
These apps help you tweak your television's color, contrast, brightness, sharpness, tint and more. The test will take you through contrast, brightness, color, tint, aspect ratio (4:3 and 16:9), speaker assignment, speaker phase and subwoofer crossover.Īnother option is the THX Tune-Up app for iOS and Android phones or tablets, which works with devices that support some form of screen mirroring, to wirelessly communicate with the TV it's trying to optimize (or an Apple TV box via AirPlay). Simply use your remote to press Enter/Select on the THX Optimizer and follow the wizard to calibrate your home theater's video and audio settings (the latter relates to your audio-video receiver and surround sound speaker setup). There are hundreds of movies available with this included, such as Indiana Jones and Star Wars flicks. It's called THX Optimizer, and it can be found in the Special Features or Set Up area of the disc. This little-known trick makes blacks blacker, colors richer, and gets rid of the washed-out look some HDTVs have.īetter yet, take the time to calibrate your home theater.īut rather than spending a few-hundred dollars to properly set up your television for you (or up to $25 for a dedicated calibration disc), if you have a LucasFilm, Pixar or some Disney discs in your library, these DVD or Blu-ray movies usually have a calibration tool included. While not every techie will agree, a quick and easy way to vastly improve picture quality is to turn up the contrast on your television almost to full and reduce the brightness down to below half. Along with uncompressed video, HDMI cables also carry audio. gold tips), longer length, faster speeds and brand. Typically, you pay a bit of a premium for thicker shielding (to reduce electronic interference from, say, a power cord), better connectors (e.g. You don't have to go with top-of-the-line HDMI cables, but try to do better than what shipped in the box with your TV or what you found in the bargain bin at your local dollar store.

Some people prefer free over-the-air (OTA) service, which you can get from an indoor or outdoor antenna (on a roof or balcony), with many crystal-clear high-def stations to choose from, depending on where you live some antennas require power to amplify the signal for maximum reception.Īlso from the "duh" department, ensure you're using good cables.

If you prefer to get your content online, such as on Netflix, make sure you have a fast Internet connection for smooth streaming, and if it's offered by your provider go with unlimited data (no caps).
