Are you someone who enjoys watching TV after a long day? If you’re like most Americans, there’s a good chance that’s the case.
Studies have shown that around 80% of people watch TV each day. Regardless of the content, you enjoy watching, television makes it easy to relax and unwind.
Unfortunately, like all machines, televisions often break down and start to have issues. So what should you do if you start to notice TV problems?
Today we’re going to look at exactly how you can fix some of the more common television problems. By the time you finish reading this guide, you’ll have the knowledge you need to get back to enjoying your favorite show or movie.
Read on for a list of television problems and how you can go about trying to fix them.
Table of Contents
Picture That Looks Stretched or Squashed
Have you ever flipped on your favorite show or movie only to realize that the characters’ heads are stretched out to unnatural proportions? Or, perhaps you’ve noticed the opposite—when characters appear squashed together.
While this might be frustrating, it’s actually an easy fix.
Open up your TV’s settings and look for something like Zoom, Wide, 16:9, or Stretch. Every TV is a little different, but the solution lies in one of those areas.
Look for an option that says Just-Fit or Direct. If you don’t see that, try changing the aspect ratio to 16:9 or 4:3. Depending on the TV and what you’re watching, one of those should do the trick.
On-Screen Movement That Looks Unnatural
If you’ve ever watched a soap opera before, you might have noticed that the onscreen movement looks smoother and different from other programs. But what happens when you start to notice that type of movement on other programs, as well?
Oftentimes, modern TVs try and display 60 frames per second. As most TV shows come at 30 frames per second, images often come out smoother than you want.
To fix that, all you need to do is head to your settings and look for an option to turn off motion smoothing. Once you do that, movement should appear normal again.
Picture That’s Too Dark
As every cinephile knows, lighting is everything when it comes to watching films and TV shows. Oftentimes when people try to watch something in the day, they find it difficult to do so—not just because of a glare, but because everything appears dark.
Just like your phone, most TVs come with automatic light sensors. These detect how much light is in the room and adjust accordingly. The only problem is that they don’t always work how you want them to.
Try looking under Picture or Energy Savings. There should be an option to turn off the automatic light sensor. You can then control how bright the picture is.
Color That’s Off
If you’re watching TV and realize that the color seems to be off, what should you do? No, you’re not stuck watching unnaturally blue or yellow movies—there’s another easy fix that can resolve the problem.
Try setting your TV to picture mode and see if that helps the colors revert to normal. On most TVs, this is the setting called Movie, Calibrated, Cinema, or something similar.
If that doesn’t work, you can also bump up the white balance on your TV. Look under the Picture settings until you find the place to do that.
Random Shutdowns
Computer users have probably had their systems shut down on their own once or twice before. But what does it mean when your TV starts to do that?
Most TVs shut down for the same reason as computers—when their internal temperatures start to get too high. To keep temperatures cool and where they should be, make sure all the parts of your TV have proper ventilation.
If your home has an older antenna, that can also cause shows to stop playing. Look into some different ways to boost antenna signal.
Blurry Picture
One of the most common television problems is a blurry or grainy-looking picture. Most of the time, this happens on account of connection problems.
Check the back of your TV for any wires that have come unplugged. If the coaxial cable is loose, it might be behind the problem.
If you find that the wire is still plugged into your TV, check whether or not it looks dirty. It’s very easy for cables and wires to accumulate dust over time and become clogged. Unplugging your TV and cleaning everything might not be a bad idea.
Muffled Audio
While good picture is important, there’s nothing worse than trying to watch something with muffled audio. It seems like no matter how loud you turn the volume up, you still can’t hear anything.
If your TV has different modes, try switching it to Cinema. Sometimes when it’s on another one like Game, it can muffle the audio or make certain parts of it louder when you don’t want them to be.
Understand How to Resolve Common TV Problems
Whether you watch TV every day or have an at-home movie night once a week, TV problems can suck the magic out of the experience. Luckily, the majority of television problems aren’t difficult to fix.
Use this television repair guide to help you sort out some of the most common issues. Remember that if the problem is serious or persistent, you might be better off hiring a professional to check it out.
Are you looking to learn more about TV repair? If so, make sure to check out the rest of the content on our site.