How to get the best TV picture

There's a wealth of picture options to tweak your TV to make it look exactly how you want it to. Tinkering yourself can be time consuming though and some options won't make much sense unless you're an expert.

The potential complexity is why we have our recommended TV settings. Our experts adjust the picture to make sure each TV looks its best when we test it, and you can use those settings, too.

Just enter your TVs model name and you'll see our expert picture settings. If you don't know your the model number, or it's not a TV we've tested, don't panic - we've got other ways to help later on.

Best TVs - discover the televisions that aced our lab tests, and those to avoid

If you don’t know your TV’s model number, don’t just make do with the default settings, as they won't give you the best picture. 

Instead, we have insider tips from our lab on how to get better picture on big-brand TVs. Have your remote to hand and follow these simple steps for crisp colours and choice contrast.

We also publish ideal picture settings on the Tech specs tab in all the reviews of TVs that we test. Find your perfect model in our TV reviews.

Settings for the best TV picture

Don’t have a Samsung, LG, Panasonic or Sony TV? See general tips on improving your TV’s picture, whatever the brand.

Before you get started, note down your default settings just in case you need to return to them later (some TVs will let you return the picture to default settings, too). Once you've done this, follow the method outlined here to improve the picture. 

1. Make your picture black and white – turn off any picture enhancement modes and reduce the Colour setting until you get a black and white picture.
2. Adjust the brightness – pause a scene in a movie with a lot of dark scenes, something like The Matrix or The Dark Knight. Toggle the Brightness control until you can only just make out the detail in the darkest areas.
3. Adjust the contrast – now find a bright scene and change the Contrast setting until the picture is bright enough to be comfortable to watch, but without looking ‘washed out’.
4. Find a compromise - continue to tweak the brightness and contrast while switching between the bright and dark scenes until both feel comfortable to the eye but there’s still detail in the shadows.
5. Adjust the backlight - the picture should pop without being lit up like a battlefield (unless you’re watching War Horse, of course).
6. Get those skin tones just right - pause on a close up of an actor’s face, ideally during a scene with lots of natural light. Turn the Colour setting back up until the skin tones look life-like. A good rule of thumb is to keep going until the actor stops appearing sickly, but not permatanned.
7. Try your TV’s colour tone presets - some TVs come with colour tone options, such as cool, warm or neutral. Find the one which works best for your particular TV; you may find neutral is the best option.
8. Switch picture enhancements back on - the picture modes or enhancement features you switched off at the start can now be turned back on. Some will reduce distortion, others will smooth out motion; the key is to try them gradually and don’t be afraid to turn them off if you see odd-looking results on screen.

Hisense TV settings for the best picture

1. We tend to turn off the AI Picture Optimisation on Hisense TVs.
2. Turn off Dynamic Backlight Control too.
3. Adaptive Contrast is another setting we don't turn on in our tests.
4. Hisense TVs have Noise Reduction and Digital Noise Reduction settings and we never have them any higher than medium and tend to set them to low.

LG TV settings for the best picture

1. First, select Standard mode under picture settings and set Dynamic Contrast to low. 
2. Set Noise Reduction, Colour Adjustment and Super Resolution to low, too.
3. Put ColourGamut to native and turn off Motion Eye Care.

Panasonic TV settings for the best picture

1. Select Normal mode - there are different settings for basic and high-end models but this adequately sets the brightness on both. 
2. Set Colour Remaster to min and turn off Dynamic Range Remaster. 
3. Reduce the Intelligent Frame Creation motion compensation tool to mid or low. 

Philips TV settings for the best picture

1. Turn off Dynamic Contrast and set the Contrast Mode to optimised for picture.
2. Set Noise Reduction to minimum.
3. MPEG Artefact Reduction should be set to minumum, too.
4. For most Philips models we set the Colour Enhancement to medium.

Samsung TV settings for the best picture

1. In the picture settings menu select Standard mode - this does a decent job of setting the brightness. 
2. Turn Local Dimming to low and turn off Brightness Optimisation. 
3. White Balance and Shadow Detail should be set to zero.
4. Finally, set the Colour Space to ‘native’.

Sony TV settings for the best picture

1. Sony has different menus and settings for its high-end and basic TVs but select Standard mode on either to set the brightness accurately. 
2. Switch off Dynamic Contrast and Adaptive Backlight.
3. Colours on Sony TVs can look too vibrant, so turn Live Colour off. 
4. Turn off the Advanced Contrast Enhancer, Smooth Gradation and switch the Peak Luminance to med.

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Could your aerial be causing picture problems?

If you've been tweaking your picture settings trying to iron out issues with the image and you still aren't satisfied then it's possible that your TV isn't at fault.

If you're getting poor picture when watching Freeview channels then it could be an issue with your aerial. If yours isn't good enough to receive a strong enough signal then you could get a choppy, blurry picture. 

Some areas of the UK don't get strong signal either, which could account for poor picture or some channels not being accessible.

How to safely clean your TV screen

TV screens are a magnet for dust, but don't squirt some polish and rub it down like you would a bookcase. The delicate glass needs special attention or you risk scratching or taking some of the protective coating off.

Use our guide on cleaning your TV screen safely to avoid doing any damage.