rewrite this title Own a Sony TV? 3 quick settings I'd change to meaningfully improve the picture quality

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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-driven sensors that handle the heavy lifting to the high-level granular stuff like HDR tone mapping, white balance, and color temperature.

Honestly, I could geek out for pages on just how much control you have here, particularly with their OLED lineup. But if you’ve just unboxed a new Sony or you’re looking to breathe some fresh life into an older set, you don’t need a deep dive. To get the best possible image right now, 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 the Auto Picture Mode. This setting allows the TV to automatically detect what is on the screen and select the appropriate picture mode (Cinema, 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 blocker device, the Auto Picture Mode might not work as the data signal won’t be sent to the TV. If you want more control over picture quality, you can set up 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 feature built-in sensors that automatically monitor ambient light in the room and adjust screen brightness accordingly. This is another option for users looking for a one-time setup, but you can toggle the sensor off and manually adjust brightness and white balance. 

If you want to get particular, you can also make brightness adjustments with the settings for contrast, gamma balance, and auto local dimming. 

Manual settings are best when you know you’ll use only one or two picture modes and your space has consistent lighting throughout the day. You’ll also want to manually adjust brightness on the latest Bravia OLED models, as the improved color accuracy comes at the cost of being much dimmer than competitors from brands like Samsung and LG.

3. Motion smoothing

This, in my opinion, is the worst offender in degrading picture quality. When toggled on, motion smoothing settings force a TV to add frames to a video to match either a 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate. It’s much more noticeable in older media being upscaled, as the video may originally run at 30 fps (30Hz) and the TV is doubling or quadrupling that. 

This can give older movies and shows a very strange, dreamlike quality that feels more Uncanny Valley than New Frontier. By toggling off settings like CineMotion, Motionflow, and blur reduction, you force the Bravia to play video at the intended frame rate. 

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Even with these adjustments, you might still have to fiddle with the settings now and again as your Bravia TV downloads firmware and security updates or if you decide to disable ACR settings to reduce the number of ads on your home screen. 

And if you’ve moved away from streaming completely and use a TV antenna for access to free local broadcasts, you’ll have to make a lot more adjustments since the video will be very compressed for over-the-air transmission.