How to Get the Best Picture Quality From Your 4K TV

A new television does not always deliver its best picture straight out of the box. These five practical adjustments cover HDMI cables and ports, gaming features, picture presets, and connected devices, helping you enjoy sharper, smoother, more natural-looking movies, sports, and games.

Best TV Picture Settings: 5 Fixes for Better 4K Quality

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Five Easy Fixes for Better TV Picture Quality

1. Choose a Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable

A reliable HDMI connection is the first step toward getting the picture quality your television and source devices support. If you use a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or gaming PC at 4K and 120Hz, choose a certified Ultra High Speed HDMI cable rated for up to 48 Gbps. The HDMI 2.1 feature set can include 4K at 120Hz, variable refresh rate (VRR), and enhanced audio return channel (eARC), but the actual features depend on your equipment. An older 18 Gbps cable may still work perfectly for 4K at 60Hz, so there is no need to replace every cable automatically.

A cable that cannot reliably carry the selected signal may cause brief black screens, sparkles, intermittent dropouts, or a lower negotiated refresh rate. A more expensive cable does not inherently improve colors when a digital connection is already working correctly. Instead, the goal is a stable connection at your chosen resolution, refresh rate, and HDR format.

Look for the official Ultra High Speed HDMI Certification label and verify its QR code using the HDMI certification verification process. The presenter recommends a braided, metal-housed cable described in the video as Silkland and reports testing it with a PS5, a soundbar, and a gaming PC. Those are the presenter's observations rather than independent product certification results.

2. Connect Devices to the Right HDMI Ports

Not every HDMI input on a television offers the same capabilities. Some models reserve 4K at 120Hz, VRR, or ALLM for only one or two inputs. Check the labels on the TV or its user manual before connecting a console. Look for markings such as 4K 120Hz, 144Hz, or HDMI 2.1.

In the video, the presenter identifies HDMI inputs 3 and 4 as the gaming-capable inputs on his Hisense U6-series Pro television, while HDMI 1 is labeled eARC. Port assignments vary by model and region, so confirm the layout for your own television.

If you use a compatible soundbar, connect it to the TV's eARC port to access supported higher-bandwidth audio formats. Dolby Atmos availability also depends on the television, soundbar, app, source, and audio settings.

3. Enable Gaming Features and Enhanced HDMI Format

For compatible gaming equipment, enable VRR to help reduce tearing and uneven motion when frame rates fluctuate. ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) lets supported devices request the television's low-latency gaming mode. Some TVs also support AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, which may improve the experience with compatible hardware.

Check for the enhanced HDMI signal setting on the specific input used by your console. Menu terminology varies by brand and model:

TV brand	Common setting name
Samsung	Input Signal Plus or HDMI UHD Color
LG	HDMI Deep Color or HDMI Ultra HD Deep Color
Sony	HDMI Signal Format: Enhanced format

Enable only the features your TV and source device support. A device that does not support 120Hz or VRR will not gain those capabilities simply by changing a menu setting.

4. Adjust Picture Modes, Color, Motion, and Sharpness

TVs often ship with Standard or Vivid picture presets that look striking on a showroom floor but can appear overly blue, sharp, or processed at home. For films and television programs, try Filmmaker Mode, Movie, Cinema, or Theater mode. These are often a better starting point for natural color and film-like motion. For games, choose Game Mode to reduce input latency.

Eco mode and ambient light sensor: Disable them while evaluating the image if they make the picture too dim or inconsistent. You can turn them back on if you prefer automatic brightness or energy savings.
Color temperature: Try Warm for a more natural white balance than the cool, blue-leaning appearance of many vivid presets.
Motion smoothing: Turn it off for movies if you dislike the artificial soap-opera effect. For sports, modest judder or blur reduction may help; try low settings and compare.
Motion clearness: Consider leaving black-frame insertion off if it causes noticeable flicker or reduced brightness.
Sharpness: Start at the neutral setting, which may be zero on some models, and avoid artificial edge enhancement.
Noise reduction: Generally disable it for clean 4K sources, although lower-quality broadcasts can sometimes benefit from a small amount.

Adjust brightness in small increments for your room rather than copying an exact number from another TV. Some televisions store separate picture settings for SDR, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and individual inputs. Check each mode while the relevant type of content is playing, and use Apply to All Inputs only when appropriate.

5. Match the Output Settings on PS5, Xbox, Apple TV, and Roku

Even a correctly configured television may not display the expected result if the connected device uses the wrong output settings. Review the device settings after confirming that the HDMI cable and input support the intended signal.

Device	Recommended checks
PlayStation 5	Under Screen and Video, use Automatic resolution, enable 120Hz Output and VRR when supported, enable ALLM if available, and complete Adjust HDR.
Xbox Series X/S	Under TV & display options, select 4K UHD and 120Hz if supported, then review VRR and auto low-latency options.
Apple TV 4K	Under Video and Audio, enable Match Dynamic Range and Match Frame Rate to preserve content's original presentation where supported.
Roku	If the model offers Auto-adjust display refresh rate, enable it to match supported content frame rates.

Menus and available features differ by device generation and firmware version. If a setting is missing, check compatibility rather than assuming the hardware is malfunctioning.

Quick TV Picture Settings Checklist

Confirm that your HDMI cable supports the signal you want to send.
Use the correct HDMI port for high-refresh-rate gaming or eARC audio.
Enable VRR, ALLM, and enhanced input format where supported.
Choose a natural picture preset, then review motion, sharpness, and color temperature.
Match video output settings on each connected device.

These adjustments are a useful starting point, not a universal calibration. Your best settings depend on the specific TV, the source material, and the lighting in your room. Watch the full demonstration for the presenter’s hands-on tests and on-screen menus.

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View The Video Transcript

If you installed your brand new TV and never touched a setting, you're not getting the picture you paid for. The truth is, your eyes get used to a bad picture, but it's not your fault. So, in this video, I'm going to show you five simple fixes to get the best picture out of your TV.

Fix number one is the HDMI cable. And it's the easiest to fix, but the one that most people overlook. And that's because most people use an old HDMI cable they found in their drawer. The fact is, if you have a PS5, Xbox, or a gaming PC, you need an HDMI 2.1 cable to get everything out of it. These old cables will not work. Your PS5 and your TV can send more data than your older HDMI cable can carry. 4K at 120 Hz with HDR needs up to 48 Gbits per second. And a lot of the older high-speed cables top around at about 18. When that cable can't keep up, the picture doesn't get a little worse, it gets terrible. You get little white dots flickering across the screen or your screen blacks out for a second. Or even worse, your console quietly drops to 60 Hz and you'll never even know it happened. So, ditch these older HDMI cables. Connecting an HDMI 2.1 cable fixes those issues. Now, a better HDMI cable will make your colors pop. It just makes sure you get everything your TV can do. The cable I use and recommend is the Silkland Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 cable. It's rated for the full 48 Gbps, which covers 4K at 120 Hz and 144 hertz, 8K at 60Hz, HDR, and eARC for your soundbar. The most important part is the certification. Anyone can print HDMI 2.1 on a package. A certified cable comes with an official label. Scan the QR code with your phone and it tells you if it's the real thing. No app needed. If it doesn't scan, it isn't certified. No matter what the package says, this HDMI cable is built better than the one you found in your drawer. The part you hold on each end is aluminum instead of molded plastic. And this old one is definitely plastic. And this cable is wrapped in a braided nylon, so it holds up getting bent behind a TV or run through a hole in the wall or getting yanked out of a PS5. A well-built cable just lasts longer, and that's common sense. To test this cable, I plugged it into my PS5 and set it to 4K at 120 Hz with HDR, VRR, and auto game mode turned on. I played Gran Turismo 7, and it held 120 Hz the whole time. Then I swapped in the old cable from my drawer. In Gran Turismo 7, it dropped to 60 Hz. Yikes. I also did a test with my soundbar. and the sound never cut out once. I also plugged it in to my gaming PC running an RTX 3080 and my Samsung Odyssey G9. That's a 49 in super ultrawide at 5120 x 1440 and at 144 hertz. It pushes about as much data as a 4K TV at 120. With this cable, it locked in at 144 hertz with no dropouts. Then I gamed on it for about three or four hours playing Forza Horizon 5. This HDMI cable passed every test I performed. The link to the Silkland cable is in the description and pinned in the comment. Go get you one. You won't regret it.

All right. Now that you fixed your HDMI cable, let's talk about the port. Yeah.

Fix number two is picking the correct HDMI port. And those HDMI ports on the back of your TV aren't the same. A lot of TVs only have one or two ports that can handle full speed 4K 120 Hz, VRR, and auto game mode. Look for a small label next to the port, like 4K120 or 144, game mode, or HDMI 2.1 on my Hisense U6 SF Pro. Only two ports support variable refresh rate and game mode. That's HDMI 3 and 4. The other two ports do not support it. So, if you make a mistake and plug your console into the other ports, those features are gone. So, don't make that mistake. Just check the label on the back of the TV. If you've got a soundbar, it goes into the port labeled eARC. That's the one port that can send full Dolby Atmos to your soundbar. On my Hisense TV, HDMI 1 is eARC.

Okay. If you're a gamer, and I bet you are, the next is a must. Turn on the gaming features. On most TVs, these features are turned off right out of the box. On my Hisense TV, there are three settings, VRR, ALLM, and FreeSync Premium Pro. And turn on all three. They kind of all work in unison. VRR and FreeSync keep the game smooth when the frame rate jumps around. And ALLM switches the TV into game mode by itself as soon as the TV's console turns on, so you're not stuck with extra lag. If you've got a Samsung, LG, or Sony, there's one more setting to turn on in the menu for the HDMI port you're using. I'll put what each brand calls it out on the screen. I believe for Samsung TVs, this is called Input Signal Plus. Older Samsung's will call it HDMI UHD. LG calls this HDMI Deep Color. Older LG's called HDMI Ultra HD. And Sony calls it HDMI enhanced format. And these are the exact settings for my Hisense U6 SF Pro. So, if you have this brand TV, just copy them.

Okay, now it's the most important part of this video. is the picture settings. We want to fix the picture itself. Like I said at the beginning of the video, your eyes get used to a bad picture, but once you change these few settings, it's hard to go back. Most TVs will ship in standard mode or a store mode. And that mode is built to stand out in a store room to sell more TVs, but it won't look great in your living room. Start by turning off energy saving mode or eco mode. Until this is off, nothing else we change will matter as much. And while you're in there, turn off the light sensor, too. This feature dims the picture based on the room, and on a lot of TVs, it's way too aggressive. If you like it in the bedroom at night, that's fine, but just pick it on purpose. This setting shouldn't be on all the time. Next is the picture mode. For movies and shows, switch to filmmaker mode, movie mode, cinema, or theater mode. To be honest, at first it's going to look a little warm and dim, but give it a day. If it's still too dim, turn up the brightness a little bit. make small adjustments until you get the perfect brightness. Now, for gaming, you want to use game mode exclusively. And the reason is it will cut the delay between the controller and the screen. And game mode with the PS5 looks crazy good. If you like standard mode or vivid mode, I'm not judging. It's your call, but choose it on purpose. Don't use what's default out of the box. At the very least, you want to set the color temperature to warm to get rid of that blue tint. The standard and vivid mode run cool and blue and those colors just come out wrong. So you want to warm them up a little bit. Next, you want to turn off motion smoothing. On my Hisense TV, it's under motion processing and I keep it turned off. This is the very reason that movies look like soap operas or look fake or even like AI. And I know we're all sick of AI. It started as a legend, one of the greatest of all. Thousand years we've kept it hidden. to protect Earth. However, if you're watching sports and it starts to stutter, turn up judder reduction and blur reduction to around three or five. Just make tiny adjustments until it looks smooth. Also, leave motion clearness off. It makes the picture dimmer and some people notice a flicker. After that is sharpness and noise reduction. Turn that all off. For sharpness, you can't turn this off, but put it to a neutral setting. And for a lot of TVs, that's zero. and turn off noise reduction for anything in 4K. Both of these settings add fake details that make the edges look crunchy. Now, apply this to all the inputs. So, look for the option apply to all inputs. Otherwise, you're stuck doing these setting changes for each port, and that takes too much time. One more thing, your TV keeps separate settings for regular TV, HDR, and Dolby Vision. A movie or TV show on cable might look off on HDR, so make those changes while you're watching the TV. And now your picture settings should be all dialed in.

Okay, if you have a gaming console like a PS5 or Xbox or maybe an Apple box or Roku box, this setting or this fix is the one for you because this fix number five is not on your TV at all. It's on your devices. Whatever you plug into your TV, like a PS5, has to have its own settings and most people never touch them. So, in this video, we're going to fix that. Okay, if you have a PS5, go to your screen and video settings, set resolution to automatic, and turn on 120 Hz output. Then turn on VRR and ALLM auto low latency mode. Then run the HDR adjustment once. Okay. On your Xbox, go to TV and display options. Set 4K at 120 Hz. Allow VRR and turn on auto low latency mode or ALLM. If you have an Apple TV box, turn on match dynamic range and match frame rate. Without changing these, it can force everything into HDR, even older shows that weren't made for it. So, change it. And lastly, on the Roku box, this is super simple. Turn on auto adjust display refresh rate. And that's it.

So, guys and gals, just a quick recap. First, use a certified HDMI cable like this one from Silkland. Second, plug into the correct HDMI port. Third, turn on all gaming features. Fourth, fix your picture settings, all of them. And fifth, match the settings from your end devices like your PS5, Xbox, Apple TV, or Roku box. With these five fixes, your TV video should look beautiful. Like I said before, your eyes get accustomed to a bad picture. But once you've made these changes, you can never go back. And the link to the Silk Cable is in the description below in the pin comment. And do me a huge favor, guys and gals. This really helps out the channel. Make sure to like, share, subscribe, and comment, and hit the bell notifications. Thanks a lot, and I'll see you later. And enjoy that beautiful picture. You're going to love it.