Motion smoothing creates the overly smooth look often called the soap opera effect. It inserts extra frames between filmed frames, which can make movies and scripted shows look artificial.
The setting exists to reduce blur, especially in sports, but many people prefer it off for movies and TV dramas. Every major TV brand uses a different name for the same general feature.
Does this affect you?
Use this if movies look too smooth, cheap, video-like, or unlike how they looked in a theater. These steps apply to Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, TCL, Hisense, and similar smart TVs.
Turn off motion smoothing
- Press Menu or Settings on the remote.
- Open Picture or Picture Settings.
- Find the motion processing setting for your brand.
- Set it to Off. If Off is unavailable, choose the lowest setting.
- Repeat the change for the picture mode or input you actually use.
Common names include Samsung Auto Motion Plus, LG TruMotion, Sony MotionFlow, Vizio Smooth Motion Effect, TCL Action Smoothing or Natural Cinema, and Hisense Motion Enhancement.
Use Movie, Cinema, or Filmmaker Mode
If you do not want to hunt through advanced settings, switch the picture mode to Movie, Cinema, or Filmmaker Mode. These modes usually turn off motion smoothing, extra sharpening, dynamic contrast, and other processing that changes the original look.
This is often the fastest way to make films look more natural.
Check each input and app
Some TVs save motion settings separately for HDMI inputs, built-in apps, and picture modes. If smoothing disappears on HDMI 1 but remains in Netflix or another built-in app, repeat the setting while using that source.
Firmware updates can also reset picture settings. If the soap opera effect returns after a TV update, turn the motion setting off again.
When smoothing can help
Sports and some live broadcasts use higher frame rates and fast motion. A small amount of smoothing may reduce blur there without looking as strange as it does on movies. Use a Sports picture mode if you like that look for games, then return to Movie or Filmmaker Mode for films.
Some TVs split motion processing into smoothing and judder controls. If the main setting does not fully fix the look, check nearby judder or stutter reduction options.
Sources
- Samsung Support – Turn off Auto Motion Plus (2025)
- LG Support – Adjust TruMotion settings (2025)
- Sony Support – Turn off MotionFlow (2025)