Different picture modes?

[MacBH928]

So on tvs you get these very different modes like film, dynamic, warm 2...etc . I don't know if I am missing something here but why would I want to use any of those modes? I just want to watch how the film creator meant for the colours to be. For example warm 2 looks yellow, Dynamic looks like some weird high saturated image. Is there a real use for these things?

similarly sound, there is sometimes "cinematic" sound that makes the sound seem like you are watching in a cave.

 

[DeltaMac]

Those are simply factory presets, for the viewer to exercise personal preferences. The "video police" will not come knocking on your door, should you choose to ignore the factory suggestions.
I would call that nothing more than personal preference. Ignore the settings, if you can...

Reminds me of years ago when I was deep in home audio, and remember those who couldn't decide why an audio preamp had bass/treble/tone controls. Why would anyone ever modify that final audio balance, when those super-experts in the sound studio knew everything about how "I" wanted audio to sound?

 

[mallbritton]

As it seems you have discovered, the picture mode changes how the picture looks on your TV. For example, I always use the "Movie" or "Cinema" preset as this preset is usually best for viewing movies. The "Standard" or "Dynamic" preset is often best used for sports. For my own tastes every preset other than then the "Movie" preset is way to bright. So, you can use the presets and see which ones you like, which ones you don't.

You might find this video of interest:

 

[w5jck]

Search the internet for the specific settings associated with your TV model that will give you the most accurate colors. For example, with my Sony Bravia XBR-49X800H TV most of the so-called experts recommend I use the Cinema picture mode, and after trying all of the other modes I have to agree it is the most natural looking. Note, on my TV the picture modes are separate from audio settings, so if you have issues with the audio you might need to set that under the audio settings.

ETA: What I do is to use the Cinema picture mode, but I modified it slightly for my personal tastes. I recommend finding the picture mode you like best, then modify if you need to.

 

[400]

Personally I set up the expert settings to my likes. I am not paying for a calibration but people see things differently so to speak. Just set it for what you like and turn off any extra processing that will dull the picture.

Yeah, OK, the director has a vision but he doesn't have your room, eyes, TV, picture delivery etc.

Audio can be tricky. Sometimes I think it is worse than the vision. Some modes are trying to make a few inbuilt speakers do what cannot be done and will depend on hardware. Mine does a decent job but if I want a film, then I feed it to the surround sound.

 

[MacBH928]

Those are simply factory presets, for the viewer to exercise personal preferences. The "video police" will not come knocking on your door, should you choose to ignore the factory suggestions.
I would call that nothing more than personal preference. Ignore the settings, if you can...

Reminds me of years ago when I was deep in home audio, and remember those who couldn't decide why an audio preamp had bass/treble/tone controls. Why would anyone ever modify that final audio balance, when those super-experts in the sound studio knew everything about how "I" wanted audio to sound?

I intend to experience the creations of others based on how they made it. I wouldn't for example add rhythms and beats to a song to tweak it to my liking or alter the colours of a painting to I like it more. I wouldn't call this the Mona Lisa for example

Spoiler

 

[DeltaMac]

"Looks like" (sorry) you would want to tweak the picture settings to give you a better chance of seeing that "artwork" as the original content creator intended. I suppose you were trying to make a point, and grossly changed your own video/picture settings. (That's why you can adjust your picture/color settings. It's still personal preferences, in the end)
You might do the same kind of tweaking when attempting to view a movie so the colours "as the original creator meant the colors to be"
I would suggest that you should discover video calibration, similar to what you would usually need to support video editing, or even photo editing.
How else would you get what you view as correct colors? That original creator would be working from a calibrated system. So should you, if you expect to see colors the same as the final edit of that movie.
And, you will also need to decide if the additional expense is worth the final result.
My eyes will be different from yours - your tweaked Mona Lisa is still the Mona Lisa, at least in my eyes.

 

[400]

I don't think you will be far off with a manual mess around if calibration is not on the menu (I didn't, happy with my results). To use that painting analogy, you wont be far from the original and no where near as bad as that picture.
I expect manufacturers turn out a different result on say "cinema" setting if you sat them side by side. There is at least one site that supply a recommended set up avoiding the cost of calibration. rtings I think, not all TV's are there I suppose but a start.

 

[SkiHound2]

As someone else mentioned, look around online and you should find "optimal" setting suggestions. I find the "optimal" settings are often geared towards watching movies in pretty dark environments. Since I'm generally watching in more lighted rooms those settings are generally too dark. Settings are going to depend a lot on room light. There are no correct settings for all environments and we all have our personal preferences. The out of box settings are usually way bright and overcooked. My suggestion would be to find some "optimal" settings on line. There is a site called rtings.com that has settings for most sets, and if not, very similar sets. I'd say start with those and then adjust to your taste. Movie mode was recommended for my set and it works well, but the lighting settings only worked in a very dark environment. I raised those a lot since I'm mostly in a relatively bright environment. If you're just starting from scratch I'd start with either something like movie or natural, and then adjust to taste. Things like color and tint are usually pretty close out of the box.

 

[BrianBaughn]

The "cinema"-type setting always looks best to me…sometimes with a couple of minor tweaks.

Stay away from the _____motion (different makers use different terms) setting. It'll make Lawrence of Arabia look like it was shot with an iPhone.

 

[MacBH928]

As someone else mentioned, look around online and you should find "optimal" setting suggestions. I find the "optimal" settings are often geared towards watching movies in pretty dark environments. Since I'm generally watching in more lighted rooms those settings are generally too dark. Settings are going to depend a lot on room light. There are no correct settings for all environments and we all have our personal preferences. The out of box settings are usually way bright and overcooked. My suggestion would be to find some "optimal" settings on line. There is a site called rtings.com that has settings for most sets, and if not, very similar sets. I'd say start with those and then adjust to your taste. Movie mode was recommended for my set and it works well, but the lighting settings only worked in a very dark environment. I raised those a lot since I'm mostly in a relatively bright environment. If you're just starting from scratch I'd start with either something like movie or natural, and then adjust to taste. Things like color and tint are usually pretty close out of the box.

The "cinema"-type setting always looks best to me…sometimes with a couple of minor tweaks.

Stay away from the _____motion (different makers use different terms) setting. It'll make Lawrence of Arabia look like it was shot with an iPhone.

not sure if same, but my older samsung has movie mode that makes it dystopian yellow. this is not exactly it, but this how much difference can be between standard and movie and i don't know which is the correct one

 

[DeltaMac]

Yeah --- there is no "correct" setting - i.e., correct for every TV, every combination of hardware and in every instance. Use what looks best to you. Tweak it using the controls, if you need to do that. THAT'S your correct setting.

 

[pmiles]

It really comes down to your personal preference as no preset or calibration on the planet takes into consideration your viewing environment or your eyesight.

What lighting conditions do you have in your home? Do you watch in total darkness with blackout curtains? Do you have incandescent lighting, phosphorus, LED or indirect? Where is the light source situated in respect to the TV and you? Do the surfaces in the space reflect light or absorb it?

How about your own vision? Do you require contacts or eyeglasses when viewing? Do you have colorblindness or any other condition that affects the way you see things?

Then there's the TV itself. Is it properly calibrated for your space? You bought the damn thing looking at it in a space very unlike where you actually were ever going to use it. They are tweaked to make them look good in that lighting. Tweaked to make the models that they want to move, look better.

In the end, you only have your own eyes to tell you what looks best.

 

[mallbritton]

It’s not “which is the correct one” it is which one do you like best.

 

[w5jck]

The "cinema"-type setting always looks best to me…sometimes with a couple of minor tweaks.

Stay away from the _____motion (different makers use different terms) setting. It'll make Lawrence of Arabia look like it was shot with an iPhone.

You can try the motion smoothing settings and see how your TV does with them, but chances are it won't do well in a lot of cases. I too prefer to turn off any motion smoothing or correction features to avoid issues.

 

[MacBH928]

adjusting colours to my liking does not sound right because I am sure there are colourist and professionals paid highly to get the colours just right, not because I go back and change it to my liking!?

 

[akash.nu]

adjusting colours to my liking does not sound right because I am sure there are colourist and professionals paid highly to get the colours just right, not because I go back and change it to my liking!?

Different screens render colours differently. So by watching the movies on a tv you’re already away from what the creator intended to begin with. They intended the movies for cinema projection.

 

[w5jck]

adjusting colours to my liking does not sound right because I am sure there are colourist and professionals paid highly to get the colours just right, not because I go back and change it to my liking!?

Here is what I suggest, get your TV calibrated (either by yourself or a professional). That means the TV will display colors "properly". That means you will see all the colors and shades of colors properly. That means you will see blacks and whites at a proper level. Et cetera. Here "proper" means when "properly calibrated".

Then once the calibration is done, write down all the settings so you can go back to them at any time. Now change what you think needs changing to make your eyes and brain happy. Perhaps you want more warmth from reds or more coolness from blue. Perhaps you want more, or less, vibrance and saturation. Perhaps you want more or less whites and blacks. Whatever makes you happy, make those changes. What you need to do is please your eyes and brain.

BTW, a proper calibration will allow all the colors to display in the manner in which they are intended. If you see banding, bands of colors, then your TV is not properly calibrated, or it can't view those colors. A well calibrated 4K HDR TV will be capable of viewing many times more colors than an older HDTV will. A well calibrated TV will allow you to see all the colors the TV is capable of displaying. After calibration, you can still change the warmth or coolness, vibrance and saturation, contrast, brightness, et cetera to taste. Only you know what is best for your viewing pleasure.

 

[DeltaMac]

adjusting colours to my liking does not sound right because I am sure there are colourist and professionals paid highly to get the colours just right, not because I go back and change it to my liking!?

How do you get the same picture as those professionals, when they don't know what you are using to view their movie?

Ok, then... If you live in, or near a large city, there are likely "video pros" that you could hire to come to your house, and adjust your TV settings for the "correct" picture. I seem to recall that Bestbuy (the geeks) can do that when you purchase a new TV from them. I don't know how much it costs to do that on your existing gear.
I think the biggest factor for you is if your TV can reproduce those deep blacks, such as an OLED screen can do. All the other adjustments are just an exercise ending in frustration, if you don't have the deep blacks.

 

[400]

Colours are measured and a known quantity. Calibration will get the result. Changing to yours or mine liking is the best possible unless you deal with the measurements. I don't mean pushing reds too far for the hell of it, without calibration, more setting the blacks correctly then trying to sort skin tones etc. You know what looks good and right. Without paying for the pros do do the work, you have to rely on your eye/brain and muddle through.

Director might be working with a 50 or 60 grand backend before a lens is even bolted on and whatever lights at whatever colour temperature, and back in the day, what film stock was used etc. By the time you get the film it has been wrung through a mangler but hopefully in the right area (stream, vs hard copy etc.). It will be graded in post production. I just aim for the best setting that reflect a good picture, good representation of colour and very important, black levels (this is where an OLED really streets it stuff). Short of a calibration, I am really happy with my settings in the expert section of the menu.

 

[MacBH928]

Yes, thats what I will do just replicate an online provided calibration settings. Close enough.
I was just wondering if anyone really like that dystopian yellow in the "warm2" settings or the extremely blue and high contrast Dynamic one. I guess every one is different..

I just aim for the best setting that reflect a good picture, good representation of colour and very important, black levels (this is where an OLED really streets it stuff). Short of a calibration, I am really happy with my settings in the expert section of the menu.

I guess I am being a little OCD with the picture...

 

[400]

Yes, thats what I will do just replicate an online provided calibration settings. Close enough.
I was just wondering if anyone really like that dystopian yellow in the "warm2" settings or the extremely blue and high contrast Dynamic one. I guess every one is different..



I guess I am being a little OCD with the picture...

Warm settings etc. I just see as a version of colour temperature messing around. White balance and all that. Set to what you sit comfortable with. I suppose people that just work it outage box without digging into deeper settings like a quick option. I have seen settings that would drive me absolutely nuts and the user think it is excellent.

Nothing wrong with wanting perfect, but there are limitations and a time to let it go and the eye sometimes has to be relied on when the tools to measure are not available. I know that I can better the picture but that will cost me a calibration where they dig into the individual colour settings etc. with the correct measuring tool checking it.

Personally I dumped all the delivered settings, all the post processing that make it worse (don't know why it is included) and went straight in to the expert settings. Had a pretty good idea what is what and sorted them to my liking and where I thought they were best sat at.

Only time that threw me was an Apple TV beta some time ago that borked the reds.