I don’t know if this is the same problem, but when my brother got a new HDTV and bluray, it looked really weird—almost too realistic—as if I were looking at real people through a window. Apparently, there’s a feature you can turn on and off that creates this effect. That’s about the extent of my technical knowledge, sorry. :)
I’m pretty sure we’re talking about the same thing. However, I’ve played around with the options that I believe are related to this (MPEG NR and 3:2 Pulldown) but the problem remains.
Pull up the menu and switch the “motion smoother” to off.
Unfortunately that option does not exist on my TV.
Check in the “advanced settings” (under the “picture” tab).
If the problem is the same one I’m thinking of, it’s not a small one. Watching the film in this setting would really ruin a film for me—so I hope you can resolve this. (I’m pretty sure you can.)
Isn’t it something to do with frame rate? I’m surprised nobody’s answered this definitively yet – I’m sure there’s someone here who knows exactly what to do. Anyway, I’m interested in the answer, too, so… bump.
Get ready everybody. That’s what Jackson’s 48fps Hobbit will ideally look like, and that’s what we’re coming to expect. Technology is officially too powerful.
isn’t this on all 120hz tvs? I think Josh Hansen is right.
^^ But the thing I wonder about is the fact that as a video post-production worker, I am more than familiar with the need to include such processes as motion blur and even tweaking things out-of-focus to accommodate a viewership used to, essentially, lower-definition footage as being the ‘correct’ way of seeing things. Isn’t that weird, that there is even such a thing as ‘too high definition’, ‘too clear imagery’, ‘too sharp of edges’, and people are actively seeking and encouraging others to switch off the technological capabilities of seeing such sharply defined images? I find it weird, even though not necessarily incorrect either way. It’s sort of fun to realize that though no definition is as high definition as our own eyes, the nature of our cognitive process of vision requires things like editing and motion blur and out-of-focus for movies to ‘look right.’
—PolarisDiB
The TV that I have is a Panasonic Viera, 720p Plasma HD (I believe 600 Hz). In regards to the “Advanced Picture” settings, as I mentioned the two options that I’m led to believe that deal with this, either “MPEG NR” and “3:2 Pulldown”, I have selected both to “OFF”, yet this problem persists. I have had this television for about a year and it wasn’t until recently that I noticed this. It happens when I watch DVDs as well. I called Viera for help and they told me that the frame rate comes from the external source, though I don’t believe there is any way I can change this on the DVD player.
I’ve seen this before and it drives me absolutely bonkers. Luckily it doesn’t seem to happen with my current configuration.
While I normally have a disdain for posting serious comments, I’m surprised nobody has answered your question.
This problem is most likely occurring because of the refresh rate of your television. Basically what is probably happening is that your dvd player is sending a signal to the television at a constant frame rate, which depending on where you live and your player, will probably be either 24fps or 30fps. Your television, however, is refreshing the image at a faster frame rate than this, which means that it is essentially creating extra frames that don’t exist. This is the major problem with why many people’s HDTVs look so unnatural.
Granted, what many people are saying is true, and there will be a large potential that the future of film will look more like this. The difference is (as with the upcoming Hobbit) that they will be filming at a higher frame rate. The Hobbit is shot at 48fps, and will playback at that same rate. For a lot of people, and especially people who are familiar with the medium, this will feel very unnatural for some time. Presently, I’m not a fan, although I do understand the implications that filming in that medium does provide a “more lifelike” motion. I’m just not used to it and think it will take a while.
With all that said, there should be a setting on your television somewhere to change this, often it’s called “true motion” or “smooth motion” or something like that. Sometimes there is an option on players or televisions to play at a cinematic frame rate of 24fps.
Thanks for the response, K P.
On my TV, on the picture settings, the description for the “3:2 Pulldown” option says “Reduces motion jitter in film-based content by transforming 24 fps to 30 fps (non-HDMI)”. I had always assumed that this was the problem, and I have tinkered around with each possible setting for it (On, Off, and Auto). However, regardless of which option I choose, the problem persists. The most annoying part about this is that watching films used to be completely normal on this TV and it’s only now that I’ve come home for the summer that I realize someone must have changed it.
Why do you have disdain for posting serious comments, KP?
Well, Father, that’s a discussion better left for another time. More likely it’s a discussion best left alone.
Via a Google search I found this but you probably already saw it – or it doesn’t relate to your TV.
The Cinema Smoother feature is only available on Panasonic’s VT, GT and ST series of plasma televisions. To turn it off, hit the menu button on your remote and select “Picture” from the list of options. Find “Cinema Smoother” under the next menu page and turn it off. The feature can be turned back on by selecting “On” under the options inside the “Picture” menu.
I can’t imagine a TV would not allow someone to turn this off. I have a Sony and the Motion Flow is easy to flick on and off.
It’s something called Motion Flow. It makes the TV look soft, smooth, and like a soap opera, right? Some even dub it “The Soap Opera Effect.” I have it on my 52" Sony Bravia and am still trying to figure out how to get it off. It doesn’t wholly bother me, but I notice is. My good buddy always points it out when he comes over and says it’s incredibly annoying. Wish you the best.
@PolarisDib
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I’ve often wondered about this myself and am very much looking forward to how my perception of the cinematic deals with 48fps. As regards home viewing though, I don’t want my television to create virtual frames to smooth out the limited output of my devices. If a film’s made to look like that, I think we’re fine, but do I want the TrueMotion or whatever for the first time I’m seeing Ruby Gentry?
Well, I thought I had the problem fixed. I thought it had something to do with the iO picture settings (720p, 480p wide, 480i wide, 480p std, 480i std, 1080i). Unfortunately it did nothing for the DVD player, and while trying to fix that it looks like the regular TV hasn’t changed either. I don’t even know if any of those picture settings are related to my problem.
Takashi Mike McCabe
I just got back home from college for the summer and I’ve noticed an annoying “problem” with my Panasonic Viera HDTV. When I watch films, whether they are on cable or on DVD, the motion that goes on, typically with characters, is way too…smooth? It’s hard to really describe. This probably won’t make any sense, but it’s as if the film was originally made for 3D, and now it’s been compressed back to 2D. The characters tend to look like there is another layer that’s been created just for them that differentiates them from the background, and the picture quality that results looks like video (as opposed to film) or a video game.
I’ve done a bit or research, and the best conclusion is that it’s something related to what’s called “Intelligent Frame Creation”, which extends to frames per second to something greater than the typical 24 fps. I’ve tinkered around with the Menu and I’ve called Panasonic for help to no avail.
Can any of you help me with this, particularly if you have a Panasonic Viera tv?