In this tutorial we are going to look at the various sharpening and noise reduction tools that are added to the majority of modern TVs. Please note that not all TVs will have these features.
Edge Enhancement
The first settings we need to look at are those which add sharpening to the image. There are a number of different names such as Edge Enhancer, Detail Enhancer, Reality Creation, Resolution+, Super Resolution and similar.
As you can see all these names seem to suggest that they will enhance detail or add resolution to the image which is never the case. All they do is add a false edge to images which actually covers up the detail within the picture and falsely makes the image look sharper. There is no extra detail to pull out of an image on a TV. All these features add false edges and false sharpening and are best left in the off position.
Noise Reduction
These features are named MPEG Noise Reduction or Digital noise reduction. Not all TVs will have these controls.
When you watch TV you are more than likely watching a digitally compressed image. There are just too many bits of information to broadcast or even fit on a DVD or Blu-ray in the original files. So, they are compressed by throwing away elements that are not essential to the image, like a static background, thus you only need to refresh any pixels that are moving in front of it and, as a result, there is no need to keep them all.
However not all compression technology is the same or equal in quality, so you will get instances where there is blocking or fizzing seen in poor images and this is where the noise reduction features can come in handy. Remember that these features cause smoothing of the image so if needed, they should be used sparingly.
However, as we are talking about HD broadcasts of the World Cup in these tutorials there is no need for these features and they can be left switched off.
If you want to get stuck into the full PicturePerfect guide you can do so by visiting the pages here.
If you would like more details on professionally calibrating your TV or Projector you can read our guide here.
The first settings we need to look at are those which add sharpening to the image. There are a number of different names such as Edge Enhancer, Detail Enhancer, Reality Creation, Resolution+, Super Resolution and similar.
As you can see all these names seem to suggest that they will enhance detail or add resolution to the image which is never the case. All they do is add a false edge to images which actually covers up the detail within the picture and falsely makes the image look sharper. There is no extra detail to pull out of an image on a TV. All these features add false edges and false sharpening and are best left in the off position.
Noise Reduction
These features are named MPEG Noise Reduction or Digital noise reduction. Not all TVs will have these controls.
When you watch TV you are more than likely watching a digitally compressed image. There are just too many bits of information to broadcast or even fit on a DVD or Blu-ray in the original files. So, they are compressed by throwing away elements that are not essential to the image, like a static background, thus you only need to refresh any pixels that are moving in front of it and, as a result, there is no need to keep them all.
However not all compression technology is the same or equal in quality, so you will get instances where there is blocking or fizzing seen in poor images and this is where the noise reduction features can come in handy. Remember that these features cause smoothing of the image so if needed, they should be used sparingly.
However, as we are talking about HD broadcasts of the World Cup in these tutorials there is no need for these features and they can be left switched off.
If you want to get stuck into the full PicturePerfect guide you can do so by visiting the pages here.
If you would like more details on professionally calibrating your TV or Projector you can read our guide here.
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