How To Set The Best Picture Settings On Your Samsung TV
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There is a reason why Samsung has been in the TV business for over 50 years. Consistency in their design, manufacturing, and picture quality have set them apart from the competition and landed the brand a permanent spot as a leader in the industry.
However, as technology like gaming graphics and movie CGI have progressed, even Samsung's cutting-edge TVs could use some slight modifications to produce their best possible picture. It may sound like a complex and potentially scary task if you've never tried to modify your TV's picture settings. But rest assured, they make it as easy as possible to get the correct settings for your medium of choice, according to this brief tutorial from Samsung.
Whether you're trying to play the latest horror game on your PS5 or stream the new Game of Thrones series, there is a picture setting that's perfect for your TV. It may not seem like it, but subtle differences in darkness and contrast can make all the difference in video quality and potentially make or break a producer's vision for a particular scene.
How to set the best picture setting for a Samsung 4K TV
If you've recently switched to a Samsung 4K TV, you're probably already aware of how much better the picture is than your old TV. Hence the name — a 4K TV gets you four times the number of pixels compared to a Full HD TV, according to Samsung.
However, with a 4K TV, you also need accompanying 4K content, and unfortunately, not all sporting events, movies, and TV shows are filmed in 4K resolution. One of the best parts about new Samsung 4K TVs is their ability to upscale and enhance standard HD content. Upscaling is an AI-driven process that will improve the resolution of lower-quality video to a near-4K level. However, while your Samsung 4K TV will automatically have this toggled on, you can still take a few steps to ensure you're getting the best possible picture by increasing your TV's sharpness.
- Click the home button on your Samsung remote.
- Navigate to All Settings > Picture > Expert Settings.
- Scroll until you see the Sharpness setting and turn it up.
It's important to note that this won't make standard HD content appear in 4K resolution, but it can help increase your TV's picture by adding sharpness to contrasting colors and shapes. If you're having trouble with fuzziness or blurry picture on your TV, it's worth trying this approach.
How to set the best picture setting for watching a movie on a Samsung TV
If you've ever sat down to watch a movie and found yourself squinting at scenes with low lighting because you can't tell what's going on, you're not alone. While it may be tempting to flip off all the lights in the room and sit as close to the screen as possible, there are other steps to take to improve your viewing experience, according to this tutorial from Samsung.
- Click the home button on your Samsung remote.
- Navigate to All Settings > Picture > Expert Settings.
- Scroll until you see brightness, contrast, and backlight. Turn all three up.
However, if you're a cinephile and enjoy watching movies and TV shows the way the director intended, you can also toggle Filmmaker Mode. This feature of Samsung TVs will turn off all picture settings and leave content unmodified.
- Click the home button on your Samsung remote.
- Navigate to All Settings > Picture > Picture Mode.
- Choose filmmaker mode from the list of options.
While this can be a great tool to immerse yourself in a movie or TV show, you should be aware that it can cause content to appear dark, so it's best to save this for a movie night in a truly dark room.
How to set the best picture setting for gaming on a Samsung TV
It can be highly frustrating to have an epic gaming moment ruined by motion blur or uneven visuals — especially if you frequently play online. Samsung's TVs have a built-in picture setting to help reduce visual problems while gaming. This can be especially helpful with high FPS gaming consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
If you have your console connected to your Samsung TV with an HDMI cord, it will automatically come on when you turn your gaming system on, according to Samsung. However, if it's not turning on for some reason or if you'd like to increase or decrease the individual Game Mode settings — such as blur and judder reduction — it can be helpful to know how to do this manually.
- Click the home button on your Samsung remote.
- Navigate to All Settings > Connection > Game Mode Settings > Game Motion Plus Settings.
- Adjust the slider settings to fit your needs.
It's always a good idea to leave Game Mode on auto, so you don't have to manually toggle it every time you turn your console on. When you turn your console off or switch to a streaming app, your Samsung TV will automatically revert to your movie and TV settings.