The Easy and Free Way to Optimize Your New HDTV’s Picture and Sound

Marc Saltzman
Updated

Lucky you, with your shiny new big-screen TV. That screen sure looked sharp and clear and bright in the store, didn’t it? Here’s the tool you need to make sure the picture is going to look its best in your home, too.

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Good news: It’s completely free.

Now, you can, if you want, spend hundreds of dollars to have someone come to your house and calibrate your home theater setup. It’s possible someone at the big box store you bought your set at offered the service.

But you can do the calibration yourself, for free, if you have one of the many DVD or Blu-ray movies that come with a THX calibration track. Discs featuring Disney, Pixar, or Lucasfilm flicks often have it. Look for a function called the THX Optimizer. You might have to search in the Set Up or Special Features area of the disc. Click here for a list of the 340-odd discs with this embedded calibration tool.

READ: The ‘Star Wars’-Inspired History of the Iconic THX Audio Logo

Use your remote to follow the THX Optimizer wizard to calibrate your set’s video and audio settings to take best advantage of the room it’s in. The test will take you through contrast, brightness, color, tint, aspect ratio, speaker assignment, speaker phase, and subwoofer crossover — in that order.

Alternatively, the free THX tune-up app for smartphones and tablets works with “set-top box” devices that support wireless screen mirroring, such as an Apple TV, which works with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, or Chromecast for Android devices. Available at the App Store and Google Play, this app walks you through adjusting your TV’s settings, such as color, contrast, brightness, sharpness, tint, and more.

Get your set calibrated, and you’ll see every detail and hear every sound your new set is capable of throwing your way.