Sharp Aquos Settings for the Best Picture

Configuring your Sharp Aquos television for an optimal viewing experience is based primarily on personal preference above all else. With this in mind, however, there is something of a baseline to follow when first setting up your television, which will give you a strong starting point for fine-tuning. Always fine-tune the settings right away, as the factory default settings are rarely ideal for home viewing.

The first thing you will do is disable the OPC setting. This setting is an automatic brightness adjuster which changes the screen's brightness based on the ambient light in the room. While a useful feature in theory, OPC makes adjusting the color and picture settings difficult. It can also be distracting during viewing.

Next, configure the backlighting and contrast settings. These settings control how brightly the backlight shines and how much contrast exists between bright and dark colors on the screen respectively. By default, the backlighting is set to 5, which should be changed to 16. The contrast is set to 30 by default, and should be turned down to 17. This will result in better color fidelity and less harsh contrast, which is easier on your eyes.

Both the brightness and the sharpness settings are set to 0 by default, and should be left that way for the time being. The color temperature however, should be changed from "Middle" to "Low." Color temperature subtly affects the overall color saturation of images. "High" contains more yellow, orange or red in the mix, which creates a "warmer" image while "Low" mixes more blue into the color and creates a "cooler" image. While "Middle" seems ideal, it can still sometimes render some colors harshly.

The Sharp Aquos also comes with several special settings: Active Contrast, Digital Noise Reduction, Fine Motion Enhanced and Power Saving. Active contrast actively changes the contrast setting during the course of a film or television show and adjusts according to the colors in the media to display maximum contrast fidelity. Digital noise reduction removes noise from the image like grain, pixelization and distortion. Fine motion enhancement reduces motion blur in high-action scenes, while power-saving mode regulates brightness and other features during use, to minimize power drain. All of these features should be turned off, as they reduce the fidelity of the original display image.

These settings are a baseline from which to start -- ultimately, your personal preferences will determine what works well for your settings. Once you've set your TV to these basic specifications, tinker with all of the settings to fine tune the picture to your personal taste. Your television is a long-term investment, and getting the picture absolutely perfect for your taste is the best way to maximize your viewing experience.