TV settings for Wheel of Time

[Agitel]

Hello! I hope to return to this post later and make it more robust, but I wanted to make some basic suggestions about how to calibrate for watching The Wheel of Time. And really this advice applies to all TV shows. These adjustments won't magically fix every issue there may be, but should provide a better viewing experience.

 

You can find these settings in your TV Menu (Options/Settings). Your TV should have sub menus for Picture, Audio, General, etc... My suggested changes should all be under the Picture menu, and some buried deeper under Advanced/Expert options.

 

Turn "Motion Smoothing" Off

Motion Smoothing. Tru Motion. Motion Interpolation. 3:2 Pull Down. This TV feature goes by many names and is by default turned on for many televisions. With Motion Smoothing on, the little computer in your television makes up entirely on its own new frames to insert between existing frames. Your TV shows are not meant to be watched like this. They were not edited for this. It is entirely something your TV makes up on the spot and was not made by the directors or editors. The feature can cause artifacting and bad shadows. While this feature is not the worst when watching the news or sports, it is terrible for any narrative or drama based show. It creates the "soap opera effect". Turn off Motion Smoothing and it'll look more cinematic. Part of the issue may be psychological, but when viewers watch the same scene back-to-back with motion smoothing on and off and told it's two different performances, the scene with motion smoothing is almost always reported as looking more fake, like you can see it's filmed on a set, less engaging, performances seem more wooden. The list goes on. TV and movies are not supposed to be watched this way. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Do yourself a favor and turn it off and give yourself a little time for adjustment.

 

Don't use your TV's "Vivid" Picture Preset. Use "Standard" or "Cinema"

Imagine you're a director or editor on a TV show. Your life is spent balancing the color settings for a movie or television show so it looks just right. Nothing oversaturated. The hues set to just the right tone. Now imagine that everyone watching your show just sets their TVs to amp up the saturation and hues to max, causing all of your carefully balanced colors to practically look like they're bleeding out of the screen. That's what the Vivid preset does. Shows filmed in a range of colors from gray to brown may be less impacted, but watch cartoons with your kid? A sitcom like Friends? Or the Wheel of Time? The Vivid preset won't make your colors "pop". It'll turn them into an icky slime oozing out of your screen. Editors calibrate their shows to something more in line with your TV's Standard and Cinema preset options. Vivid is something retailers like to use on a show floor as customers flock like moths to the brightest screens in their super bright showrooms, but your programs are not made to be watched this way. It crushes and oversaturates colors. Take your TV off Vivid. Learn optimal settings or just use the Standard or Cinema preset (I prefer Cinema, though I've customized mine.) You will need time to adjust. It's weird at first, but once you do, the ickiness of Vivid will be clear.

 

Color Temperature to Warm or Normal

This may be the weirdest for you if you're used to watching your shows on a Cool temperature setting, but most shows are calibrated to be viewed with your TV's Warm preset (but not the Warmest option available). I suggest going to at least Normal, and notice how much more accurate skin tones and warm tones feel.

 

If you have any tips or comments, please share. And my brash phrasing above is meant to be a little humorous. I don't mean to offend. Your TV has a lot of customization options beyond what I've discussed, and for some reason TV manufacturers set their TVs be default to "improve" (not) upon what directors and editors intended with post processing effects. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Agitel

[Elgee]

... I wouldn't even begin to know where to find those things! ?

[Daenelia]

I never use the standard settings. Also, the settings are done by my guy. I have no say. But it all looks good on our screen. Nothing too oversaturated or dramatic.