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It's a Glorious time to get a fancy new 4K HDR TV. The prices are lower, the smarts are smarter, and the best TVs pull from a swell of new display technologies that provide size options and picture quality we wouldn't have dared dream of even a few years back.
Modern TVs are surprisingly easy to set up and adjust, with most requiring just a tweak or two to the most accurate picture modes. Even so, all this tech can be daunting. If you're new to 4K HDR TVs or looking to optimize the picture on your current model, we've got you covered. Below, you'll find everything you need to set up your sweet new display, put together by our media-loving experts. Looking to learn more about basic TV tech? Check out our guide on How to Choose the Right TV.
Updated September 2024: We've added information about the latest picture modes, modern HDR formats, and in-depth information for all major picture settings.
What Size TV Do I Need?
Ask any TV expert what size you should buy and most answers will usually amount to “bigger is better.” You’ll rarely hear someone voice regrets about going a size larger than originally planned. With so many great LED and QLED models available in massive sizes at increasingly accessible price points, it’s easy to get big-screen fever. Even the best OLED TVs are now relatively accessible in larger sizes.
There is a size limit if you strive to keep a balance between immersion and monstrosity. The right TV size for your room depends largely on the distance from your main sitting position. Dolby recommends a ratio of 1 to 1.5 times the screen size measured diagonally, while other organizations like SMPTE have similar recommendations. That translates to a 55-inch screen if you sit 4.5-7 feet away, 65 inches for 5-7.5 feet, 75 inches for 6.5-9 feet, and 85 inches for 7-10 feet or more. The key is not to sit closer than the minimum so you don't get pixelation. These are just guidelines, of course, and for most folks aesthetics will play a major role. In general, we find most people sit about 7 to 10 feet away from their couches or chairs in average living rooms. Do with that what you will.
Keep It on the Level
If you’re mounting your new TV, don’t make the mistake of going too high. That’s just going to hurt your neck, and you (hopefully) do not live in a hospital. Generally, you want the center of the screen to sit at eye level, or as close as makes sense for your space.
You’ll also want to think about reflections. Are there a lot of lights or big windows behind your sitting space? That may not be the best spot for your TV. If you have no choice, you’ll want to consider one of the best TVs for bright rooms from our guide—or really anything with around 1,500 nits of peak brightness or higher.
THX recommends an optimal viewing angle of 15 degrees or less, especially for LED/LCD TVs, most of which tend to lose picture quality quickly when viewed off-axis. This matters much less for OLED TVs, which naturally offer excellent performance from virtually any angle, or fancier QLED TVs that utilize special panels and/or display enhancements to limit performance issues when off-axis, such as Samsung’s more recent QN90 series TVs or the Sony Bravia 9.
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Smart Start
Smart TV operating systems have gotten a lot better in recent years. We especially like Google TV and Roku, both of which offer dashingly fast setup and breezy logins to your favorite streaming services. You'll find these options in TV brands like TCL, Hisense, and of course, Roku. Even Sony uses a version of Google TV. Other systems like LG's webOS and Samsung's Tizen come with their own quirks, but are generally responsive and work well.
If you don't love your TV's operating system, or you're worried about your TV tracking and selling your data, that's an easy fix. You can usually turn off all smart data in the Advanced or System Settings, then simply get a Roku, Apple TV, or one of the many other options in our Best Streaming Devices guide. They're reliable, versatile, and usually cheap as heck. We can also help you with something to watch.
TV Settings
Professional TV calibrators and installers use high-end gear like Calman calibration software, color analyzers, and signal generators to take measurements and adjust the nitty gritty of your TV’s picture settings. Most folks don’t have the time or the money to go anywhere near these methods, and most modern TVs will perform well without professional calibration.
If you’re interested in going deeper without complex and expensive equipment, you can get a good read on your TV using a benchmark disc, such as the latest Spears and Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark we use as part of our testing regimen. This can help you understand what your TV can do, with comprehensive instructions for each setting. No benchmark disc? No problem! We've laid out an in-depth settings guide starting with the most important up top: picture mode.
Picture Mode: Set It and Forget It?
A surprising number of people don’t adjust their TV’s picture mode, let alone go into deeper settings. That’s a shame because simply choosing a good picture mode is the easiest and most effective way to get the best TV performance without the need for other adjustments.
(Note: As with any picture settings, you should be able to apply any changes you make to all input sources or just the current source.)
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I always use film-forward picture modes (e.g., Filmmaker or Cinema modes) for both SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) and HDR (High Dynamic Range). While settings vary between models and manufacturers, these are typically the most accurate to the director’s intent, and usually disengage “enhancement” features that can make the picture look unnatural. The Filmmaker or Professional mode is primarily designed for dark-room viewing, though with ever-brighter TVs, it often works well even in moderate lighting. If it's too dim, alternatives like Movie or Theater mode may be brighter.
The Standard picture mode will be brighter still, but it comes with caveats. It may look fine for content like sports and reality TV, but it usually isn't optimal for film and prestige dramas. As with other modes like Vivid or Sports (which I recommend avoiding), Standard often includes heavy motion smoothing, higher color saturation, and a cooler color temperature (more on those below), so you may find there’s more you need to adjust than with film modes.
For Dolby Vision HDR content, you’ll usually need to choose between Dolby Vision Dark and Dolby Vision Bright or Custom (though some TVs have more settings). Dolby Vision Dark is often too dark, especially on budget sets, while Dolby Vision Bright often looks less natural by default. As with the Standard mode, it may require turning off (or down) motion smoothing and adjusting the color saturation and color temperature.
Using these picture modes should spruce things up enough for most viewers with any modern TV from brands like Sony, Samsung, Hisense, TCL, LG, and Roku. If you're a more demanding viewer or a natural tinkerer, read on to learn how to tweak and troubleshoot any TV setting across SDR and HDR formats.
Gaming Modes
TV gaming modes often limit settings if you want optimal performance. TVs with gaming features like VRR (variable refresh rate) and ALLM (auto low-latency mode) may automatically swap to a “Gaming” picture mode when you turn on a PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X that forces certain settings. These modes are brighter but can sometimes look garish. The best TVs will let you adjust the mode or other settings such as color temperature, to make the picture look more natural.
Most TVs with modern gaming features offer dedicated gaming menus, letting you monitor your frame rate, adjust settings like shadow detail on the fly, and even add crosshairs. If gaming is important to you, make sure you choose a TV with HDMI 2.1 support and a dedicated gaming mode. You can learn more by checking out our Best TVs guide.
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Here, we’re talking about adjusting your TV’s lighting system for overall “luminosity,” usually among the first available picture settings. The name can be confusing, as it varies by TV brand and display type. It’s often called “Backlight” but may be labeled “Brightness,” a title originally reserved for a different picture setting that affects black levels and dynamic range (defined below). Your TV should give you some basic guidance to find the right setting, and you can always hit Reset if you get lost. Unlike most other picture settings, raising or lowering luminosity doesn’t affect picture quality or accuracy.
In SDR, the display brightness will usually be set somewhere below the maximum, depending on which picture mode you choose. If you like your current SDR picture mode, but feel the overall picture is too bright or dim, simply adjust the backlight/brightness to taste. Since SDR content is more static than HDR, turning the brightness level up too high can be uncomfortable.
When watching HDR content, your display brightness will be automatically maxed out by default (unless the ambient light sensor is on). That’s because HDR metadata tells your TV where to get really bright or really dark, and the TV responds accordingly without blowing your eyeballs out. One HDR setting adjustment worth considering is dynamic tone mapping, designed to analyze and optimize for the brightest and darkest sections onscreen. It’s often off by default in film modes (but not always), and the quality varies by make and model. With most TVs, I recommend leaving tone mapping off for starters and adjusting it later if you need some extra pop.
Ambient Light Sensors: The Ghost in the Machine
Even after you change your TV’s picture mode from the default Low Power or Eco modes, you may find it is auto-dimming or acting strange in different lighting. This likely means your TV has an optical sensor turned on somewhere. That’s fine if you don’t mind your TV adjusting to your room’s ambient light automatically, but I’ve found most such sensors don’t work as well as advertised and can sometimes lead to a lackluster picture.
Not all TVs have light sensors, but if you’re noticing odd dimming, this could be the culprit. If your TV backlight is changing on its own, you may need to dig into the Picture or General settings and kill said optical sensor. It's usually labeled something like Eco or Ambient Light.
Brightness/Black Levels
Not to be confused with the backlight settings above, this setting specifically adjusts the TV’s black levels by changing the overall dynamic range. Raising this setting can help you see tough shadow details that may be obscured in some content by default, but you’ll want to be judicious, because setting it too high can make the picture look washed out. For most TVs, you’ll want to leave the Brightness or Black Level setting at default or close to it, only adjusting if you’re having trouble seeing dark content in your regular viewing environment.
Contrast
At its most basic, Contrast adjusts your TV’s white point levels without raising black levels. It corresponds to the Black Level/Brightness setting, with one affecting the other. For HDR TV modes that use dynamic tone mapping, Contrast is often considered ineffective and/or unpredictable.
For SDR video, raising or lowering the Contrast can help control the blurring of brighter images, known as clipping. If you’re missing some detail in clouds or skylines, you could try lowering the contrast a few points to see if it looks better. If you’re doing any notable Contrast adjustment, you should use a proper test pattern, like those offered in benchmark discs. You’ll then want to go back to the Black Level/Brightness setting to make sure it still looks clear and accurate.
Aspect Ratio
You probably won’t need to touch this setting unless you’re watching some super old-school shows with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Your TV's Aspect Ratio is usually set to something like “Auto” or “Normal,” but if your picture looks odd or stretched, you may need to play around with the ratio or Zoom functions in the picture settings until it looks better.
Color and Temperature
I don’t recommend messing with the main Color or Tint settings for newer TVs, especially when using accurate picture modes like Filmmaker or Cinema, but there are some color settings you can adjust to taste. Turning the Color Saturation up or down will make things look more or less vivid respectively. Adjusting the Color Temperature will heavily affect the overall look, with the Warm modes giving a redder overall tone and Standard or Cool modes looking more bluish. Again, the warmer modes are generally the most accurate (even if they may look a little dim or yellowish at first), but cooler modes may look better for some content, like sports.
Sharpness/Clarity
The TV’s Clarity or Sharpness is another setting you’ll generally want to leave alone, with some exceptions. If you’re getting unnatural amounts of moiré, where the picture flickers or swirls in particularly fine patterns, lowering the Sharpness may help a bit. You may also want to lower the Sharpness if you’re noticing odd artifacts around lines or hard edges, which corresponds with how closely you’re sitting.
Motion Smoothing: A Dab Will Do
Motion Smoothing settings. including options like Judder or Blur Reduction, have long been maligned by picture purists. Using digital enhancements like frame interpolation (which adds artificial frames), motion smoothing can create the infamous “soap opera” effect, making film and TV shows look oddly cheap.
The setting is usually off by default in film-forward picture modes, but not always. For years, I’ve recommended disabling motion smoothing for anything other than high-frame-rate content like sports. However, as TVs have gotten better at digital enhancement, I’ve found myself using very minor motion smoothing to adjust for jerky motion like hard-panned camera shots or fast-moving objects that tend to stutter due to a display's input response.
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If you’re going to try it, I recommend using the Custom option, often found under the “Clarity” picture settings, and raising the Judder Reduction a point or two. You could also try Blur Reduction, but this tends to make things look odd more quickly. To test your results, try watching high-quality films after adjustment to see if anything looks off. If not, you can play around with it and, hopefully, fix any major stuttering or jerky motion.
Other Picture Settings
Most other settings are ones I recommend either turning off completely or leaving as is. If you’re having particular trouble with muddy shadow detail or washed-out images, you could raise or lower the Gamma setting respectively, but with most new TVs this shouldn’t be necessary (and may not be available in some modes).
If you’ve got an LED or QLED TV with full-array backlighting, you may want to adjust the Local Dimming, which empowers your TV's backlighting zones to “dim” when needed to keep the bright parts bright and the dark parts dark. It should be set to the highest level for the best brightness and black levels, but you may need to lower it to Medium or Low if you start to notice onscreen flicker as it reacts to different content (most common with cheaper TVs).
Other automated or enhancement settings like Noise Reduction, Smooth Gradient, Precision Detail, and Shadow Enhancement/Dark Detail should be off or “Low” by default in the most accurate picture modes. If not, I recommend turning these off unless you find the picture isn’t responding how you’d like.
How to Set Up All Your New Tech
You got a cool gadget! You lucky duck. Now you’ve gotta set it up. You poor sap. WIRED's master guide can help.
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