Turn Off "Store Demo Mode" First
Almost every TV ships in a hyper-bright, oversaturated "vivid" or "store demo" picture mode designed to stand out under bright showroom lighting. It's the single most common reason a brand-new TV looks worse at home than it did in the store. Switching to "Movie," "Filmmaker," or "Standard" mode is usually the biggest single improvement you can make in under a minute.
Basic Calibration Without Special Tools
After switching picture modes, adjust brightness so that dark scenes still show detail without looking washed out, and set sharpness lower than the default — most factory sharpness settings actually add unwanted edge artifacts rather than real detail. If your TV supports it, disable heavy motion smoothing ("the soap opera effect") for a more natural, film-like look.
Streaming Apps and Accounts
Setting up Netflix, Disney+, Crave, and other apps individually is straightforward but time-consuming, especially across multiple devices in a household. During professional setup, we sign in to your usual apps, organize your home screen, and pair any streaming sticks or sound systems so everything works from a single remote where possible.
Network and Smart Home Basics
A wired Ethernet connection (or a strong 5GHz Wi-Fi signal) makes a real difference for 4K streaming without buffering. If your TV supports smart home integration, we can also confirm it's paired correctly with anything else already in your home.
Prefer It Done for You?
Our TV Setup & Configuration service ($50) covers all of the above in one visit — ideal to book at the same time as delivery or wall mounting.