Getting a 4K TV is just the first step in making your 4K UHD Blu-ray discs look the best that they can. While your TV is 4K resolution, there are many more factors that go into getting a good picture. How much you want to do really comes down to you, but I don’t like leaving performance on the table if I don’t have to. Your TV could also be a limiting factor as low-end models don’t have as much customization as high-end ones.
If you’re particularly lazy, which we all are on occasion, your TV probably has a Filmmaker mode you can throw on and get close enough. What I like to do is put that mode on, but then tweak settings from there, because there’s actually quite a bit that you can do. For example, your brightness settings might have to be changed depending on your viewing conditions. Having higher brightness helps fight off glare in a bright room, for example. This is why you shouldn’t blindly copy settings you see online. Instead, you need to fine-tune things to your liking.
Turn off HDR tone mapping if it’s an option
This messes with the picture too much
I don’t like settings that change my TV’s settings on the fly, and that’s what HDR tone mapping does. This gives your HDR a dynamic setting that automatically adjusts depending on the viewing conditions, such as whether it’s too dark or too light. The idea here is to always give you the best picture at any given time, but I think it’s too distracting for its own good.
There’s no reason to have the look of my movie change as I’m watching it, so I’d much rather have it set to specific setting. Blackout curtains or watching at night is a good way to solve the brightness problem without having to rely on the TV. I want to watch things as they are intended, so HDR tone mapping is a step too far away from that.
Local dimming is a must
I was surprised to see it turned off
Local dimming is a great feature that makes sure the dark parts of your screen are actually dark while the rest of the screen remains visible. You don’t want your entire screen to dim just because one part of the scene is. Mini-LED TVs are where this shines because it’s able to target specific zones of your TV and dim those pixels. My Mini-LED TV has Low, Medium, and High for these dimming options, and I was shocked to see it automatically turned off at first.
I immediately flipped it to High when I went through my settings, and I was very impressed with the black levels now on display. If your TV has this setting available, make sure you turn it on because I don’t see how it can do anything other than make your movies look better than they did before. It won’t automatically make your TV reach OLED black levels, but it’ll get it closer than it was.
Pick the correct Dolby Vision setting
Bright or Dark, it’s your choice
If you have a TV with Dolby Vision, you might have some extra decisions to make. My TV and the TV before have two different Dolby Vision options to choose from, and it comes down to your viewing conditions. I’ve talked a lot about brightness, but it’s an important element. I prefer to watch everything Dolby Vision Dark if I can. The problem with that is that it’s darker than the other setting, and that makes it more difficult to see during the day.
Changing over to Bright makes it easier to see, and you still get that Dolby Vision scan, so it’s not like you’re sacrificing it. I know people who like the Bright setting even at night, so check out the two of them and see what one you prefer. Both of them give you good image quality, but I give the edge to Dark.
Motion smoothing has to go
It’s turned off in Filmmaker modes, but double-check
Once upon a time, I remember being mesmerized by motion smoothing, and it wasn’t until I turned on one of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and saw him swing through the city before I realized something was off. I don’t know what it is, but something clicked, and I didn’t want to see the soap opera effect anymore. I turned it off, and I didn’t look back. Like I said earlier, I want to watch things as they are intended, and motion smoothing is the exact opposite of that.
The good news is that many filmmaking preset modes have this turned off, but even if it’s a low setting, you’re better off just turning it off completely. I wouldn’t want it to get in the way of anything at all, so just take a peak under the hood and see if it’s fully turned off.
