Six Simple Tricks to Improve Your Television Enjoyment
So, you now have that big flat screen TV, but it doesn’t seem to have quite the same impact it had at the store. Well, don’t despair. There are a number of simple things you can do to really improve your enjoyment and bring out the best of that new TV.
1. Change the video mode:
Televisions ship from the factory in a mode that will “pop” in a store display. The TV has to compete with a couple hundred other sets, so the manufacturer sets the contrast to max and the color to a blue tint, so the set will stand out. All TVs come with a mode setting in the video settings section that allow you to tailor the set to more normal calibration. Try setting it to a mode labeled “Cinema”, “Movie”, “Professional” or “THX”. It may look dull and dark right after you make the change, but you should give it awhile to get used to it. You will find that the blacks have more detail, the whites aren't washed out and the fleshtones look natural and not cartoonish.
You eventually should consider doing a more formal calibration, and we describe that in other topics here, but this will go a long way toward getting you started.
2. Get a high definition cable box or satellite receiver:
Most folks receive their broadcasts via cable or satellite. Odds are that your existing cable box is standard definition and will give less than an ideal picture. A high definition box, along with HD service from your provider will give you a much better picture. You might want to consider upgrading to a DVR at the same time. Most people who have them can’t live without them, but that’s a different topic.
3. Check Your Connections:
Now that you have that HD cable box, take a look at the back of the system and see how the installer connected it. All too often, the cable box is connected with the black coax connections where the TV is tuned to channel 3 or 4. This is the worst possible connection and has the effect of converting your fancy new HD cable box back to the SD one you just replaced. In order to get the best signal with the least clutter, the cable box should be connected with an HDMI cable. These cables are available from a wide variety of places at wildly varying prices. Hint: There is no performance improvement from the expensive premium cables from places like Monster. With a little shopping, a good 3-6’ cable can be had for under $10 from places like Amazon, Monoprice.com or Blue Jean Cables. If your cable box doesn’t have an HDMI connection, a component cable can be used to deliver HD video. This is the red/green/blue RCA connectors on the back of the set, but you will also need to connect the red/white RCA connectors for audio if you use these, or better still, use an optical digital audio (TOSLINK) cable to connect to a receiver.
4. Consider a BluRay Player:
Blu Ray players have really come down in price recently and can be had for well under $100. Blu Ray provides the best picture available today at a very reasonable price. Most players have the added benefit that they can be connected to the internet and have additional applications to provide streaming content from Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, etc. Expect a dedicated article soon on choosing a budget Blu Ray player.
5. Improve your sound system:
Half of the modern home viewing experience is in the sound. However, the speakers and amplifiers that come with TVs are very poor performers (and I am being generous). There are a number of options available at costs ranging from a couple of hundred dollars up to the stratosphere. The simplest and least costly overall is to add a soundbar. These can be had starting at around $150. A soundbar will give what is best described as good TV sound. You will get a fuller range of audio and true stereo. Better ones will include a subwoofer. However they will not give you that enveloping surround sound. Great for TV. Not so great for BluRays.
If you need surround, you need to move up to either a HTIB (home theater in a box) or a receiver and speakers. The HTIB is more convenient, but often less flexible. The receiver/speaker combination can be as inexpensive, but require more shopping. Again, there will be a more comprehensive article on selecting these components, but some basic steps are to look for a system with a powered subwoofer, and switching that processes the HDMI signal. Try to find at least 4 HDMI inputs as eventually you may have that many devices. My system has connections for BluRay, my TIVO, an old HD-DVD player and now a ROKU box. It just happens. If the receiver has a calibration program, use it to set the speakers.
6. Perform Regular Maintenance:
Screens get dirty over time and will cause loss of contrast and brightness. A quick pass with Windex works wonders. Similarly, dust filters should be cleaned twice a year. Settings have a habit of getting changed, so once you have a setup you like, write it down and periodically check that the system is still set. However, be aware that the TVs performance will change over time, so a calibration disc is a good investment and should also be run periodically, as should the audio calibration routines.
So, you now have that big flat screen TV, but it doesn’t seem to have quite the same impact it had at the store. Well, don’t despair. There are a number of simple things you can do to really improve your enjoyment and bring out the best of that new TV.
1. Change the video mode:
Televisions ship from the factory in a mode that will “pop” in a store display. The TV has to compete with a couple hundred other sets, so the manufacturer sets the contrast to max and the color to a blue tint, so the set will stand out. All TVs come with a mode setting in the video settings section that allow you to tailor the set to more normal calibration. Try setting it to a mode labeled “Cinema”, “Movie”, “Professional” or “THX”. It may look dull and dark right after you make the change, but you should give it awhile to get used to it. You will find that the blacks have more detail, the whites aren't washed out and the fleshtones look natural and not cartoonish.
You eventually should consider doing a more formal calibration, and we describe that in other topics here, but this will go a long way toward getting you started.
2. Get a high definition cable box or satellite receiver:
Most folks receive their broadcasts via cable or satellite. Odds are that your existing cable box is standard definition and will give less than an ideal picture. A high definition box, along with HD service from your provider will give you a much better picture. You might want to consider upgrading to a DVR at the same time. Most people who have them can’t live without them, but that’s a different topic.
3. Check Your Connections:
Now that you have that HD cable box, take a look at the back of the system and see how the installer connected it. All too often, the cable box is connected with the black coax connections where the TV is tuned to channel 3 or 4. This is the worst possible connection and has the effect of converting your fancy new HD cable box back to the SD one you just replaced. In order to get the best signal with the least clutter, the cable box should be connected with an HDMI cable. These cables are available from a wide variety of places at wildly varying prices. Hint: There is no performance improvement from the expensive premium cables from places like Monster. With a little shopping, a good 3-6’ cable can be had for under $10 from places like Amazon, Monoprice.com or Blue Jean Cables. If your cable box doesn’t have an HDMI connection, a component cable can be used to deliver HD video. This is the red/green/blue RCA connectors on the back of the set, but you will also need to connect the red/white RCA connectors for audio if you use these, or better still, use an optical digital audio (TOSLINK) cable to connect to a receiver.
4. Consider a BluRay Player:
Blu Ray players have really come down in price recently and can be had for well under $100. Blu Ray provides the best picture available today at a very reasonable price. Most players have the added benefit that they can be connected to the internet and have additional applications to provide streaming content from Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, etc. Expect a dedicated article soon on choosing a budget Blu Ray player.
5. Improve your sound system:
Half of the modern home viewing experience is in the sound. However, the speakers and amplifiers that come with TVs are very poor performers (and I am being generous). There are a number of options available at costs ranging from a couple of hundred dollars up to the stratosphere. The simplest and least costly overall is to add a soundbar. These can be had starting at around $150. A soundbar will give what is best described as good TV sound. You will get a fuller range of audio and true stereo. Better ones will include a subwoofer. However they will not give you that enveloping surround sound. Great for TV. Not so great for BluRays.
If you need surround, you need to move up to either a HTIB (home theater in a box) or a receiver and speakers. The HTIB is more convenient, but often less flexible. The receiver/speaker combination can be as inexpensive, but require more shopping. Again, there will be a more comprehensive article on selecting these components, but some basic steps are to look for a system with a powered subwoofer, and switching that processes the HDMI signal. Try to find at least 4 HDMI inputs as eventually you may have that many devices. My system has connections for BluRay, my TIVO, an old HD-DVD player and now a ROKU box. It just happens. If the receiver has a calibration program, use it to set the speakers.
6. Perform Regular Maintenance:
Screens get dirty over time and will cause loss of contrast and brightness. A quick pass with Windex works wonders. Similarly, dust filters should be cleaned twice a year. Settings have a habit of getting changed, so once you have a setup you like, write it down and periodically check that the system is still set. However, be aware that the TVs performance will change over time, so a calibration disc is a good investment and should also be run periodically, as should the audio calibration routines.
Last edited:
