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Sony Bravia TVs are known for having some of the most comprehensive picture kits in the game. You’ve got everything from AI-powered sensors to do the heavy lifting to high-end granular stuff like HDR tone mapping, white balance, and color temperature.
Honestly, I could go through pages just to see how much control you have here, especially over their OLED lineup. But if you’ve just unboxed a new Sony or want to breathe some new life into an old set, you don’t need to dig too deep. Right now to get the best possible image, there are really only three settings you need to touch.
1. Auto or Custom Picture Mode
If you’re looking for a set-and-forget way to get the best picture for everything from live sports to console gaming and streaming, toggle on Auto Picture mode. This setting allows the TV to automatically detect what is on the screen and select the appropriate picture mode (Movie, Game, etc.).
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However, keep in mind that if you have disabled HDMI-CEC on your Sony Bravia or use an HDMI-CEC blocking device, Auto Picture mode will not work as the data signal will not be sent to the TV. If you want more control over picture quality, you can set a custom mode that lets you tinker with everything from color and white balance to sharpness, noise reduction, and more.
2. Light sensor/brightness
Many new Sony Bravia TVs have built-in sensors that automatically monitor the ambient light in the room and adjust the screen brightness accordingly. This is another option for users who want one-time setup, but you can toggle the sensor and adjust brightness and white balance manually.
If you want to get special, you can also make brightness adjustments with settings for contrast, gamma balance, and auto local dimming.
Manual settings are best when you know you’ll only be using one or two picture modes and your space will have consistent lighting throughout the day. You’ll want to manually adjust the brightness on the latest Bravia OLED models, as the better color accuracy comes at the cost of being much lower than competitors from brands like Samsung and LG.
3. Motion Smoothing
In my opinion, this is the worst culprit in deteriorating picture quality. When toggled on, the Motion Smoothing setting forces the TV to add frames to the video to match the 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate. This is more noticeable when upgrading older media, as the video may originally play at 30 fps (30 Hz) and the TV is doubling or quadrupling it.
This can give older movies and shows a very strange, dreamlike quality that gives off a more uncanny valley feel than The New Frontier. By toggling settings like CineMotion, MotionFlow, and Blur Reduction, you force the Bravia to play video at the desired frame rate.
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Even with these adjustments, you may still have to mess with the settings when your Bravia TV downloads firmware and security updates or if you decide to disable the ACR settings to reduce the number of ads on your home screen.
And if you move away from streaming altogether and use a TV antenna to access free local broadcasts, you’ll have to make a lot of adjustments because the video will be too compressed for over-the-air transmission.
