We all love the feeling of a new TV. You unbox it, then plug in a new PS5, or maybe a Fire TV Stick or an Apple TV 4K. You've mounted it, peeled the plastic, dimmed the lights, and pressed Play. Now, you're enjoying it.
Only you're convincing yourself that you do, because it just doesn't look that good. Something feels… off. The graphics are sharp, the colors are “fine,” but depending on the money you spent, you can't shake the feeling that something's wrong.
However, the culprit might not be your panel. It's probably not your settings, either. Instead, it's likely your HDMI signal. Straight out of the box, most TVs ship with their HDMI ports set to a standard or compatible state. Even though that's a great setting to keep angry customer returns to a minimum, it leaves performance on the table.
Smart TVs keep getting worse, so I use an old TV with a Chromecast instead
Old tech is seemingly always better
Manufacturers prioritize compatibility over peak image quality
A safer signal means fewer handshake errors
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