ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — The NASCAR playoffs and football season will soon be upon us but is your television ready for all the action?

Most TVs don’t come set up for the best picture for sports. But don’t worry, these tweaks will have you ready for everything to come:

Game or Sports mode is not the best setting. The game setting is for video games. Sports mode brightens the picture and turns on motion smoothing that will give your picture a soap opera effect when you watch anything but sports.

Avoid the Vivid setting too.

If you change just one setting, look for Movie, Filmmaker, or Cinema mode. The picture may look a little darker but it’s more natural.

If you see Eco mode, turn it off. That lowers the brightness of the screen to save power.

Those three things, cinema or theater mode, turning off motion smoothing, and Eco mode will improve the picture dramatically.

If you want to go further in advanced settings, find a movie with dark scenes and adjust the brightness until you see details in the darkest areas. Then, turn it down until the black parts of the picture are as black as possible without obscuring the detail.

Find an image with lots of white. Lower the contrast until you see the details, like folds in clouds. Then raise it until you get the best picture without washing out the details.

If you take your TV tailgating you may want to use Vivid mode. Just turn it off while watching inside. Of course, it’s all a matter of taste but if you want a picture to impress everyone else, these tweaks will make your TV the one everyone wants to watch.

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