How to set up your new TV for the best possible picture

It's exciting to buy a new TV, especially when it's purchased at a great value on Black Friday. However, if you want to get the most out of your new monitor, you need to make sure it is set up correctly. Here are some tips to help you avoid common mistakes in your TV settings.

Make sure your media source meets the requirements

The quality of a high-end TV depends on what you enter, which means that the Roku box you purchased during Obama's first term is not enough for your new Ultra HD settings. If you're buying a smart TV, its native app should be able to stream HD, but here are some standalone set-top boxes that can make the most of your new 4K TV:

Apple TV 4K ($179): It's expensive, but it offers extremely high-quality audio and video, as well as UHD movies that are rented for $5.99 or purchased for $19.99 in the iTunes store. If you buy one now, you can also get a free year of Apple TV Plus service, which is a small bonus.

Roku Ultra ($99) or Streaming Stick ($49): Not all Rokus support UHD, but these two can give your new TV the right number of pixels. If you need an Ethernet interface for internet connection, a USB port for media storage or a microSD card for expansion, select Ultra.

Google Chromecast with Google TV ($50): Google's streaming stick offers some unique features, such as enabling the company's Stadia gaming streaming platform (if you don't mind spending money) and Google Assistant features.

Nvidia Shield ($149): This is one of the most powerful streaming boxes that offer Android TV platform.

Game Console: Xbox One S and Xbox One X both play UHD content via streaming and discs. The same goes for the PlayStation 4 Pro. The basic model console and Nintendo's Switch will provide you with an upgraded 1080p screen. The new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will maximize the performance of your new TV, but it's hard to buy.

Make sure your internet connection can cope with large amounts of data

Streaming or downloading 4K content can put a lot of pressure on the internet connection. Netflix recommends that UHD streaming requires at least 25 Mbps bandwidth (the same requirement for Disney Plus), while Hulu requires a lower 13 Mbps connection.

Installing the TV in the correct location

Ideally, you should consider the viewing distance you have from your TV before purchasing it. THX recommends a viewing angle of 40 degrees, which requires you to multiply your distance from the TV by 1.2. You can use this online calculator and adjust your seat distance to make it meet the requirements. It doesn't have to be precise, but being too close or too far will affect your viewing experience.

When installing the TV on a wall (or on a stand), you want the TV to be centered with your eye level. Putting it above a fireplace or on the floor may be suitable for home design TV shows and dorm rooms, but this is not conducive to watching.

Select the correct HDMI port

Not all HDMI ports are the same. Currently, you will usually find HDMI ports 1.4, 2.0, and 2.1 on your TV. To transmit 4K content, ports, cables, and sources all need to comply with a protocol called HDCP 2.2. If your TV fails to display 4K content, it may be that you are connected to an incompatible port. Try another port, or check the TV manual to find out which ports should be used for UHD.

HDMI 2.1 is still relatively uncommon. It brings significant improvements in speed, and it needs to be considered only when connecting to the next-generation console.

Select the correct settings

Now that we have the TV turned on, it's time to make the picture look better.

When stores display TVs on large walls, they adjust brightness to the maximum to attract shoppers’ gaze and wallets. This is often referred to as the "display" or "vibrant" mode in the TV menu, and you should avoid using it if you want a picture that resembles reality in any way.

The most accurate pattern is often called "cinema" or "movie", but this varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, Vizio often calls this mode "calibration".

As HDR becomes more common on TV, choosing this mode and leveraging extended colors and contrast is often the easiest. Typically, TVs call it simply "HDR," but you might see HDR10, Dolby Vision, or some variation of it. They just represent different HDR authentication. HDR may look slightly darker and richer in colors than the default settings out of the box.

If you don't want to use HDR mode for some reason, or your TV doesn't have HDR mode (although it's usually worth spending a little extra money when you buy), choose the mode you think is the most accurate and keep it for a while. Go do something else and come back later. A picture that looked slightly darker or less contrast before may look just right without the memory of the "vibrant" setting in your brain. The Cinema setting usually works well.

Note that "Game Mode" and other settings with similar names usually turn off features such as motion smoothing to reduce response time. You may notice the benefits in the game, but don't use them for daily viewing.

Find out the motion smoothing function of your TV

Does your new TV make everything look like a soap opera? This may be due to the motion smoothing function. If you want to dig deeper into what is going on, you can check out this link, but from a practical point of view, the best way is usually to enable the motion smoothing feature and set it to the lowest setting. This will reduce any jitter without putting the picture into the "comprehensive hospital" situation. If you are willing to put in the effort, you can turn it off when watching movies and turn it on when watching content like sports events.

Similarly, if you are playing games, turn off the motion smoothing feature as it will affect the performance of your TV and make your overall gaming experience frustrating and slow.

Take caution on other image adjustments

If you go to the menu of your new TV, you will find many different image adjustment options such as brightness, color, and gamma. The problem with these options is that they don't align between different TVs and tweaking them at will may lead to new problems.

For example, adjusting the gamma can increase the overall brightness of the display, but you will start to lose details of the highlights. The brightness can also be satisfactory during the day, but it is too strong when the room becomes dark at night.

Colors are also risky. This slider usually adjusts color saturation, and if you just adjust to your subjective preferences, it's easy to over-adjust and make the picture look cartoon-like. If you have specific problems, such as dim colors or strange noises in your image, check the TV manual for specific solutions before adjusting the slider at will. Unless you have a specific reason to move the slider, keep it in place.

The above is the detailed content of How to set up your new TV for the best possible picture. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!