Motion Smoothing Is The Worst — What It Is & How To Get It Off Your TV, Explained

Motion smoothing is a process born out of the improvements made to home entertainment systems in recent years, but it's an "improvement" only in the technical sense, and most viewers would like to know how to get rid of it. Creating the ultimate home theater has almost never been easier. Televisions are incredibly cheap these days, and the quality has shot up across the board on everything from sound bars to screens. One of the reasons that movies have been struggling at the box office is that the home theater experience can match what was once only available in theaters.

Some movies and television shows are absolutely gorgeous on televisions now, capable of projecting shows and films as they were intended to be seen by the filmmakers. The sound is crisp, the colors are clear, and the creator's intent is perfectly made. It's not all good, though, and better technology does not equal better viewing. The fight against AI in the arts is just one example of how artificial intelligence and technological progress do not inherently make for better art. Motion smoothing is one of these new processes that's a step back.

Motion Smoothing Artificially "Enhances" A TV Show Or Movie

The Process Uses Artificial INtellgence To Add Frames Into A Scene

You may have noticed motion smoothing without understanding exactly what was happening. In the latter part of the 2010s, modern television sets began to be built with a default setting known as "motion smoothing". Also called "motion interpolation", this technological technique was created because the frame rates of modern TVs began to exceed those of films. Most films and TV shows are shot at 24 to 30 frames per second. Modern TVs can operate anywhere from 60 to 120 to even 240 frames per second.

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Imagine a flip book. Films are a flip book with 30 pages in it, showing a stickman walking. It takes one second to flip through it. A television can flip through 240 pages in a second. Theoretically, that means the stickman should be walking in a less jerky fashion with 240 pages. Each minor movement is detailed thanks to all those pages. The problem comes when a director has already planned to make his movie or show with 30 pages in the flip book. What motion smoothing does is jam in extra pages into the book using artificial intelligence.

Based on what's happening in the frames, motion smoothing estimates motion in a frame and adds what it thinks is a bridge between frames. When things move slowly or in a predictable way, it can work, but when things move quickly, like with an explosion, or when someone's head moves while talking, the smoothing looks unnatural. People have described this uncanny visual as making movies and TV shows look like soap operas.

Filmmakers Are Vehemently Against The Practice

A Group Of Directors Have Come Together To Create "Filmmaker Mode"

Naturally, a lot of filmmakers are very anti-motion smoothing. In a way, it's artificial intelligence adding to their creation without permission. Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie took to X to tell Mission: Impossible Fallout viewers to turn off motion smoothing when watching their movie. Several notable directors, including Martin Scorsese, Rian Johnson, and Ryan Coogler, banded together with the UHD Alliance to create "Filmmaker Mode" on TVs, which turns off motion smoothing to give home viewers a real cinematic experience. Johnson said on X, (via Fortune),

"This is exactly what all of us who have been frustrated with motion smoothing and labyrinthine TV settings have been asking for. It is very, very exciting."

Unfortunately, not every TV has this mode just yet.

How To Get Motion Smoothing Off Your TV

It's Easy On Most Television Sets

Without filmmaker mode, users will need to turn off motion smoothing themselves. It's a different method for different TVs, but it's fairly simple and highly recommended. Look at the table below to see how to turn it off on your TV.