At the time of install a new TV at homemany times we put it into operation without stopping to think about what are the recommended steps that should be followed to start enjoying the best possible quality.
It is common if we do not have much experience and we have bought a new model for example at Christmas, wanting to unpack our gift as soon as possible but in the rush leaving behind some essential considerations.
Choose the best possible Internet connection
Although it is not mandatory, if we want to take advantage of the functionalities of current Smart TVs you have to connect them to the Internetand choose the best possible connection It is essential to avoid future stops and eternal waits when playing videos.
In this article we looked in depth at the main possible options depending on different parameters, such as the distance to the router or the uses we are going to give to the TV. Which one is the best?
Well, for conventional users who have the TV in the same room as the router, it is best to forget about WiFi and go for the classic wire ethernet, with Cat 5e certification or higher if possible. We plug it in and that's it, we will have the best possible connection with the least delay.
This option, however, has its limitations, since in general the Ethernet ports on TVs are limited to one maximum speed of 100Mbps even in the highest-end models.
However, it is more than enough speed for most uses that will allow us to take advantage of any 4K streaming service what's on the market right now. In the worst case, and following the platforms' recommendations, we will currently need 50 Mbps peaks (it is the limit that HBO Max asks of us), so with 100 Mbps we have more than enough.
In the event that the TV is very far from the router and we do not have another intermediate system such as PLCs, Then we will have to resort to WiFi in the 2.4 GHz band, capable of better penetrating between the walls of the home and with a greater coverage radius.
It is also a simple method to connect our screen, but although the theory promises us connection speeds well above the 100Mbps In the WiFi 4, WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 standards currently used, the reality is that we will have limitations mainly due to interference from nearby networks that interfere with our connection.
Let everything update
Modern Smart TVs are like small computers embedded in a screen, and as such they have an operating system and applications that receive updates over the Internet.
Depending on how long the new model has been in the store, there may be several available for download and installation in the cloud. And although it is somewhat heavy and takes away immediacy from the launch of the product, it is advisable that Let's install them as soon as possible.
With this we will ensure that we have the most up-to-date version of the software and probably some minor problems and bugs that would detract from the equipment will have been corrected.
In addition, having updated applications is essential for make them compatible with the latest improvements and streaming services such as Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, etc., as well as to monitor our security and that of the data they handle.
Select a suitable display mode
The usual thing is that, by default, our beloved screen is activated when you turn it on for the first time in an operating mode “standard” or “dynamic”both designed to be striking, with very bright colors (especially the dynamic one) that we will like at first glance, but in the long run, when we have spent a few minutes or hours with the TV, they will end up tiring us.
These modes usually put all the TV's functions to work, with maximum brightness, colors and contrastsas well as with image processing that can be attractive but also artificial.
Therefore, as soon as we have the opportunity, it is advisable to switch to a mode that represents the image and sound more faithfully to the original signal, such as “cinema”, “movie” mode or the most modern “filmmaker or filmmaker” and then, if we want, we start the calibration process from there.
It is worth checking that we do not have special image enhancement modes activated, such as contrast enhancement, sharpness, motion smoothing, etc. Since although they may seem very spectacular at first, in reality they will be modifying the original image and in the long run they will add more defects and artifacts than improvements.
Perform acoustic correction well
If the TV is mid-high range it probably has some acoustic correction system room, a very useful system when adapting the capabilities of the speakers to the characteristics of our room. This is the case of televisions that come with a microphone on the remote control which we must place in the usual viewing point and go through the corresponding configuration system from the TV menu.
The acoustic corrector is essential to minimize the sound deficiencies in the room, for which two adjustments are basically made: in the frequency and time domain. The first tries to vary the amplitude of the signals in each frequency range depending on the characteristics of the room and the speakers, trying to obtain as flat a response as possible.
The second takes into account the temporal response of the speakers and the room when making adjustments. That is, it analyzes how long it takes for the sound signals to reach us from the speakers, studying the reflections and phases of each signal to correct them at the point of hearing so that we hear signals in the same phase.
It is convenient that we execute this function both when launching a new TV as when we make a change in the decoration of the roomsuch as new furniture, curtains, carpets, etc.
Furthermore, and this is a fundamental point that we do not usually pay much attention to, we must do it in absolute silencewithout background noise of our family commenting on how big and beautiful the new TV is or someone talking on the phone in the other corner of the room.
Cover image | Samuel Regan-Asante
In Xataka Smart Home | Almost all smart TVs have in common a picture mode that looks better than the rest and is not activated by default