TV Picture Quality Setting Options
One way to fine-tune TV picture quality is with image or picture presets. These may include:
StandardVividCinemaGameSportsUser or Custom
Each preset determines how displayed images look based on the selected content sources. The User or Custom options allow adjustment of presets further according to preference. Here is how this breaks down:
Brightness: Makes dark areas brighter or darker. Contrast: Makes bright areas brighter or darker. Color: Increases or decreases the saturation (intensity) of all colors in the image. Tint (Hue): Adjusts the amount of green or magenta in the image (used primarily to dial in proper skin tones). Sharpness: Adjusts the degree of edge contrast in the image. It doesn’t change the resolution. Use this setting sparingly, as it can display edge artifacts. Backlight: Increases or decreases light output from the backlight or edge light system for LED and LCD TVs. This setting is not available for Plasma or OLED TVs.
In addition to the above settings, another preset (or custom) adjustment provided is color temperature.
What Color Temperature Is
Color temperature is a measure of light frequencies emitted from a black surface as it is heated. As the black surface is heated, the light changes color. The term red hot is a reference that light emitted appears to be red. With more heat, the emitted color goes from red, yellow, and eventually to white (white-hot), then blue. Color temperature is measured using the Kelvin scale.
Absolute black is 0 Kelvin.Red shades range from about 1,000K to 3,000K.Yellow shades range from 3,000K to 5,000K.White shades range from 5,000K to 7000K.Blue ranges from 7,000K to over 10,000K.
How Color Temperature Is Used
Color temperature is used with light bulbs. Depending on the type of light bulb, the light in a room may take on warm, neutral, or cool characteristics. With natural outdoor light as the reference point, some lights cast a warmer temperature into a room, which results in a yellowish cast. On the other hand, some lights have a cooler temperature, which results in a blueish cast. Color temperature is also used in image capture and display. A photographer or video content creator makes color temperature decisions based on the desired result. Employing things, such as set lighting or shooting in various daylight or night conditions, accomplishes this.
The White Balance Factor
Another factor that affects color temperature is white balance. For color temperature settings to work correctly, captured or displayed images must be referenced to a white value. Professional still photographers, moviemakers, and video content creators use white balance to provide the most accurate color reference. The standardized temperature reference white that film and video content creators, as well as TV and video project makers, use is 6500 degrees Kelvin (also called D65). Professional TV monitors used in the creation, editing, and post-production process are calibrated to this standard. The D65 white reference point is considered slightly warm. Still, it isn’t as warm as the warm preset color temperature setting on a TV. D65 was chosen as the white reference point because it most closely matches average daylight and is the best compromise for film and video sources.
Color Temperature Settings On TVs and Video Projectors
Think of a TV screen as a heated light-emitting surface, with the ability to display all the colors needed. Image information passes from a TV broadcast, cable or satellite, disc, streaming, or another source to the TV. Although the media may include the correct color temperature information, the TV or video projector may have a color temperature default that may not accurately display the intended color temperature. Not all TVs display the same color temperature out of the box. The factory default settings may be too warm or too cool. A TV’s perceived color temperature may also look slightly different as a result of room lighting conditions (daylight vs. nighttime). Depending on the TV brand and model, color temperature settings may include one or more of the following:
Presets, such as Standard (Normal, Medium), Warm (Low), Cool (High).A continuous adjustment from warm to cool, similar to how you adjust volume, color (saturation), tint (hue), contrast, and sharpness (refer to the image below).Additional temperature settings may be available for each color (red, green, and blue). A trained technician should use this option.
The warm setting (W) results in a slight shift towards red, while the cool setting (C) adds a slight blue shift. If your TV has Standard, Warm, and Cool options, select each one or use manual settings to see the shift from warm to cool. When performing more precise image calibration than the basic warm, standard, and cool settings provide, the goal is to get the white reference value as close to D65 (6,500K) as possible.
The Bottom Line
There are several ways to fine-tune a TV or video projector. Picture settings, such as color, tint (hue), brightness, and contrast, provide the most dramatic effects. However, to obtain the overall best color accuracy, color temperature settings are a tool that most TVs and video projectors offer. The critical thing to remember is that the available picture adjustment settings, although able to be dialed in individually, interact with each other in optimizing your TV viewing experience. Regardless of the setting and calibration options available, everyone perceives color differently. Adjust your TV so that it looks best to you.
