I stay in hotels several times a year, which is a great reminder about one of the worst features ever introduced to the television viewing experience – motion smoothing. Also known by the more technical term motion interpolation, motion smoothing is used by TV manufacturers to attempt to match the video to the refresh rate of the screen. When I can figure out how to turn off motion smoothing on the hotel TV, I do.
The promise of motion smoothing sounds great in theory. Instead it causes on-screen motion to look extremely unnatural. Some call it the “soap opera effect” because it creates an unnatural motion in actors that looks more like they are floating across the screen, much like they way soap operas are filmed.
I guarantee you experienced motion smoothing on Samsung TVs at a relative’s house or maybe during your own vacation. What you might not know is that you can turn it off by modifying picture clarity settings.
Motion smoothing is named many things, depending on who manufactures the particular screen you are viewing. The marketers at electronics companies are apparently paid to name this feature in a way that sounds like a benefit, when it largely makes any viewing experience worse.
Disabling Motion Smoothing
Turning off motion smoothing features varies slightly by manufacturer. To watch shows and movies the way they were intended, here’s a list of how the feature is named by screen manufacturer. The location in settings varies by screen, but it’s frequently in the picture settings or advanced picture settings.
- Vizio = Smooth Motion Effect
- LG = TrueMotion
- High Sense = Motion Smoothing
- TCL = Action Smoothing
- Samsung = Auto Motion Plus
- Sony = MotionFlow
- Panasonic = Intelligent Frame Creation
- Amazon Fire TV = Motion Processing
Bonus tip: If you see a TV with motion smoothing turned on, it might also be in store demo mode. This is a factory setting to help TV screens look good in the extra bright conditions of a retail store. Most home viewing settings don’t need to be this bright. Turn off the demo mode and reset the TV for home viewing to improve the overall experience.
If your family doesn’t realize you just saved them from watching all shows in soap opera mode, pat yourself on the back anyway.
Another thing to check is the ideal viewing distance of the TV. Help your friends and family find the perfect place for their TV for optimal viewing.
