Every TV manufactured in the last decade ships with motion smoothing enabled by default. The feature makes a hard-to-define number look better on a spec sheet, makes the TV look brighter and sharper in showroom conditions, and ruins the look of every movie shot at 24 frames per second. Filmmakers from Christopher Nolan to Tom Cruise have publicly campaigned against the default-on behavior. Manufacturers continue to ship it default-on. The fix is straightforward but every brand calls the setting something different, and a clean disable requires hunting through two or three menu levels. This guide covers the exact setting names on each major brand sold in 2026, what to do about sports and gaming, and the related settings that can also degrade picture quality if left on.
What motion smoothing does and why it looks wrong
Standard cinematic content is shot at 24 frames per second. Each frame is held on screen for roughly 1/24 of a second. The eye and brain are accustomed to that cadence as the look of film, and the slight motion blur within each frame is part of the cinematic appearance.
A modern TV runs at 60, 120, or 144 Hz native refresh. When 24p content arrives at a 120 Hz panel, the TV must handle the rate mismatch. The correct option is 5:5 pulldown, displaying each source frame five times. The motion-smoothing option is frame interpolation, where the TV invents new frames in between the source frames.
The interpolated frames change the apparent cadence of the content. The film no longer looks like film. It looks like footage shot at the same frame rate as a video camera, which is the rate used by daytime soap operas. Hence the nickname.
Sub-effects compound the problem: interpolation errors around moving objects (halos, ghosting, broken edges), apparent reduction in motion blur that makes camera movement feel jittery, and loss of cinematic depth cues the filmmaker built into the original cadence. The fix is to disable motion smoothing on movies and let the panel display 24p content at its native cadence with proper pulldown.
Samsung, the Auto Motion Plus settings
Samsung calls motion smoothing Auto Motion Plus. The setting lives in Settings > Picture > Expert Settings > Auto Motion Plus.
To fully disable: set Auto Motion Plus to Off.
To partially tune (for sports): set Auto Motion Plus to Custom. The Custom mode exposes Blur Reduction (0 to 10) and Judder Reduction (0 to 10) sliders.
- For cinematic movies: both at 0
- For sports: Blur Reduction around 4 to 6, Judder Reduction at 0
- For gaming: turn off entirely or let Game Mode disable it automatically
Samsung TVs from 2023 and later also include a Picture Clarity submenu that consolidates motion settings. The names are the same. The path varies by model year.
LG, the TruMotion settings
LG calls motion smoothing TruMotion. The setting lives in Settings > Picture > Picture Mode Settings > TruMotion.
To fully disable: set TruMotion to Off.
To partially tune (for sports): set TruMotion to User and adjust De-Judder (0 to 10) and De-Blur (0 to 10) sliders.
- For cinematic movies: De-Judder 0, De-Blur 0 (or just Off)
- For sports: De-Blur 3 to 5, De-Judder 0
- For gaming: Off
LG OLEDs have a Cinema preset that disables TruMotion automatically and locks several picture settings to filmmaker-friendly values. Selecting Cinema or Cinema Home preset is the fastest way to get correct cinematic playback on LG without manually navigating each setting.
The Filmmaker Mode preset (an industry-standard preset jointly developed by UHD Alliance and filmmakers) is also available on most LG OLEDs and disables motion smoothing, sharpening, and color correction automatically. Filmmaker Mode is the recommended quick-fix preset for movies on LG.
Sony, the Motionflow settings
Sony calls motion smoothing Motionflow. The setting lives in Settings > Picture > Motion > Motionflow.
To fully disable: set Motionflow to Off.
To partially tune: set Motionflow to Custom. Custom exposes Smoothness (0 to 5) and Clearness (0 to 5).
- For cinematic movies: Smoothness 0, Clearness 0
- For sports: Smoothness 2 to 3, Clearness 0
- For gaming: Off
Sony also has CineMotion (sometimes labeled CineMagic on older models), which is the 24p judder reduction module. Set CineMotion to Auto for 24p content, or Off if you want the panel to do pure 5:5 pulldown. Auto is fine on most Sony models.
Sony Bravia models from 2023 onward also include Filmmaker Mode, which disables Motionflow automatically.
Hisense and TCL, the Motion settings
Hisense and TCL both call motion smoothing some variant of Motion Enhancement, Smooth Motion, or Action Smoothing depending on the model year. The setting lives in Settings > Picture > Advanced Picture Settings > Motion (or similar).
To fully disable: set Motion Smoothing or Motion Enhancement to Off.
Both brands have inconsistent menu naming across model years. The most reliable fix is selecting the Filmmaker Mode or Movie picture preset, which disables motion smoothing by default on 2023 and later models.
Some Hisense and TCL models running Google TV expose the setting under Display & Sound > Picture > Picture Mode > Movie. The Movie preset disables motion smoothing, sharpens less aggressively, and uses warmer color temperature, all closer to filmmaker intent.
Roku TV and Vizio SmartCast, the Action Smoothing settings
Roku TV models (Hisense, TCL, Onn, Philips) typically use Action Smoothing under Settings > Picture > Advanced Picture Settings > Action Smoothing. Set Action Smoothing to Off for cinematic content.
Vizio SmartCast models (now mostly discontinued, with Vizio TVs since 2024 running Vizio Home Screen or Smart TV equivalents) use Smooth Motion Effect under More > Picture > More Picture > Smooth Motion Effect. Set to Off for movies.
When motion smoothing is actually helpful
Motion smoothing is not universally bad. There are specific use cases where it improves the result.
Sports broadcasts (30 or 60 fps content) benefit from light motion smoothing because the source frame rate is already high, the cinematic mismatch does not apply, and reducing residual motion blur helps ball tracking and fast pans. Heavy motion smoothing introduces interpolation artifacts that hurt more than they help, so keep the slider in the lower third of its range.
Animation and CGI-heavy content can benefit from light motion smoothing because the source is often digitally rendered without natural motion blur. The trade is that some animators prefer the 24p cadence specifically, so the right setting depends on personal preference.
Live broadcast TV (news, talk shows) is typically shot at 60i or 60p and benefits from disabling motion smoothing entirely, since the source is already smooth and interpolation just adds artifacts.
Picture presets, the fastest fix on every brand
Every modern TV ships with picture presets that bundle motion smoothing, sharpening, color temperature, and HDR tone mapping into a single named mode. The presets matter more than any individual setting.
The presets that disable motion smoothing automatically:
- Filmmaker Mode (Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense, TCL, Vizio): the industry-standard preset, default-correct for cinematic content
- Cinema or Cinema Home (LG, Sony): legacy cinematic preset
- Movie or Movie Mode (Samsung, Hisense, TCL): brand-specific cinematic preset
For movies, switch to one of these presets. The motion smoothing is gone, sharpening is reduced to less aggressive values, and color temperature shifts toward the warm reference standard used in movie color grading. The picture might look “dimmer and yellower” at first, because the showroom-default Vivid or Standard preset is calibrated to look bright and blue in fluorescent store lighting. After 10 minutes of viewing, the cinematic preset usually wins.
For sports, switch to Standard or Sports preset and adjust motion smoothing manually if the preset is too aggressive.
For gaming, switch to Game Mode, which disables motion smoothing and other latency-adding processing automatically.
For more on a modern TV setup, see our 4K vs 8K reality piece for 2026 and our Dolby Atmos calibration guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why does motion smoothing make movies look cheap?+
Movies are shot at 24 frames per second, which gives them a distinct cinematic motion character. Motion smoothing interpolates extra frames in between, raising the effective frame rate to 60 or 120 fps. The result looks like a daytime soap opera or a video-shot TV show rather than film, because that is what those formats actually use for their high frame rates.
Should I always turn off motion smoothing for sports?+
No. Sports are broadcast at 30 or 60 fps and were originally captured at high frame rates, so motion smoothing does not introduce the cinematic mismatch it does on movies. A light-to-medium motion smoothing setting reduces motion blur on fast pans and ball tracking. Heavy motion smoothing introduces artifacts (halos, ghosting) that hurt the image more than the smoothing helps.
Does motion smoothing affect gaming?+
Yes, and badly. Motion smoothing adds significant input lag (sometimes 50 to 100 milliseconds) because the TV has to buffer multiple frames to do the interpolation. Always disable motion smoothing for gaming. Most TVs do this automatically when they detect a game source on an HDMI port labeled as a game console, but verify in the settings.
What is the difference between motion smoothing and motion blur reduction?+
Motion smoothing interpolates new frames between the source frames, creating fake intermediate motion. Motion blur reduction (sometimes called BFI, MBR, or Clear Motion) inserts a black frame between source frames, which reduces sample-and-hold blur on fast motion but also reduces overall brightness. They serve different purposes and are often controlled by separate settings.
Why is motion smoothing turned on by default?+
Showroom optimization. TVs sold side by side in stores tend to be evaluated by which one looks 'sharpest' to a passing customer. Motion smoothing produces a hyper-clean motion appearance that catches the eye in a showroom, even though it is wrong for cinematic content. Manufacturers ship the TV in its showroom-optimized mode and rely on the buyer to switch presets at home.
Riley Cooper
Riley Cooper writes for The Tested Hub.