Optimize your TV for the best picture possible

Newer TVs come with lots of features and pre-sets, and while they may sound like performance boosters, Consumer Reports says three specific settings will actually make the picture look worse, no matter what TV you own.

The first setting to turn off is noise reduction.

“The problem is that when you engage noise reduction, it comes at the expense of fine detail and texture,” said Jim Wilcox, Consumer Reports’ tech editor. “Images look a lot softer. When you turn off noise reduction, you’ll get more detailed-looking pictures and more natural-looking images.”

Next is sharpness control.

“It may seem like at first that you’re getting greater detail, but sharpness control is actually masking fine detail and it can create halos around objects in the picture,” Wilcox said.

Consumer Reports recommends turning it way down or completely off.

Some say the third setting, motion smoothing, is the most hated TV setting you may never have heard of.

“Some movies and a lot of TV shows are shot 24 frames per second, or 24Hz,” Wilcox said. “Video, on the other hand, is shot at 60Hz, which is why some programs like game shows, sports and reality shows have a lot smoother motion than films.

“The problem is, when you turn on motion smoothing, it makes movies look a lot like video, something people call ‘the soap opera effect.’ The good news is that a lot of TVs allow you to turn off motion smoothing.”

It’s sounds more difficult to do than it is.

Consumer Reports says you don’t have to worry about messing up the TV’s settings. Almost all TVs have a reset option in the picture settings menu. If you don’t like the changes you made, just reset the picture to its default settings.

Consumer Reports members have access to a specialized optimization for specific TVs. Members can plug in the make and model of their TV, and Consumer Reports offers step-by-step instructions on how to set it for the best picture quality.