Using a TV Tuner App to Enhance Your Viewing Experience

One of the most important aspects of setting up a home theater system is ensuring that your television is optimized for optimal viewing experience. A good quality TV tuner app can help you fine-tune your TV's settings, taking full advantage of its capabilities and delivering an immersive viewing experience.

The app in question, Thx Tuned Up, offers a range of features that allow users to adjust their TV's settings to suit their preferences. One of the most important settings is the brightness control, which sets the black level or "black point" of the TV. If set too high, the TV can appear washed out and lacking in depth, while a setting that is too low can result in a loss of detail in shadows. A well-balanced setting for brightness is essential to creating an immersive viewing experience.

In addition to brightness control, Thx Tuned Up also offers a range of other settings, including contrast, color intent, tint, and sharpness. The contrast setting determines the white point, or the brightest white that can be achieved on screen. If set too high, the image can appear overly bright and washed out, while a setting that is too low can result in a loss of detail. Color intent is another important setting, as it controls the level of color saturation on screen. A setting that is too high can result in an unnatural, "cartoony" appearance, while a setting that is too low can result in a lack of color vibrancy.

Tint control is also worth noting, as it allows users to adjust the tone of the TV's color output. If set incorrectly, tint can result in a range of unwanted effects, from sunburned-looking skin tones to a general lack of color depth. The sharpness setting determines whether or not there is any edge enhancement or digital signal processing applied to the signal. While this feature can be useful for creating a more detailed image, it can also introduce unwanted artifacts such as halos around sharp edges.

The importance of these settings cannot be overstated. A well-adjusted TV with optimal brightness, contrast, and color intent can make all the difference in creating an immersive viewing experience. Conversely, a poorly adjusted TV can result in a lackluster image that fails to engage the viewer.

In addition to its range of features, Thx Tuned Up is also notable for its user-friendly interface and ease of use. The app is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, making it accessible to users who may not have extensive technical knowledge.

Unfortunately, there are a few areas where Thx Tuned Up falls short. One notable omission is the lack of sharpness adjustment on screen. While this feature can be useful for fine-tuning the image on the fly, it would be preferable if the app allowed users to make adjustments directly within the test pattern. This would greatly enhance the user experience and allow for more precise control over the image.

Despite this limitation, Thx Tuned Up remains an excellent choice for anyone looking to optimize their TV's settings. With its range of features and user-friendly interface, it offers a comprehensive solution for those seeking to create the ultimate viewing experience.

Thx Tuned Up is available for both iOS and Android devices, making it accessible to a wide range of users. Whether you're a seasoned audiophile or simply looking to enhance your home theater system, this app is definitely worth checking out.

In conclusion, Thx Tuned Up offers a comprehensive solution for optimizing TV settings, taking full advantage of the capabilities of modern TVs. With its user-friendly interface and range of features, it provides an excellent choice for anyone seeking to create the ultimate viewing experience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is toys so apps you know are an important thing in in home theater this this antenna a point is is one I got an email from Andrew in Duluth who was looking for an app for a phone that would let him set up his TV we've talked about this in the past where you have five basic controls and virtually all televisions they're called brightness contrast color tint and sharpness and usually I recommend a blu-ray disc or something like that because you have to show certain test patterns on the screen in order to set those controls properly but this guy Andrew wanted to know can I do it from an app do I do you really need a blu-ray and the answer is no you can do it from an app thx offers one they have it's been available for a couple years now called thx tune-up and it's super cool actually I've used it and it's really great you have to it actually generates its own test patterns from the phone it's available in iOS or Android and it generates its test patterns from the phone and you'd think well wait a second you got to get those test patterns over to the TV and you can do it one of three ways you you can either get an hdmi adapter so on an iphone you'd need a lightning to HDMI adapter and that would cost you something and then an HDMI cable over to your TV better is to use either an Apple TV or a chromecast it can it can wirelessly send these signals these test patterns to the Apple TV or the chromecast which is presumably already connected up to your TV by HDMI so that's how you how you get that's the better way in my opinion to get the signal over to the TV and it has step by step instructions of how to connect it it lets you specify what your display is and then it gives you picture adjustments and even some sound adjustments which are pretty pretty cool too adjustments are really only do you have the speakers in the right locations do you have them connected up right is the left speaker really the left speaker and the right the right in the center of the center and so on and do you have them connected up in the right phase those are the only two tests in this but it's really this is really this app is really meant more for picture adjustments you can for example make sure that your aspect ratio is set correctly have you ever seen it you've gone into somebody's house and their TV is set up in such a way that people look fat right that they kind of look distorted kind of stretched in the horizontal direction they don't have their aspect ratio on their TV set correctly they get a big aspect I understand so you can set that up properly you can then the most important one in my opinion is the one called brightness which sets the what we call the black level or where the the black level of the TV is if you set that to high the TV looks washed out and kind of wimpy and it doesn't pop the image doesn't pop if you set it to low you get your low level details things in the shadows you know as you're waiting for the bad guy to pop out of the shadows you can't see anything it's all just a blur or a blob a black blob so you have to set that properly in order to get the best possible picture I think it's the most important setting in your TV and with this thx tune up app you can you do that you set that you set the contrast which tells which establishes the the white point the highest white that you can reach and then the color intent which you normally don't have to set I want to make this point very clear modern TVs the color the color control is really the saturation and if you set it to saturated it looks pretty cartoony and grass looks like it's fluorescing and you really don't want that if you set it too low then everything looks again very dull you can set it to the point where you have black and white you have no color at all so you want to set that properly but most TVs out of the box the color control is set properly same with tint tint if you played with the tin control at all you know that it kind of goes from magenta to green and so people can either look too sunburned or they can look sick and you want that to be proper properly set but again this is an interesting thing about digital televisions and the old days in analog TVs CRTs you remember CRTs that that control could be set improperly and you would need to adjust it but with digital TVs it's essentially perfect out of the box you normally don't have to play with it now the one control that they are the one test pattern that this app doesn't have and I would recommend that they add it and being an app it should be easy right yeah is sharpness and most TVs when you but get them out of the box the sharpness control adjusts whether or not there's any edge enhancement or digital signal processing on on the signal so that edges sharp edges between one color and another or between a bright thing and a dark thing are they well defined well if you crank that too much they're they actually get a little halo around them this is called ringing technically and most tvs the sharpness is set too high so one of the first things I do when I look at a new TV is get the sharpness down to zero or close to zero and that's usually the best setting sometimes when you set it to actual zero it softens the picture and you don't want that so what I typically do is go down to zero and then inch it up you know click it up one tick at a time another ticket at a time what if it gets a little sharper great and then I move it up to the point where I start seeing these these halos around sharp edges and really looking at a test pattern a particular type of test pattern it makes that easier to see and then I back it off until I don't see those anymore I wish this app had that that one thing the one thing I would wish it has but how much is this happen and what's its name free it's free yeah yeah just downloaded from thx called thx tuned up and is it iOS and Android and Android and Android ts you don't actually get it from thx you get it from the Google Play Store or the right and I'm store but if you search for thx tuned up and I see there's an iPad version which would be very right yeah I don't have to look at a shrunken exaction on the screen exactly yes now you're a professional calibrator you're putting yourself out of business dude I guess you're not being called to a lot of houses right now to do this and then later call Scott and get him come over check your work thank you Scott Wilkinson techyv.com youthis is toys so apps you know are an important thing in in home theater this this antenna a point is is one I got an email from Andrew in Duluth who was looking for an app for a phone that would let him set up his TV we've talked about this in the past where you have five basic controls and virtually all televisions they're called brightness contrast color tint and sharpness and usually I recommend a blu-ray disc or something like that because you have to show certain test patterns on the screen in order to set those controls properly but this guy Andrew wanted to know can I do it from an app do I do you really need a blu-ray and the answer is no you can do it from an app thx offers one they have it's been available for a couple years now called thx tune-up and it's super cool actually I've used it and it's really great you have to it actually generates its own test patterns from the phone it's available in iOS or Android and it generates its test patterns from the phone and you'd think well wait a second you got to get those test patterns over to the TV and you can do it one of three ways you you can either get an hdmi adapter so on an iphone you'd need a lightning to HDMI adapter and that would cost you something and then an HDMI cable over to your TV better is to use either an Apple TV or a chromecast it can it can wirelessly send these signals these test patterns to the Apple TV or the chromecast which is presumably already connected up to your TV by HDMI so that's how you how you get that's the better way in my opinion to get the signal over to the TV and it has step by step instructions of how to connect it it lets you specify what your display is and then it gives you picture adjustments and even some sound adjustments which are pretty pretty cool too adjustments are really only do you have the speakers in the right locations do you have them connected up right is the left speaker really the left speaker and the right the right in the center of the center and so on and do you have them connected up in the right phase those are the only two tests in this but it's really this is really this app is really meant more for picture adjustments you can for example make sure that your aspect ratio is set correctly have you ever seen it you've gone into somebody's house and their TV is set up in such a way that people look fat right that they kind of look distorted kind of stretched in the horizontal direction they don't have their aspect ratio on their TV set correctly they get a big aspect I understand so you can set that up properly you can then the most important one in my opinion is the one called brightness which sets the what we call the black level or where the the black level of the TV is if you set that to high the TV looks washed out and kind of wimpy and it doesn't pop the image doesn't pop if you set it to low you get your low level details things in the shadows you know as you're waiting for the bad guy to pop out of the shadows you can't see anything it's all just a blur or a blob a black blob so you have to set that properly in order to get the best possible picture I think it's the most important setting in your TV and with this thx tune up app you can you do that you set that you set the contrast which tells which establishes the the white point the highest white that you can reach and then the color intent which you normally don't have to set I want to make this point very clear modern TVs the color the color control is really the saturation and if you set it to saturated it looks pretty cartoony and grass looks like it's fluorescing and you really don't want that if you set it too low then everything looks again very dull you can set it to the point where you have black and white you have no color at all so you want to set that properly but most TVs out of the box the color control is set properly same with tint tint if you played with the tin control at all you know that it kind of goes from magenta to green and so people can either look too sunburned or they can look sick and you want that to be proper properly set but again this is an interesting thing about digital televisions and the old days in analog TVs CRTs you remember CRTs that that control could be set improperly and you would need to adjust it but with digital TVs it's essentially perfect out of the box you normally don't have to play with it now the one control that they are the one test pattern that this app doesn't have and I would recommend that they add it and being an app it should be easy right yeah is sharpness and most TVs when you but get them out of the box the sharpness control adjusts whether or not there's any edge enhancement or digital signal processing on on the signal so that edges sharp edges between one color and another or between a bright thing and a dark thing are they well defined well if you crank that too much they're they actually get a little halo around them this is called ringing technically and most tvs the sharpness is set too high so one of the first things I do when I look at a new TV is get the sharpness down to zero or close to zero and that's usually the best setting sometimes when you set it to actual zero it softens the picture and you don't want that so what I typically do is go down to zero and then inch it up you know click it up one tick at a time another ticket at a time what if it gets a little sharper great and then I move it up to the point where I start seeing these these halos around sharp edges and really looking at a test pattern a particular type of test pattern it makes that easier to see and then I back it off until I don't see those anymore I wish this app had that that one thing the one thing I would wish it has but how much is this happen and what's its name free it's free yeah yeah just downloaded from thx called thx tuned up and is it iOS and Android and Android and Android ts you don't actually get it from thx you get it from the Google Play Store or the right and I'm store but if you search for thx tuned up and I see there's an iPad version which would be very right yeah I don't have to look at a shrunken exaction on the screen exactly yes now you're a professional calibrator you're putting yourself out of business dude I guess you're not being called to a lot of houses right now to do this and then later call Scott and get him come over check your work thank you Scott Wilkinson techyv.com you\n"