Most TVs, unfortunately, come pre-configured with something called Motion Smoothing, digital interpolation, or what is often called the “Soap Opera” effect. It essentially works to reduce blurring in fast-moving content (such as sports, racing, etc.) which can actually make the video image look better.
However, when viewing movies the effect makes motion look awful, even unrealistic. Film should look like film (where 24 frames-per-second is a standard) not 30 frames-per-second video.
The reason it is often called the soap opera effect is that it makes films, and other programs with a cinematic look such as House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power look like cheaply-shot video production.
The technology is almost always integrated into HD, 4k UHD, and 8k TVs and is typically turned on – even the display models at electronics stores!
How To Remove Motion Smoothing?
The video display technology may be referred to by different terms, and even branded. With Samsung it is called Auto Motion Plus or Picture Clarity. On Sony TVs it is called MotionFlow. On LGs it is called TruMotion. On Amazon Fire TVs it may be called Motion Processing. On Vizio TVs the setting is Smooth Motion Effect. On Insignia TVs look for Auto Motion Plus. On Panasonic TVs it could be called Intelligent Frame Creation. On a Philips TV the setting is Motion Styles. On a Roku TV it is called TrueMotion. On a Hisense TV look for Motion Smoothing.
You’ll need to look in your TVs setting under Display or Picture, and often under Advanced Settings, to turn off the setting.
While you are at it, watch movies in Theater or Cinema mode to get closer to what the filmmakers imagined when creating the film. That option will also be found in the TV’s Picture or Display settings.
Are we missing any motion smoothing labels or TV manufacturers? Please let us know in the comments below or via Twitter.
