Step 1 Once you’ve got your Samsung TV into pride of place, you’re almost ready to start watching all the big games. We said ‘almost’ – if you want to get the best from your new flatscreen, there are a number of steps you should take to set it up and optimise it, so you can enjoy its stunning picture performance to the full.
Every TV has a number of picture settings that must be correctly balanced in order to get the best image. Brightness, contrast, colour and sharpness need to be carefully balanced, while your Samsung set has a number of other, advanced picture-enhancers to add into the mix.
When it comes from the factory, your TV is likely to be set up so it will look good in a brightly-lit environment such as a showroom. Your lounge, however, requires a more subtle balance: however good it looked while being demonstrated, we can assure you that by the time you’ve finished following our set-up advice, your Samsung set will look a whole lot better.
Set contrast first. In general terms, you want the contrast to be pretty high – as high as it will go before the picture starts to look unnatural. Brightness is usually set too high straight out of the box, likewise colour. Ease them off, so that everything looks natural. Pick a dark scene and try to get the black tones looking black rather than grey.
The idea of adjusting these settings is to find the best balance between them. The other thing you can do to make sure you get this absolutely right is get hold of a copy of the ‘THX Optimizer’.The THX Optimizer is a simple series of visual menus that you can use to adjust the settings of your TV. You can find it tucked away among the special features of a number of DVD and Blu-ray discs. You’ll find it on any movie involving Lucas Arts (any Star Wars on Indiana Jones), Cars, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Ratatouille, as well as the Terminator 2:Ultimate Edition DVD.
Once you adjusted basic settings with the THX Optimizer, look for Samsung’s further picture enhancers. If your new set has ‘100Hz Motion Plus’ technology, test it on its various levels – you’ll see the motion of the ball takes on a smoothness and clarity you won’t have seen before.
Once you’ve got it all set up, don’t be afraid to tweak things occasionally. Your TV may be set perfectly, but one day you’ll find yourself watching a live game, and there’ll be a great big shadow across half the pitch. In this case, you can improve the picture by compromising on a tad of contrast and edge definition, but using the brightness control to illuminate the shady areas.