How to Adjust the Settings of Your HDTV

Faizan Ahmad
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Settings of Your HDTVHDTVs give you better resolution than those archaic standard-definition TVs, but they still need to be adjusted to ensure you get the best picture possible. While the exact way to enter your settings menu will differ based on each HDTV model, this article is aimed at helping you select the best settings by explaining how you should adjust the settings.

If you are having a hard time making them image just right, then read on to find out more about the settings.

• Use Picture Modes
Does your HDTV have different picture modes? Most models do, and this can help you get the right settings without having to tweak anything else in the TV. If you see a setting called “movie” or ”cinema,” then this will likely be the best one for your TV. If you don’t see these, then try “standard.”

• Contrast
Contrast is a powerful tool that adjusts the brightest parts of the image, like white shirts or the sky. If contrast is too dim, then you won’t be able to see the fine details. If it’s too high, then the image will be washed out. It’s best to change contrast while watching a live sporting event that takes place outside, like golf, or any show or movie that has an outdoors scene.

Adjust the contrast until you whites are bright, but you can still see the details inside of them. For example, you should be able to see the slight grey patches in a cloud.

• Brightness
This controls the dark portions of the image, like shadows and black clothing. Just like with contrast, the wrong setting can make the darker details appear washed out or very grey. You should find a show or movie with a darker or nighttime scene to make the adjustments easier.
Make the brightness low, and then adjust from there. Keep going up until you can see the fine details, but don’t go so far to make the details grey or washed out. You want to just see the details.

• Color and Tint
Unless you want people to look sunburned or sickly green, then you shouldn’t mess with these settings. Color and tint are commonly set in the middle, and this will give you the best image without messing up the color settings. If you do need to adjust these settings, try to keep them as close to the center as possible.

• Sharpness
This setting is used for fine lines, and a bad sharpness setting can make buildings and people look artificial or unnatural. The trick about setting sharpness is that it should be in the 30 to 40 range. Pause on a scene of a building or anything with sharp lines. Look at the line to see when it looks the crispest. Once it looks crisp you should stop adjusting the sharpness because the line can look bad if you do anything else.

• Backlight
The backlight is a little weird. You would think that it should be set high in the dark and low in the light because you don’t need the extra light. The truth is that it’s the opposite of this. If you set the backlight low during the day, then you aren’t getting the full picture, and you will hurt your eyes in the dark due to the extreme contrast.

If it’s daytime, then set the backlight towards the higher range. If it’s darker, then set the backlight towards the lower region so that you don’t hurt your eyes.

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Faizan Ahmad

About the Author:

This article is posted by Faizan who is the Author and Founder of TechSenser. He is a Professional Blogger from India and a passionate writer about Technology, Gadgets, How-to-Guides, etc. You can connect him on Google+.