Games are now much more visually impressive than they’ve ever been before. Top consoles can render graphics that look close to real and can even output games at incredible 4K resolutions. Luckily, many top television models are now designed with gaming in mind. So you can take advantage of all of the many visual improvements that the gaming world has experienced in the past years.
However, in order for your games to truly shine, you need to make sure that your TV is properly configured. The correct settings can not only improve the visual fidelity of your games but can also improve how smoothly they play!
But what are the best TV settings to enhance gaming performance? Which ones should you focus on? Our Reliant tech experts have taken a look to find out! In this guide below, we’ll take you through the most important settings for enhancing the gaming performance of your TV!
Best Picture Settings for TV’s Without Game Mode
- Brightness: 50 to 60.
- Contrast: 80 to 90.
- Sharpness: 0 to 10.
- Colour: 50 to 60.
- Tint: 0.
These settings help to optimise the visual performance of your games if your TV doesn’t have a dedicated game mode. They enhance visual detail so you can immerse yourself in the action, and get an advantage over your opponents.
Balanced brightness ensures light and dark scenes look accurate, for a greater sense of atmosphere. You may need to adjust the brightness slightly, depending on the amount of light in your room, to avoid eye strain.
Contrast is important because it ensures on-screen shapes are clear and defined, so you can pick out enemies from the background!
Lowering sharpness ensures improved detail, so you can best appreciate improved graphics in triple-A games.
Balancing the colour settings of your TV ensures every colour is accurate. Pump the setting up too high, and saturation will make the image far too vibrant. Reduce it too low, and the image will be washed out!
Finally, it’s worth keeping your TV’s tint at 0. Tint settings adjust the general hue of the screen. If you’re not careful, this can result in certain colours displaying as totally different colours!
Best Gaming Settings For Samsung TVs
- Auto Motion Plus: Off.
- Adaptive Picture: Off.
- Contrast Enhancer: Off.
- Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM): On.
- Motion Lighting: Off.
Best Gaming Settings For LG TVs
- TruMotion: Off.
- Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM): On.
- AI Brightness: Off.
- Noise Reduction: Off.
- Vivid Mode: Off.
- Dynamic Colour: Off.
- Super Resolution: Off.
Best Gaming Settings For TCL TVs
- Motion Clarity: Off.
- Noise Reduction: Off.
- Auto Brightness: Off.
- Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM): On.
- Dynamic Contrast: Off.
How To Optimise Your Gaming TV
Activate Game Mode
Many smart TVs come equipped with “Modes”, which are essentially presets that adjust your TV’s settings to suit different kinds of content. There are modes for films, shows, and sports alike. Though these modes are often listed under different names, depending on your TV model, they’re worth taking advantage of.
If your TV has a dedicated “Game Mode” we recommend taking advantage of it. It’s designed to optimise your TV’s visual capabilities so that your games look great and feel amazing to play. When activated, it will automatically adjust many of the visual settings we outlined above, as well as a few audio settings! It will also activate Auto Low Latency Mode, which is designed to make your games feel snappy and responsive.
Say Goodbye To Upscaling
Top smart TV models are now equipped with all kinds of upscaling technologies that enhance your content as you watch it. These post-processing effects result in improved visuals but also result in vastly increased rates of input lag.
As such, if you want your games to feel as responsive as possible, you will need to deactivate all upscaling technologies on your TV. This will ensure no time is wasted between your console sending out a video signal, and your TV receiving it. So your games will feel snappy and responsive.
Check Your Console’s Settings
It’s not just up to your TV to do all of the heavy lifting. If you want a truly immense gaming experience, make sure your console’s settings are adjusted appropriately. Make sure your consoles’ output settings are just right, to target your TV’s resolution. Many players often overlook this crucial step and then settle for a less stunning visual experience.
Many consoles allow players to target specific refresh rates, to ensure games appear stutter-free, at higher frame rates. If you’re planning to play at up to 120 frames per second, make sure the settings are adjusted appropriately.
If you want to target enhanced HDR visuals, then make sure HDR is activated on your console!
Use Pixel Shift
If you’re playing on an OLED TV, then it’s worth turning on “Pixel Shift”. Though the name for this technology may differ from model to model, it’s designed to protect OLED TVs from screen burn. This ensures gamers can play at their best for years to come.
Essentially, this technology works by intermittently shifting the brightness of pixels as you play. This ensures that fixed on-screen images, such as heads-up displays and mini-maps, don’t end up burning into the screen. You won’t notice when pixel shift kicks in, but it keeps your TV safe no matter what.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Best TV Settings For Gaming?
In order to make the most of TV gaming, you’ll want to make sure you choose settings that reduce input lag. Lower levels of input lag help to increase a sense of control over your games. We strongly recommend making use of your TV’s gaming mode. Gaming mode adjusts all of the settings of your TV, to reduce levels of input lag. This will allow you to master your games with ease!
What Is The Best Resolution For A Gaming TV?
Top game consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X can now output games at 4K resolutions. If you want the latest games to truly shine, you should make sure your TV is able to display 4K visuals. It’s also worth looking for a TV with HDR support, as many games are now developed with HDR imagery in mind!