Expert tips: the settings you need for perfect picture quality on your new TV
Drawing on the views of experts, we take a look at some of the key things you can do to improve your television’s picture quality.
Have you just splashed out on a television - but find yourself struggling to draw optimum picture quality out of your new purchase? Then read on. We’ve pulled together the views of a range of experts to offer you six changes you can make to get maximum performance from your screen.
TV settings you should adjust
- Select the best picture mode:
Experts recommend choosing ‘cinema’ or ‘movie’ mode. “The basic rule of thumb is Cinema or Movie mode is going make the TV look it’s most ‘accurate,’ says CNET’s Geoffrey Morrison. “This means it will make the image look as close to what the director or content producer intended.”
‘Standard’ mode may appear too bright, while ‘vivid’ or ‘dynamic’ mode may make for colors that are, according to Tech Radar’s James Davidson, “too oversaturated, too... everything”.
- Adjust the brightness and contrast:
Adjusting your TV’s ‘brightness’ setting can help, particularly with dark scenes: by raising the brightness, you’ll make sure these scenes aren’t too dim. When it comes to ‘contrast’, meanwhile, you want to increase this setting until whites are bright but don’t look washed out.
- Lower the sharpness:
A high ‘sharpness’ setting can actually make for a grainy image with halos appearing around edges. “The sharpness control doesn’t actually increase the TV’s sharpness,” notes Morrison. “With most TVs, it actually masks fine detail.”
- Consider deactivating ‘motion smoothing’:
It’s a good idea to have the ‘motion smoothing’ setting turned on if you’re watching sports on your television. But if you’re catching a movie or a TV series, experts advise viewers to turn this option off.
“Motion smoothing can ruin a movie and other cinematic content, such as an episode of your favorite series, by introducing the so-called soap opera effect,” says Popular Mechanics’ Stefan Vazharov.
“This happens when video footage has more frames per second than its creators intended by artificially introducing more frames.
“Because movies and top-tier series are recorded at 24 frames per second, motion smoothing makes them look unnaturally lifelike and similar to daytime soap operas.”
Changes to your viewing environment
- Make sure your room’s lighting is on point:
Lighting experts Mod Lighting warn that watching TV in a dark room can lead the brightness of the screen to cause eye strain. Meanwhile, turning lights on may cause the light itself, or other objects in your room, to obstruct your view by appearing on your screen as reflections.
According to Mod Lighting, you can avoid these scenarios by using dimming lights. Another option is to invest in bias lighting, which is “an ambient form of lighting that can be installed behind your TV or on the wall itself, being an easier adjustment for your eyes.”
- Get your viewing distance and angle right:
Your enjoyment of your TV’s picture also comes down to where you are sitting - both in terms of distance and angle.
According to FPD Vision, the distance between you and your television should be between 1.5 and 2.5 times the TV’s diagonal screen size. For instance, if you have a 43-inch screen, you should be positioned between 5.5 and nine feet away.
As for viewing angle, FPD Vision notes: “Position your seat so that, while sitting, the TV screen’s center corresponds with your eye level.”
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