If there's one question I get asked usually once a week - usually more - it's "what are the best settings for my TV". It's true that to most users, the amount of settings offered on your typical LCD or PDP TV can be overwhelming, and the fact that the said TVs are configured to look horrible when running with their default settings doesn't help at all. I often hear of people who spend £1000 or more on a new HDTV, then turn it on and get the fright of their lives.

The "best settings" depend on your lighting conditions, equipment, how old your TV is... all sorts of stuff. So, although you can improve your picture by copying someone else's settings off of the internet, this will NOT optimise your TV's performance.

This guide is not a professional calibration guide. Professional ISF calibrators have to have completed exams (with a fairly strict cut-off mark) and will have spent money on scientific measuring equipment to calibrate Greyscale and Colour (these cannot be configured by eye). This guide is, as the title suggests, a quick and dirty guide to making your new TV look better, without having to spend any extra money on calibration discs or tools. There's all sorts of ways you can further enhance the performance of your TV, such as adding an off-board video processor (like the ones from Lumagen or DVDO), or getting a professional ISF Calibration - this guide just concentrates on the nice, free, basic options.

Before you start, make sure you're using the best connections

That actually doesn't mean "make sure you're using the most expensive cables". Simply knowing what type of video you should send to your TV, thereby giving it the best chance of producing a good picture, makes a huge difference.

This is a fairly extensive topic, but look on the back of whatever you're hooking up and look for these connectors. Broadly speaking, HDMI and DVI will give you the best quality, and Composite video (bottom) will look worst.

There's some cases where a particular device will break the trend and may, for whatever reason, give better results over a connection that you wouldn't expect - but instances of this are few and far between.

Step 1: Turn off all the crap

This is the stage that throws off a lot of people. "I've paid good money for these advanced settings", you might think. "And you're telling me to turn them off?" Well, actually, it's highly likely that most of the options you see in the menus have been included simply for the hell of it - fodder for TV salespeople, there to give the impression of added value. Take for example, the "Black Corrector" function on the 2006 and onwards Sony BRAVIA LCDs. This is by no means an advanced or expensive function - it's just been made to look like one.

So, as your first step, go into your TV's picture menu, and identify what options are the gimmicks. It's often quite easy to tell, because the manufacturers sometimes give them goofy names, and they're normally "On/Off" toggles rather than customisable options. One brand of TVs, for example, has an option called "Super DigiPure" which usually makes the picture neither super nor pure. "Auto Contrast"? Turn it off! "AI"? "NR"? If it has the word "Enhancer" or "Dynamic", the chances are, it's up to no good. Turn it all off!

Well, OK, almost all off. Sometimes there are some legitimate options scattered inbetween the gimmicky ones. If you see an option like "Movie Theatre" or "Cinema Mode", this is probably an option relating to how movement in Film content is processed, and should usually be left on.

Step 2: Give Noise Reduction the boot

Just in case you didn't do this as part of Step #1, here's another important adjustment you should make: turning off Noise Reduction. It's totally understandable why people might think to leave this option on, because it sounds all good, right? In reality though, the type of Noise Reduction found on TVs right now is usually quite crude and can cause motion blurring. Quite often I hear of people who say, "I know that LCDs can sometimes blur, but this is too much!" - and this is almost always the reason why.

To understand why NR can do more harm than good, you should know how it works. In a nutshell, the kind of Noise Reduction option found on most TVs is Temporal Noise Reduction. Temporal NR means that the processor in the TV looks at groups of frames one after the other (it's time-based, hence the "Temporal" part), and holds the parts of them that it thinks are noisy areas on screen for longer, in an attempt to slow them down and make them less visible. It's easier to describe with pictures:

The top image is the original, which looks nice and filmic. The bottom one shows it after aggressive NR processing, similar to that found in TVs. Details from previous frames are carried over and blended into later ones, creating a trailing, motion blurring effect. In this instance, the camera was panning, so look especially at the repeated outlines of the clock, calendar, and door handles.

Notice also how the numbers on the clock face are hard to read in the processed example.

Step 3: Tone down the Sharpness

The Sharpness control in your TV probably doesn't do what you think it does. Rather than giving you more detail, the Sharpness control actually gives you LESS detail and a harder look, by increasing the contrast around the boundaries where different tones meet, thereby sharpening edges in the picture. This is bad enough on its own, but remember also that when the sharpening commands in the TV's processor apply this crude process to the video, it'll also be emphasising the flaws in the picture as well - not just the good bits. So, if you're watching Digital TV, those ugly compression blocks will be being made more pronounced by this process.

Often, the video that you're watching might already have had it's own Sharpening applied. Sadly, this process is very common, and once video has been Sharpened, there's almost nothing you can do about it. But, if you have your TV set up properly, you can make sure that it isn't making it any worse!

Knowing where to set the Sharpness control depends on your TV. What you're ideally aiming for is a picture that has no additional Sharpening applied whatsoever, as well as one that isn't being blurred, either - in other words, we want the TV to reproduce exactly what it's being fed as closely as possible. For some TVs, the "0" Sharpness level is the correct choice, because it means "0 extra Sharpness". But on other TVs, "0" Sharpness actually instructs the TV's processor to blur the picture.

A good way of making sure you're getting the right results is to bring up a screen with text on it - for example, your DVD player's System Menus. (You can use a satellite or cable set-top box for the same effect, as well). Why is this a good on-the-cheap example? Because the System Menus are usually very basic looking, and typically have text against a solid background, with no additional fancy graphics. That means that if any Sharpening is going on, it'll be pretty obvious.

If you have an Upscaling DVD player, then it's a good idea to turn off the Upscaling mode when you're setting the Sharpness. The simplest way to do this is to connect the player using a SCART or Component cable (since most players can't upscale using these outputs). The reason for this is that most upscaling players put the On Screen Graphics through the upscaling process as well (so that they don't look tiny at high resolutions), which can skew the results and make setting the control harder.

Once you have a menu on the screen, the chances are, it won't look completely natural. Look closely at the letters - they'll probably have big outlines around them that shouldn't be there. These are called "halos" and are a result of the Sharpening process. Start lowering the Sharpness and keep going until the halos are gone. Some TVs are set up so that these halos won't ever go away, which is a pain, but not the end of the world - in this case, just make them go away as much as possible.

On most TVs, the minimum Sharpness setting will be the best one. As I said before, on other TVs, this will actually be softening the picture. Set the Sharpness control so that the letters are clear and distinct - almost like text on a computer screen is - but without being blurred or sharpened.

Above: a Panasonic DVD player connected to a Sony HDTV. From left to right: Sharpness 0/30, Sharpness 15/30, and Sharpness 30/30. See how much cleaner and clearer the "0" picture looks?

Step 4: Set the Brightness

The Brightness control sets the Black Level in the picture: when you adjust it, you're basically adjusting what the TV defines as Black. Setting it too high will give you a picture that's washed out and unrealistic, and setting it too low will mean that you begin losing detail in the dark areas, which is less offensive but still unnecessary.

Some JVC TVs actually have two controls labelled "Brightness" - Bright-1 and Bright-2. If you have one of these, the setting you want to adjust here is "Bright-2". "Bright-1" controls the Backlight (more on that later).

(If you have a Sony TV, you'll need to make sure that the player is sending Standard-Def video to the TV - because most Sony TVs don't seem to let you select 4:3 mode for HDTV signals).

To adjust the Brightness control, find a source that you know has a black screen on it. This shouldn't be too hard - just find a DVD movie, select "Play Film", and instantly hit pause on your DVD player to freeze the second or so of black that'll appear before the film begins. Turn the Brightness on your TV up so that the screen is obviously a milky, unconvincing grey shade.

Now, find your TV's Aspect Ratio control. This is the setting that lets you choose between viewing options like 4:3, Widescreen, and Zoom. On your remote control, it'll usually be indicated by a picture of a TV screen with 4-way arrows on it. Set the TV to 4:3 mode, so that your TV shows two black bars down the left and right sides of the screen, with your grey box in the middle.

On some TVs, especially older LCDs, this will actually change the Brightness of the side-bars as well, in which case you'll need to use your best judgment or buy a professional calibration DVD - sorry!

Now start gently lowering the Brightness setting on the TV until your grey box becomes more black, and stop adjusting it when the middle box just blends in with the black bars that the TV is inserting at the sides of the picture - and no more.

Step 5: Set the Contrast

Setting the Contrast without specialised test patterns is much harder. A good "real world" test for sniffing out problems that arise from the Contrast being set too high is a picture of clouds against a sky. Sometimes if the contrast is set too high, then the grey, fluffy details on the clouds will get "burned out" like an over-exposed photograph. Lowering the Contrast a little will reveal these details.

Fortunately, most modern LCD TVs can get by without losing any detail in bright areas, even with the Contrast turned up full, so if you can't check for this step, then don't worry about it too much - just be on the look out for "burned out" bright areas. Since this isn't an exact calibration, you may want to lower the setting by just a few notches to be on the safe side.

If you have an American Sony TV, the Contrast setting will be called "Picture". I don't know why either.

Step 6: LCD users, adjust your Backlights

Liquid Crystal screens are illuminated by a constantly-on light source called a Backlight. The fact that the Backlight is always on - unless your TV is broken - is the reason why LCD TVs are often criticised for not being able to produce rich, inky blacks. When you first turn your TV on, out of the box, it will often have the Backlight set too much too high a level, so that the TV stands out in the brightly lit shop environment.

Why is too high a Backlight setting a bad idea?

• It consumes more power - you may just save on your electricity bills by turning it down.
• It'll cause the Backlight to stop working earlier than if you turn it down.
• It'll stop you from getting the best black level possible.
• It'll make the overall light output of the panel too high and help emphasise flaws in the video source that would otherwise be harder to spot.

When you first see your TV running with a lower Backlight setting, you might think it looks too dark. If you've only just turned the TV on, then give it a little while to warm up (TVs still need to do this!). If you still find the screen too dark, then raise the Backlight a little to suit your taste.

Some TVs don't have a manual Backlight control, but can achieve the same effect with a "Power Saving" setting. Others have Power Saving modes AS WELL as manual Backlight controls (Sony), in which case you can use a combination of both to see if you like the results (I use it).

Step 7: Get White right

Your TV will have a "Colour Temperature" or "White Balance" option, with settings like "Cool", "Normal", and "Warm". Raise your hands if you're using "Cool" right now. Anyone? It is OK, you are forgiven.

If you've never watched a calibrated display before, then the chances are that you've been brainwashed/conditioned into thinking that blue-tinted whites are the "correct" whites. They aren't. Select your TV's "Warm2" (if it doesn't have one, use "Warm") colour temperature preset. Although this won't be bang-on 6500k (unless you're very, very lucky), it will be far closer to the 6500k mastering standard than the "Cool" or "Normal" settings (which are typically around 9000k and add a blue wash over your entire picture).

If you have never seen movies (or TV shows) the way they were intended to be seen, at 6500k, then the chances are you will think the picture looks too dull or too yellowy at first. Again, you're just used to the incorrect image - stick with the Warm option for awhile, change back to how you used to have it, and chances are, you'll be shocked.

Step 8: Get your system calibrated

This guide touches on the basics, but if you want to get the very most out of your AV gear, have an Imaging Science Foundation professional calibrate your system. ISF Calibrators are video experts who will measure your equipments' output and adjust it accordingly. Again, this stuff is impossible to do with the naked eye: it needs a skilled professional with measuring equipment and software. Note that professional calibrations are absolutely NOT as simple as running a THX Optimode DVD setup tutorial, tweaking settings, then calling it a day!

If you're in the US, visit ISF.com to find your local neighborhood calibrator. That site has international contacts too, but if you're in the UK, then I suggest you ask in AVForums' ISF section, and someone will see to you.

End!

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