Many television manufacturers observe that most users leave their TVs at default settings. Once set up out of the box, they make no additional changes. What many do not realize is that a simple few minutes spent navigating through settings can vastly improve everything from brightness to image clarity.
Here’s how to elevate the picture quality on your Sony TV.
Disable These Default Settings
Modern TVs typically come with an Eco mode enabled by default. If you bought your TV with the intent of enjoying an immersive viewing experience—after all, that’s why we invest in new televisions—you’re likely missing out on optimal brightness and performance with Eco Mode active.
To turn off Eco Mode on your Sony TV: Press the Settings button on your remote, navigate to All Settings, then to System, and further to Power and Energy. From there, go to Energy Saver, where you’ll find “Adjust the brightness and panel control to reduce the TV’s power consumption.” This means the TV is likely dimming its brightness, which you don’t want. So, set it to Off.
Many newer TVs feature optical sensors that can gauge room brightness as well as the color temperature of the light. The TV then automatically adjusts the picture settings based on these measurements, but its choices might not match your preferences.
On a Sony TV, this adjustment is straightforward. Press the Settings button on your remote, choose Picture and Sound, then scroll down to Ambient Optimization Pro and turn it Off. If you're using a different brand, this option can usually be found under All Settings, within Display and Sound.
Now, these essential settings are under your control, not the TV’s.
Enhance Brightness
Picture Modes provide preset collections of settings, including contrast, sharpness, brightness, and color temperature. To select a Picture Mode on a Sony TV, start from the Home Screen, press the Settings button, navigate to Picture and Sound, then to Picture, and finally choose your desired Picture Mode. Alternatively, you can press the Quick Settings button (the wrench icon) on your remote to quickly access Picture Mode.
Modes like Cinema or Professional are great choices. The IMAX Enhanced Mode offers a warm and natural appearance. In contrast, if you prefer a cooler, more blue tone, try the Standard Mode. Be cautious with Vivid Mode, as it tends to excessively brighten images, resulting in harsh visuals.
You can also fine-tune your TV’s brightness settings. Some people prefer brighter settings for daytime viewing, while others might not need as much light at night. If your viewing habits vary, consider setting up two different brightness levels for two separate Picture Modes and switch between them as needed.
Keep in mind that you’re likely to watch both SDR (standard dynamic range) and HDR (high dynamic range) content, so you’ll want to adjust the brightness settings for both types. Sony makes this user-friendly by clearly marking which range of brightness you’re adjusting.
To adjust brightness for SDR content: From the Home Screen, press the Settings button on your remote, select Picture and Sound, then Picture, and find Brightness. “SDR” will appear in parentheses, indicating that you're setting brightness for SDR content. You can also access this through the Quick Settings menu using the corresponding button on your remote and navigating to Brightness.
For HDR content, begin playback of an HDR program, such as a Netflix show or a YouTube video. Follow the same steps as for SDR. You'll notice "HDR" now appears in parentheses, indicating you're adjusting the brightness specific to HDR content.
To brighten your Sony TV even more, within the Brightness menu, look for Peak Luminance, a setting that optimizes contrast. This feature is Sony’s version of local dimming.
Experiment with the Low, Medium, and High settings for Peak Luminance. This adjustment allows the TV to maximize the HDR picture quality by significantly brightening the brightest areas on screen, enhancing contrast and making highlights stand out. While Low will limit brightness, it may reduce blooming or halo effects around bright objects on dark backgrounds. Conversely, setting it to High will maximize brightness and is excellent for daytime viewing.
If you want to see sparkling waters or vibrant bright objects, setting Peak Luminance to High along with maximum brightness truly enhances HDR content to its fullest potential.
Improve Motion and Connectivity
When it comes to motion smoothing, opinions vary—some viewers enjoy it while others find it causes a strange or artificial effect, often referred to as the soap opera effect.
You can modify motion smoothing on your Sony TV within the Picture settings. Select Settings, then Picture and Sound, choose Picture, scroll down to Motion, and choose Motionflow. Here, you can set motion smoothing to Auto, customize it, or disable it completely. Take some time to experiment—you may discover a preference you didn’t expect.
Sony TVs also provide the ability to adjust settings specifically for cinematic content typically shot at 24 frames per second (fps) or for live broadcasts and sports, which often have higher frame rates.
There are additional settings designed to enhance the usability of your TV with various external devices.
If you have additional devices like a soundbar, Blu-ray player, or gaming console and want to simplify control, navigate to the All Settings menu. From there, select Channels & Inputs, then External Inputs, and enable Bravia Sync Settings. Activating this will allow for unified power control, so you can turn everything on or off simultaneously if desired.
In the External Inputs menu, don’t forget to check the HDMI signal format settings. If you have a 4K Blu-ray player connected to these inputs, enable Enhanced Format to ensure that you receive the best 4K signal. For any gaming consoles or devices that support high 4K frame rates and VRR (variable refresh rate), use HDMI 3 or 4 configured to Enhanced Format 4K 120.
The takeaway is this: while a new TV will provide a satisfactory experience with factory settings, taking some time to adjust its features can significantly enhance performance and picture quality.
If you own a different brand of TV and want to make similar adjustments, most contemporary TVs share features comparable to those of Sony, though the terminology may differ, which can be somewhat confusing. If you're interested in instructions for LG, Samsung, Hisense, TCL, or Panasonic, we have guidance available for those brands as well.
