Whether you recently purchased a top-rated TCL TV or are trying to tweak the HDR performance of an existing TV, there are several settings that can help you improve its performance. Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong setup. It all depends on your preferences, the type of content you view, and the lighting conditions. But since most shows and even games now support HDR, it’s a good idea to optimize your TCL TV settings for the best picture quality.
One of the most important settings to consider is the picture mode. Getting it right does all the heavy lifting; the rest comes down to precise adjustment of brightness levels, dynamic contrast, black levels or maximum luminance, among other parameters. When adjusting your TV settings for the best HDR performance, you may want to turn off “Adaptive Brightness.” The feature is designed to automatically adjust brightness levels based on lighting conditions. While this is convenient, it can negatively impact the viewing experience and disable or override other critical settings you may want to adjust.
Remember that available settings and menus may be named differently depending on the Smart TV platform your TCL TV is running on. Most high-end TCL TVs have Google TV as their operating system, but on some models you still have Fire TV or Roku TV as your smart TV platform.
Choose the right mode
Every smart TV, whether it’s TCL or another brand, usually comes with a number of picture modes, including Standard, Vivid, Sports, Gaming, Movie, and Filmmaker. These are basically presets that you can choose from to adjust multiple image-related settings at once. This makes the job easier for you, which is why choosing the right picture mode is the first thing to do.
For HDR content on TCL TVs, it is important to choose “Film” or “Filmmaker” mode. This will deliver the image quality closest to what the creator intended, whether in colors or brightness. Between the two, you should prioritize Filmmaker mode, as colors are more accurate and motion smoothing is disabled. To change picture modes, open your TV’s settings, go to “Display & Sound,” then “Picture” and switch to “Filmmaker Mode” or “Movie Mode.” When you make the change, the colors may appear warm at first, but this is completely normal. Eventually you will get used to the change.
At the same time, there are situations in which Filmmaker mode is not the best choice, at least for a few viewers. This is because the brightness levels are comparatively lower in this mode. If you’re watching a movie or show in a brightly lit room, consider switching to Movie mode. This could provide the best HDR performance in this case.
Adjust brightness, maximum brightness and other settings
You may need to fine-tune a few more settings beyond the picture mode setting. Some of them are enabled by default, but you can quickly reconfigure them in the settings. Start with brightness levels. There is no right or wrong here; you just need to adjust it based on the content you’re watching and the lighting conditions around you. While keeping the brightness at 100% should work for most people, some might benefit from a reduction. Keep the “Contrast” and “Black Level” at their default values. As for Gamma, owners recommend aiming for 2.2 to 2.4. You can also enable “Dynamic Tone Mapping” if available, but this is more of a personal choice.
Then you have “Dynamic Contrast”, which should be turned off. The feature is designed to automatically adjust brightness and contrast levels from scene to scene, but more often than not it leads to an inconsistent viewing experience. When it comes to “Peak Luminance”, you can explore the available options instead of sticking to “Standard” or “Off”. Switch between “High Light” and “High Dynamic” and find out what works best for the movie or show you’re watching.
While all TVs are built differently, some of these common changes have a noticeable impact on HDR performance. And picture mode is perhaps the most important change you need to make to get the best picture quality on your TCL TV.
