How to Adjust the Frequency in a Sony Bravia
By John Lister
A television's frequency, expressed in hertz, is the number of times each second that it refreshes the screen. Some televisions, including in the Sony Bravia range, use a much faster refresh rate than the original video footage. Such televisions can artificially create frames in between the "real" ones, the idea being to minimize the difference between each frame and thus make the video motion appear smoother. Although you cannot adjust the actual frequency at which a Sony Bravia television operates, you can alter the way it handles the additional frames.
Step 1
Press the Home button on the remote control to bring up the on-screen menu. Use the right and left arrow keys to select the "Settings Section," and then use the up and down arrow keys to select the "Picture Adjustments" setting. Change the "Setting Memory" option to a specific input if you want to change the way the display works for a specific input, such as the one for your Blu-ray player, or change it to "Common" if you want to apply the display settings to all inputs.
Step 2
Adjust the settings for Motionflow. This affects how your TV deals with the fact that it displays more frames each second than the original video footage. With "High" selected, the TV artificially creates the additional frames; "Standard" uses a combination of repeating some of the additional frames and artificially creating others; with "Off" selected, the TV does not create additional frames and simply repeats the original frames.
Step 3
Adjust the settings for CineMotion. This only affects footage shot at 24 frames per second, such as some movies. This footage doesn't neatly fit the mathematical ratios used for the way many televisions process 30- or 60-fps footage for display at a higher frequency. CineMotion uses workarounds such as repeating some frames three times and others two times. Select the "Auto 1" setting to use CineMotion; select "Off" if you aren't happy with the effects.
References
Tips
- Experiment with different combinations of the Motionflow and CineMotion settings. Some may be more suited to particular types of video footage than others. The best combination is often a matter of personal preference -- for example, in deciding whether it's more important to have smooth video or a detailed picture, and how true you want the TV display to be to the original footage.
Warnings
- Some picture processing such as Motionflow and CineMotion can cause delays to the input signal. These aren't always a problem with video, but can make a noticeable difference when playing games. You can select the "Game" picture mode in such cases, which minimizes video processing.
- Information in this article applies to the Bravia NX800 series. The precise instructions may vary slightly for other models.
Writer Bio
A professional writer since 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, John Lister ran the press department for the Plain English Campaign until 2005. He then worked as a freelance writer with credits including national newspapers, magazines and online work. He specializes in technology and communications.