features to experiment with to find the best combination for your needs:
Backlight
In many TV models, the backlight and brightnessmoved to separate settings – and perform different functions. It's best to leave brightness alone unless you want to fully calibrate your TV, as it affects the black level. But the backlight can be adjusted to your taste – it doesn't change colors, it just determines how bright your TV screen is. Typically, it's most comfortable to keep it brighter during the day and lower if you're watching TV in a dark room. Many manufacturers also add a power-saving mode that automatically adjusts the backlight based on your surroundings.
HDMI range | Color space | RGB range | Black level
Again, these are all different names for the same thingthe same settings adopted by different manufacturers. It determines how the color signals received by the TV are processed. If the “Auto” option is available on your device, it is easier to set it and forget about this setting. If there is no such option, select “Limited” (on Samsung TVs – “Low”). Make sure that all devices connected to the TV also have this setting set to “Limited”. With one exception: if you don't plan to use your TV as a monitor for your PC. In this case, you should choose “Full”. Note that on Sony TVs the “Black Level” does the same thing as “Black Tone”, so you should turn it off.
Local dimming
This feature turns off some of the LEDs in yourTV to get deeper blacks in certain parts of the picture. When implemented correctly on large panels, this feature can perform excellently and improve the image. However, on some TVs (especially closer to the edges), the algorithm may lag behind the image, make some areas too black, or cause flickering. Watch the TV for a few minutes with local dimming on, then turn it off and see what changes. If you like the processing more – leave it on.
Playback in 24p
This mode is generally referred to as 24p True Cinema.When activated, content will be played at 24 frames per minute – instead of the standard 25. Without going into details of the system, we only note that enabling this function can remove the sharpness and unnaturalness of the movements of characters in films and TV series. Some TVs adjust the frame rate automatically depending on the content, while some do not have this feature at all. If your TV has 24p True Cinema available, try turning it on.
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Game Mode
Intended, as you might guess, forgamers, this mode reduces the input delay so that the result of each keystroke appears on the screen as quickly as possible. On some TVs in this mode, image quality suffers greatly, so you should first check it out. If this is the case on your model, turn it on only when you play.
There are hundreds of models on store shelvesTVs for every taste and budget. Their functionality differs, just like the names of the technologies used, and it is impossible to tell about everything. However, changing the listed settings should bring the picture quality as close to optimal as possible without fine-tuning. If you don't understand what a function is for and I'm not on our list, try googling – As a rule, users generously share their experiences on forums and tell how useful this or that technology is. In addition, you can write about it in the comments to this post, and we will add the information you are interested in to the article.