Samsung 4K TVs have 4 times higher resolution than Full HD ones.
So it’s only natural to expect a flawless picture.
But since they come in a preset setting…
They might give you images that are too vivid, bright, or blurry.
Which makes you wonder,
“How can I get the best picture on a Samsung 4K TV?”
Continue reading to find out:
- The ideal picture modes for Samsung 4K TVs.
- 3 ways to adjust your TV screen brightness.
- What is ‘Home Mode’ and how it affects your TV settings.
- 13 steps on how to set the best picture settings for Samsung 4K TV.
- And a lot more…
Best picture settings for Samsung 4K TV in 13 steps
Step 1: Ensure that your TV is in ‘Home Mode’
First, check if your Samsung 4K TV is in ‘Home Mode.’
“What is it?”
It’s a mode that prevents your TV from reverting to a preset setting.
For example, some Samsung TVs may switch back to ‘Dynamic Picture Mode.’
It’s a preset setting that highly saturates and sharpens images.
So it’s only advisable under bright light conditions.
As it doesn’t look realistic in normal ambient room light. And this is what you should avoid.
Also, TVs can change into ‘Retail Mode’ too.
This is when a TV suddenly changes channel by itself. And it’s a setting used in shops to attract customers.
So…
How can I check or set my TV to Home Mode?
Follow these 6 easy steps:
- While your TV is on, press the “Home” button on the remote.
- Go to “Settings.”
- Cycle down to “General.”
- Select “System Manager.”
- Scroll down to the bottom part and click “Usage Mode.”
- Set it to “Home Mode.”
Step 2: Change the picture setting to ‘Movie’ or ‘Filmmaker’ Mode
Samsung offers 6 picture modes for its TVs.
And they’re as follows:
- Standard – the default setting.
- Dynamic – provides a vivid and crisp image.
- Natural – adjusts brightness to prevent eye strain.
- Movie – gives a cinema-like experience (faintly darker image).
- Game – enhances picture for playing video games with consoles.
- Filmmaker – modifies the settings close to the filmmaker’s intent.
Among these, the modes ‘Movie’ and ‘Filmmaker’ are the best picture settings for Samsung 4K TVs.
The ‘Filmmaker’ mode is more accurate than ‘Movie.’
But, it’s only available on TVs with lighting sensors (e.g., 4K UHD AU7100).
So if you can’t find it on your TV, use ‘Movie’ mode instead.
How to change your picture setting
- Press the “Home” button on your remote.
- Navigate to “Settings.”
- Hit the up arrow button on your remote. (This will take you to the “Quick Settings” above.)
- Use the left and arrow buttons to switch picture modes.
- Choose either ‘Movie’ or ‘Filmmaker’ mode.
Note: If you’re going to use your 4K TV for gaming, choose ‘Game’ instead. Then you can turn it on or put it in “Auto” mode. The latter will automatically put the TV into ‘Game’ mode when a gaming console is connected.
Step 3: Set the correct picture size
Next, also make sure that your screen displays the right size and aspect ratio.
This is because a high-quality image wouldn’t look nice on a stretched screen.
So for 4K TVs, it’s best to set the picture size to 16:9 standard.
Then enable “Fit to screen” if you can see it in your settings.
To do this:
- Go to “Settings.”
- Select “Picture.”
- Find and click “Picture Size Settings.”
- Set the “Picture Size” to 16:9 Standard.
- Turn on the “Fit to screen” option.
Step 4: Adjust the screen brightness
This is one of the important settings you need to modify on your TV.
Brightness refers to the amount of light emitted by a surface. So this has a big effect on our viewing experience.
But you’ve already switched to ‘Movie’ or ‘Filmmaker’ mode. So you only need to do minimal changes.
How to set the screen brightness on a Samsung TV
Step 1: Stay on the “Picture” settings tab. Then go down and select “Expert Settings.”
Step 2: Click “Brightness.”
The usual range would be from 40 to 50. But adjust it to your own liking or depending on the ambient of your room.
Note: By doing this, the brightness will stay in the chosen setting no matter what. Whether your room suddenly darkens or brightens up.
But if you want, you can also make your TV adjust its brightness automatically.
How?
Option 1: Turn on Brightness Optimization
This is for Samsung 4K TVs with a built-in lighting sensor.
- From the “Picture” tab, scroll down to “General.”
- Select “Power and Energy Saving.”
- Enable “Brightness Optimization.”
Note: You’ll know if your TV model has this feature if you see the option above.
Option 2: Enable Eco Sensor
Now, this is for other Samsung TV models without a lighting sensor.
It’s also known as the Ambient Light Detection function.
It’s a similar feature to “Brightness Optimization.”
This is because they have the same goal – which is to save power consumption.
Plus, they both adjust the TV brightness based on a room’s lighting.
How to turn this setting on:
- Navigate to “Settings.”
- Cycle down to “General.”
- Find and select “Eco Solution.”
- Enable “Ambient Light Detection.”
Note: Power-saving modes might also cause TVs to shut off all of a sudden.
Further reading: 9 Easy Ways To Fix Samsung TV Black Screen of Death
Step 5: Reduce the contrast of your screen
Typically, this is set too high in most Samsung TVs.
The higher the contrast of a picture is, the deeper its black becomes. So too much of it can make an image less realistic.
To adjust this:
Step 1: Go to “Contrast” (below “Brightness”).
Step 2: Lower your screen contrast to 35. Use the slider and press the left/right arrows on your remote to do this.
Step 6: Keep the sharpness level to “0”
For standard-definition (SD) screens. As well as low-resolution videos, it’s best to raise the sharpness level of the image.
This is to make the picture crisper and have well-defined edges.
But if you have a 4K TV, you will not be needing this setting anymore.
So if you stumbled upon this after changing the contrast, leave or set it to “0.”
Step 7: Use the default color value
Under the “Sharpness” setting, the next thing you’ll see is “Color.”
This adjusts the saturation of your screen. Or in simpler terms, the intensity of a color.
So the basic rule is:
The higher its value is, the richer and more vivid an image would appear.
And if it’s low, the colors will be duller or closer to gray hues.
So for 4K TVs, it’s recommended to NOT make any changes in the “Color” settings. Leave it to its default value which is 25.
Note: Avoid changing the value of “Tint (G/R)” as well. It must be at “0.” You’ll find this right after the “Color” settings.
Step 8: Tune your picture clarity
Now, you may confuse this with sharpness.
But to explain it shortly, clarity is like sharpness. Only that it’s softer and it’s applied to a larger area.
So for something to be sharp, it must have so much clarity first.
And here’s how you’re going to adjust this setting in your Samsung 4K TV:
If you’re still at the “Picture” settings tab:
- Find and go to “Picture Clarity Settings.”
- Set the “Picture Clarity” to Custom.
- Enable “Judder Reduction” and set it at 8. (Only do this if you want a ‘soap-opera’ effect.)
- Disable “LED Clear Motion.”
“What is the soap opera effect on TV?”
It’s also known as ‘motion smoothing.’
What it does is make an image look more realistic.
Some people may or may not like this. So only enable the “Judder Reduction” if you opt for this kind of effect.
Note: If you don’t want to see film grain while watching a movie, turn on the “Noise Reduction.” You’ll find it under the “LED Clear Motion” option.
Step 9: Turn off “Contrast Enhancer”
You’ll see this after the “Picture Clarity Settings.”
So what it does is automatically adjust the contrast of your screen.
But since you’ve already set it to a certain value (which is 35), there’s no need to enable this option.
So turn this off and leave it that way.
Step 10: Set the color tone to “Warm 2”
Next, below “Contrast Enhancer” is the “Color Tone” setting.
On Samsung TVs, this adjusts the white light in the image shown on the screen. And it’ll be enhanced by either a red or blue hue.
For 4K TVs, it’s best to leave it as it is – which is the default setting “Warm 2.”
It’s because it gives the most accurate color among all the tones.
If you’re curious about what each tone does, here’s a summary:
- Cool 1: Adds a cool blue hue.
- Cool 2: Adds a deeper blue hue.
- Warm 1: Adds a warm pink hue.
- Warm 2: Adds a stronger pink hue.
Step 11: Switch to the suitable gamma value
“What does a gamma do?”
It changes the mid-range brightness of an image.
Usually, the ideal gamma value on 4K TVs is 2.2. This is because it shows brighter pictures.
But if you opt for a dimmer environment, I’d say go for the BT.1886.
Then leave the range at “0.”
Note: You’ll find “Gamma” after “White Balance” in the “Expert Settings” tab.
Step 12: Leave the shadow detail at “0” value
Next to “Gamma” is the “Shadow Detail” setting.
It changes the brightness of dim images. And normally, this is also set to its default value which is “0.”
Step 13: Disable “RGB Only Mode”
This is another setting that you need to turn off under the “Shadow Detail.”
Its job is to adjust the saturation of colors: green, red, and blue. And you’ve already set this at a specific value.
So skip this setting. And then move on to the last one.
Bonus step: Set the color space settings to ‘Auto’
Last but not least, make sure that your “Color Space Settings” is in ‘Auto’ mode.
“Where can I find this?”
It’s the second to the last option under “Expert Settings.”
Also, you can set this to “Custom.”
But only if you have calibration equipment at home.
This is so that you could adjust the primary and secondary colors of the image.
Note: You’ll also need equipment to modify “White Balance.” So if you don’t have any, leave it at the default setting as well.