You can find a smart TV in almost any price range imaginable. But after recently purchasing an inexpensive model, I’ve found some handy tweaks that make the picture look even better.
7
Select the Right Picture Mode
Oluwademilade Afolabi / MakeUseOf
Instead of having to worry about finding the exact best settings for each and every part of the video quality, most modern smart TVs make it easy for you. There is a wide variety of picture modes to choose from for a one-touch change. Some of the modes you can find in your smart TV’s settings include Sports, Cinema, Gaming, and others. Each mode has a set value for options like brightness. On my TCL TV, I was even able to select from a bright or dark picture mode.
With a little bit of testing, you can find the option that works best for the content you enjoy the most on your TV.
6
Turn Off the Soap Opera Effect
Kegan Mooney/MakeUseOf
One of the first things you should do after buying a smart TV, no matter the cost, is to turn off motion smoothing. Also known as the soap opera effect, it’s one of the most annoying features of any smart TV.
The feature automatically adds frames to the content to make the video look “smoother.” While it might work in some instances, most of the time, the feature makes TV shows and movies unnatural and just plain odd, since the content wasn’t designed to support such high frame rates. This is especially noticeable with movies that are designed to be shot at just 24 frames per second.
Depending on your TV, the feature might be found under another name, but it’s easy to turn off.
5
Turn Down Sharpness
Brent Dirks / MakeUseOf
While it might sound good to have the sharpest possible picture quality, too much sharpness can make your smart TV’s picture quality look noticeably poorer. Sharpness is designed to make the edges of objects more distinct compared to the background surrounding them. Usually, it can make objects look more distinct and make the picture quality even better. But there’s also too much of a good thing.
Too much sharpness can lead to a distorted picture, especially when watching something fast-paced, such as a basketball game or while gaming.
So, head to your TV’s settings and make sure sharpness is set to one of the lower levels.
4
Adjust Contrast
Brent Dirks / MakeUseOf
Contrast is another basic TV setting that can have a big effect on picture quality. If you don’t know, contrast is the difference between the darkest black and the lightest part of the picture. This setting takes a fine balancing act. If you choose a contrast that’s too high, bright areas lose quality. With too low a contrast, dark parts of the picture may look odd. The best bet is to set the contrast near the middle.
3
Adjust Color and Tint
Brent Dirks / MakeUseOf
Color and tint are another set of picture quality settings that are crucial for providing a great-quality image. To best adjust these settings, I found the best possible option is to select one of the preset modes and then adjust from there. These are likely to require minimal adjustment, but you can fine-tune them to your liking.
2
Turn off Ambient Light Detection
TiVo
Just like your smartphone, many smart TVs likely have ambient light detection. It automatically adjusts your TV’s brightness up or down depending on the amount of light in the room. On paper, the feature sounds great, but in reality, it will often run into other issues like TV placement, someone opening or closing a window, or something else. It’s best to turn off the feature completely and adjust the brightness manually.
In many smart TVs, the ambient light feature is in the advanced picture settings.
1
Use a New HDMI Cable
Julien Jean Zayatz/Shutterstock
Making your inexpensive smart TV look better sometimes doesn’t mean tweaking the settings. Something you should always do with a new TV is to purchase a new HDMI cable. Although you may have a spare HDMI cable or two around the house, it’s always best to purchase a new one for the best possible picture quality. Before making a new cable purchase for your TV, there are a few key options you need to check, like proper certification, connector type and compatibility, cable length/build quality, and much more.
As you can see, with just a few minutes of fine-tuning your TV settings, you can make any smart TV picture look so much better. Sit back, relax, and enjoy watching your favorite show or movie with the best possible picture quality, no matter how much you paid for the TV.
