# TV picture settings: which mode to use, and when to turn motion smoothing off

Source: https://specwiseguide.com/tv-picture-settings/
Updated: 2026-11-13 · By SMART SC Editorial Team

**Short answer:** **For films and series, pick Filmmaker Mode (or Movie/Cinema) and turn motion smoothing off; for games, use Game mode; for sports, motion smoothing on a low setting is fine.** Most TVs ship in a bright "Standard" or "Vivid" mode that oversharpens, pushes colors and adds **motion smoothing**, which invents frames between the **24 frames per second** of film and causes the **"soap opera effect"**. Filmmaker Mode, defined by the UHD Alliance, turns that processing off and keeps the source's frame rate, aspect ratio and colors. Then adjust only brightness for your room.

## Key takeaways

- **Films and series:** Filmmaker Mode or Movie/Cinema, motion smoothing **off**, sharpness low.
- **Games:** Game mode (lowest input lag); let the console switch it on automatically (ALLM).
- **Sports:** a low motion-smoothing setting can make fast pans look smoother; artifacts are the trade-off.
- **Bright room:** raise the backlight or OLED light, not the 'Vivid' mode.

A new TV's out-of-the-box picture is set to win in a showroom: bright, blue-tinted, sharpened and smoothed. Five minutes in the menus gets you much closer to what the film or show was meant to look like. No calibration gear needed.

## Which picture mode to use

| What you're watching | Mode | Motion smoothing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Films, scripted series | Filmmaker Mode, Movie or Cinema | Off | Lights down if you can: these modes are graded for a dim room |
| Films in a bright room | Same mode, more backlight/OLED light | Off | Don't switch to Vivid; raise light output instead |
| Sports | Sports or Standard, or Movie with tweaks | Low | Watch for halos around the ball or players |
| Console and PC games | Game | Off (or the TV's game-safe version) | Turn on ALLM, VRR and HDR on the console |
| News, daytime TV | Standard | Personal taste | Lower the brightness at night |

**Vivid / Dynamic** is the brightest mode and the least accurate: colors pushed, blue whites, heavy sharpening. It has one use, a very bright room, and even there a brighter Movie mode usually looks better.

## Filmmaker Mode

Announced by the **UHD Alliance** in August 2019, with studios, directors and TV makers (LG, Panasonic and Vizio among the first), **Filmmaker Mode** is one standard setting under the same name across brands. It disables post-processing such as motion smoothing and preserves the content's **aspect ratio, colors and frame rate**. The standard also lets a title signal it, so a TV can switch to it automatically.

If your TV doesn't have it, use **Movie**, **Cinema**, **Calibrated** or **Expert/Professional** (the names vary by brand). They're close equivalents: warm white point, little sharpening, and motion processing off or low.

## Motion smoothing and the "soap opera effect"

Films are shot at **24 frames per second**. A 60 Hz TV can't show 24 fps evenly: it repeats some frames three times and others twice, which gives pans a slight stutter called **judder**. A 120 Hz TV can repeat every frame five times, which removes that unevenness ([RTINGS explains the cadence](https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motion/motion-interpolation-soap-opera-effect)).

**Motion smoothing** (motion interpolation) goes further: it **invents new frames** between the real ones. Pans become smooth, but film loses its look and starts to resemble live video, the **soap opera effect**, and the invented frames can show artifacts around fast or fine detail.

Where to find it:

| Brand | Name |
|---|---|
| LG | TruMotion |
| Samsung | Auto Motion Plus (Picture Clarity Settings on recent models) |
| Sony | Motionflow |
| TCL, Hisense | Usually under Motion, or "MEMC" |

**When to use it:** films and scripted series, off. Sports, a low setting is a matter of taste; some people like the smoother pans and accept occasional artifacts. If 24 fps judder bothers you on films, a TV's lowest de-judder setting (LG's "Cinematic Movement", for example) smooths stutter without the full soap opera look.

## Game mode

Game mode turns off the processing that delays the picture. That delay, input lag, matters for play: NVIDIA researchers found that cutting 30 ms of latency helped first-person aiming more than raising refresh rate above 60 Hz (Spjut et al., 2019). Turn on **ALLM** (Auto Low Latency Mode) on the console and TV so the switch happens automatically, and **VRR** if the TV supports it ([HDMI 2.1 TVs](/hdmi-2-1-tvs/), [best gaming TVs](/best-gaming-tv/)).

## Five settings worth checking

1. **Light output** (Backlight, OLED Pixel Brightness, Brightness on some brands): the setting to raise or lower for your room. On many TVs the control labelled "Brightness" sets the **black level** instead; leave that one near its default, or shadows turn gray or crushed.
2. **Color temperature:** Warm (often "Warm 2" or "Warm 50") is closest to the D65 white films are graded for. It looks yellowish for a day, then normal.
3. **Sharpness:** low or zero on 4K sources. High sharpness adds outlines around edges rather than detail.
4. **Noise reduction:** off for 4K streams and discs; on for poor-quality cable or old video.
5. **Energy saving and light sensor:** energy modes can dim the picture a lot. A light sensor (Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+ Adaptive, or the brand's own) adjusts brightness to the room, useful if you watch in daylight and at night.

Contrast and local dimming are covered separately: [local dimming explained](/local-dimming/).

## HDR and Dolby Vision modes

HDR content switches the TV to its own set of modes (HDR Movie, Dolby Vision Dark/Bright, Filmmaker). The same advice applies: use the Movie, Filmmaker or "Dark" mode in a dim room, the "Bright" variant in daylight, and keep motion smoothing off for films. Why some HDR titles look dim on some TVs is explained in [HDR10 vs Dolby Vision](/hdr10-vs-dolby-vision/).

## Our take

Set the mode once per input: Filmmaker or Movie for the streaming apps, Game for the console. Turn motion smoothing off for films, decide for sports, and adjust only light output to suit the room. That's most of what a professional calibration would get you on a current TV.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best picture mode on a TV?

Filmmaker Mode where the TV has it, otherwise Movie, Cinema or Calibrated. These modes aim at the colors and white point films are graded with and switch off most extra processing. Vivid and Standard are tuned to stand out in a store, not for accuracy.

### Should I turn off motion smoothing?

For films and scripted series, yes: it makes 24 fps film look like video (the soap opera effect) and can add artifacts. For sports or if 24 fps judder bothers you, a low setting is a reasonable compromise.

### What is the soap opera effect?

The overly smooth, video-like look motion interpolation gives to films. The TV creates new frames between the original 24 per second, so motion loses the cadence viewers associate with cinema.

### What is Filmmaker Mode?

A picture mode announced by the UHD Alliance in 2019 with studios, filmmakers and TV makers. It turns off post-processing such as motion smoothing and keeps the content's aspect ratio, colors and frame rate as the creator intended.

### What is motion smoothing called on my TV?

LG calls it TruMotion, Samsung Auto Motion Plus (inside Picture Clarity Settings on recent models), Sony Motionflow; TCL and Hisense usually list it under Motion or MEMC. Turning it off is usually a setting such as Off or Cinematic Movement.

### Does Game mode make games look worse?

It switches off processing that adds delay, so some smoothing and enhancement disappears in exchange for lower input lag. On recent TVs Game mode keeps HDR and VRR, so for most games the trade is worth it.

## Sources

- [TV Tech, New Filmmaker Mode to enable cinematic home viewing on future TVs (UHD Alliance announcement, August 28, 2019)](https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/new-filmmaker-mode-to-enable-cinematic-home-viewing-on-future-tvs)
- [RTINGS, Motion interpolation and the soap opera effect (24p judder, 3:2 and 5:5 cadence)](https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motion/motion-interpolation-soap-opera-effect)
- [Spjut, Kim et al. (NVIDIA Research), Latency of 30 ms benefits first person targeting tasks more than refresh rate above 60 Hz, SIGGRAPH Asia 2019](https://research.nvidia.com/labs/amri/publication/spjut2019latency/)