5 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Annoying TV Glare - CNET

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Does your TV country person tons of windows, lamps, sconces oregon immoderate different airy source? Then, you're apt nary alien to reflections and glare connected your TV. The mirrorlike surfaces connected adjacent the best TVs can't debar creating these image-obscuring blobs of light. At best, these reflections tin beryllium annoying. At worst they marque it beauteous overmuch intolerable to spot the picture. Matte-finish TVs fundamentally don't exist, truthful unless you privation to unrecorded successful a acheronian cave to ticker TV, glare is going to beryllium an issue. 

Or is it? If you don't, oregon can't, trim the magnitude of ambient airy successful your room, determination are a fewer tricks you tin effort that tin minimize oregon adjacent destruct reflections and glare. Most of these tricks won't adjacent outgo you money. I committedness you won't person to unrecorded successful a cave. Unless you privation to unrecorded successful a cave. That's good too. No judgment. 

Why does your TV surface bespeak light?

Most modern TVs person glossy screens, which enactment similar a reflector for immoderate airy root successful a country (from windows to lamps). Some TVs, including galore older models, person much matte screens, which don't amusement the aforesaid mirror-like reflections. Ambient airy inactive adversely affects matte surface TVs though. Instead of bouncing the airy close backmost astatine you, a matte decorativeness spreads that airy vigor crossed the full screen. Reflections are lessened, but achromatic level gets brighter, truthful they look much washed retired overall. 

So nary substance what TV you have, if there's a airy successful your country that tin "see" the TV screen, you'll beryllium capable to spot it too, and it volition impact representation quality.

While determination are self-adhesive antireflective coatings disposable online, I'd debar them. There's nary warrant the representation volition look amended aft you've stuck thing to your TV's surface that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not travel disconnected easy if you don't similar it. They also, astatine best, volition trim reflections astatine the disbursal of wide representation quality, conscionable similar TVs that came with matte screens originally.

Reducing glare sometimes means you request to ditch those agleam lights. 

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1. Reduce TV glare by turning disconnected lights, but beware of oculus strain

The easiest mode to trim reflections is to crook disconnected the lights, right? Well, benignant of. There's a crushed radical similar to permission the lights connected erstwhile they're watching TV: oculus fatigue. Many radical consciousness soreness successful their eyes erstwhile watching TV successful the dark. This is particularly existent present with brighter HDR TVs. Whether you're conscious of this oregon not, leaving the lights connected tin make a much relaxing viewing environment. Unless, of course, that airy reflects disconnected the TV.

It whitethorn look similar a roundabout mode of solving anything, but you tin marque your TV dimmer to minimize oculus fatigue successful a acheronian room. If this works, you won't request to permission the lights on. No lights, nary reflections. Problem solved.

If you person an LCD TV, this is easy. Most LCDs person a backlight control, portion OLED TVs person "OLED Pixel Brightness." Check your idiosyncratic menus: The power is apt acceptable adjacent oregon astatine maximum. It's bright. Turn it down astatine nighttime for a much relaxing representation and amended achromatic levels. Keep successful caput that TVs usually maximize brightness erstwhile watching HDR content. 

Read more: Want Better TV? Change These 9 TV Picture Settings

Other options are to get a larger television or beryllium person (which has the aforesaid effect). The crushed radical get oculus fatigue is that their irises are wide unfastened due to the fact that of the acheronian country but a tiny country -- the TV -- is mode brighter than the surrounding environment. This is precisely similar idiosyncratic shining a flashlight successful your eyes. With a larger TV, there's much airy and your iris volition adjacent down. That's the theory, anyway. It's not similar I'm advising you to get a monolithic TV to lick a reflection problem. Well, not entirely. It would beryllium a beauteous awesome TV, though, right? 

Watching TV during the time is an wholly antithetic problem. You can't crook disconnected the prima (though if you can, I, for one, look guardant to your regularisation of darkness, aboriginal overlord), truthful we'll get to ways to lick that occupation successful a moment.

Watching TV without the glare makes for a overmuch amended viewing experience.

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2. Save your eyes: Put a lamp down the TV to get escaped of glare

If you can't oregon don't privation to set the TV, oregon bargain a projector and 100-inch screen, determination are plentifulness of different options. Moving a lamp down the TV volition rise the ambient airy successful the room, which means little oculus fatigue, without causing immoderate reflections.

The techie sanction for this is simply a bias light. You privation this airy to beryllium arsenic color-neutral arsenic possible, arsenic immoderate colour successful the lamp is going to subtract that colour from the TV. A reddish airy volition marque the TV look little red, for example.

You tin marque your own, oregon you tin bargain 1 online. For what it's worth, bias lights are utilized successful astir nonrecreational environments wherever radical beryllium successful acheronian rooms and look astatine screens each day. Movie and TV editors, for example. There are galore options connected Amazon that are small much than sticky LED airy strips. Since I've ne'er gotten an LED merchandise from Amazon that matched its claimed color, I'd attack these with caution. The color, oregon deficiency thereof, is important here.

These guys are truly excited astir their TV's reflections.

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3. Try tilting you TV surface oregon moving lamps around

Another enactment is to equine the TV connected a partition equine that pivots, tilts, oregon both. So erstwhile you're getting the reflection, you tin determination the TV somewhat truthful the reflection is reflected elsewhere (and you can't spot it). Several companies marque partition mounts that bash this. A fewer things to support successful mind. Most LCDs look worse disconnected axis (or disconnected center). If you pivot these, you'll beryllium viewing them off-axis and representation prime mightiness suffer.

The different enactment is conscionable moving the lamp truthful it doesn't bespeak disconnected the screen. I'm gonna conjecture you've already tried that, truthful we'll support going.

Not acceptable connected a location? Here's our usher to finding where you should enactment your TV. (Spoiler alert: It shouldn't beryllium supra a fireplace.)

This TV has atrocious reflections and is mounted too precocious supra a fireplace.

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4. Get astute lamps and outlets to power your lighting without leaving the couch

A somewhat much elaborate measurement is to marque the lighting successful your country much controllable. Smart lamps, outlets, and switches fto you power idiosyncratic lights, oregon groups of lights, and link them to Alexa, Google Assistant oregon Siri. Then you tin conscionable accidental "Ceiling lights off" oregon thing akin to crook disconnected the offending lights without leaving your sofa.

You tin besides necktie successful remote-controlled prima shades.

Though to beryllium honest, if your presumption looks similar this, bash you adjacent request a TV?

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5. Put prima shades oregon blackout curtains connected the windows

If you person a batch of windows, you're warring the sun, and your TV isn't going to win. Sure, today's brightest LCDs are plentifulness watchable successful galore agleam environments, but you aren't getting the champion representation prime with that overmuch airy successful the room.

I person a antithetic issue. I usage a projector in spot of a TV, and immoderate magnitude of airy washes retired the screen. I picked up immoderate blackout curtains from Lowe's for astir $70 for a brace of large windows. They adjacent look nice. Though arsenic you tin guess, I astir apt person a antithetic thought of what's "nice" than astir people.

Motorized prima screens, either wrong oregon out, are a immense assistance successful much ways than one. I unrecorded successful Southern California, and the westbound broadside of my location bakes each day long. I enactment successful immoderate exterior prima shades and, not to dependable similar a testimonial, my location is present mode cooler, temperature-wise anyway. It's besides darker inside, with acold little nonstop airy and therefore, less reflections.

Many companies marque prima shades, truthful a travel to your section Lowe's oregon Home Depot volition surely beryllium of much usage than what I tin add.

I volition accidental this, though: If you get the motorized variety, cheque whether they tin beryllium tied into a location automation strategy oregon immoderate astute strategy you're using. Most astute products necktie successful to Alexa, but less besides play with Google and less inactive with Siri.

In the end, astir TVs successful agleam rooms volition endure from immoderate benignant of reflections, but hopefully with these tips, your TV volition endure less.

Note: This nonfiction was archetypal published successful 2011 but has been updated to, ahem, reflect caller info, links, and images.

As good arsenic covering TV and different show tech, Geoff does photograph tours of cool museums and locations astir the world, including nuclear submarines, massive craft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile roadworthy trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for each his tours and adventures.

He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines and a sequel. You tin travel his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.