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Among all the many confusing terms about TVs you may have heard, "soap opera effect" is probably the most intriguing. What does that mean, and is it something you should be familiar with? The answer to the latter question is, absolutely yes. As for what this effect is, it's officially known as a feature called motion smoothing, but some brands may have a slightly different name for it.
With this feature turned on, there's no natural blurring with movements, making shows and movies look like one of those iconic soap operas your grandma used to watch every afternoon. Motion smoothing can help reduce blur in sports, and you may appreciate the effect for content like news broadcasts and reality shows. But to get the most from your fancy new TV when you're binging an intense thriller or enjoying an action movie, you'll want to turn motion smoothing off to get the best picture possible.
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What happens with motion smoothing
When you turn on motion smoothing (or motion interpolation), it helps correct blur that is apparent in high-definition content. It does this by analyzing the video frame by frame, then digitally filling in blanks between each frame with what it believes the frame should look like based on ones before and after it. This is to compensate if a movie or show is filmed at 24 or 30 frame-per-second (fps), for example, but your TV can handle 60-120 fps. It adds more detail, which is fantastic for sports and even video games. But for other video content, it results in motion that looks unnatural, camera shifts that feel off, and motion that's too fluid to have the same level of impact.
Consider that soap operas are typically filmed at higher frame rates than movies and other TV shows. Usually filmed at 30 or 60 fps versus 24 fps for traditional movies, your brain processes watching movies much differently. That motion blur adds to the experience, giving it expected but appreciated imperfections. When you smooth out this motion blur, the scenes look hyper-realistic, and it throws you off. It's entirely possible you might prefer it. But filmmakers and even actors like Tom Cruise, have urged viewers to turn the feature off and accept the cinematic experience as intended. Movies, after all, are supposed to feel like escapist entertainment, not like the real scenes of a documentary or the traditional look and feel of a salacious soap opera.
How to adjust
Many TVs automatically disable this feature if you choose something like Cinema, Movie, or Filmmaker Mode. Otherwise, it might already be on, even on all the best smart TVs. Since every TV manufacturer has a different name for motion smoothing, though, it can be challenging to find it in your TV settings. Do a quick online search for your TV brand and model to see where it is in the menu. In most cases, it's buried under picture and display settings.
For Amazon Fire TV, it's under Display & Sound, Advanced Settings, and Action Smoothing; while with Roku TVs, it's Picture Settings, Advanced Picture Settings, Action Smoothing or Action Clarity. Where to find it on a Google TV depends on the brand, but it's usually called Motion Enhancement, Motion Clarity, or Motion Clearness and under Settings, Display & Sound, Picture, Advanced Settings. LG TruMotion is under All Settings, Picture Mode Settings, and Picture Options. For Samsung, go to All Settings, Picture, More Picture Settings, Picture Clarity Settings, and turn off Auto Motion Plus. Sony TV Motionflow is in Settings or Home, Picture Settings (or Display & Sound), Picture, Motion. Finally, Vizio Clear Action is under Picture and Advanced Picture Settings.
You can turn the feature back on to watch sports or play video games, even enjoy guilty pleasure reality TV shows and news. But for everything else, turn it off. If you notice movies and shows look a bit weird, chances are this feature might be on and you didn't even know it.
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