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A controversial subject: Seeing movies at 30fps (AKA The Soap Opera Effect)

posted 6 years ago by fabian5003 (63)
13 replies | jump to latest

Does anybody here, by any chance enjoy watching movies at 30fps? Some modern TVs will let you achieve this by activating some feature (in LG TVs the setting is called TruMotion). Under this configuration movies will look as if they were low budget.

I love watching movies with this setting on, specially horror and sci-fi movies. I know most people can't stand it while others can't even notice the difference.

And please don't attack me if you don't enjoy watching movies like this. I am fully aware the norm is to watch a movie as it was intended by the filmmaker, but there's something I find appealing about seeing films like this.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

What you described is called motion smoothing. The vast majority of my home theater clients HATE it, but it takes all kinds to make a world. It’s your TV. You can configure it to your own taste. Have fun!

[–] FredBurroughs (21984) 6 years ago

I can tolerate it for certain types of material, usually for TV comedies and fully CGI fare. It's a big no-no when it comes to watching older films, though.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I have never heard of this. I don't think my TV has it.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 6 years ago

Never tried before

[–] MIchiganJFrogg (-35) 6 years ago

[deleted]

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

Short of hiring a video professional to come to your home and calibrate your video display, the way to get the best picture on your set is to go to the Picture Settings section of your TV menu. The Picture Mode is probably set to Vivid or Dynamic, which catches your eye in the showroom but in fact looks like shit. If it’s daytime, put the Mode to Living Room; if it’s night, make the Mode Movie or Cinema. Go into Advanced Settings and turn everything off:Edge Enhancement, Motion Smoothing, everything! The resulting picture won’t be nearly as bright as before, which means your TV will last a lot longer. The colors will be like they are in real life, not in a cartoon. The picture
will have much more detail than before, more textures, and even an illusion of three-dimensionality.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 6 years ago

I have no idea what you are talking about.

😎

[–] actionkamen (23176) 6 years ago

I once watched The Amazing Spider-Man (the crap one with Andrew Garfield) using this mode on random TV in a waiting room.

It actually fascinated me. It looked like huge budgeted soap opera. Hillarious. All the CGI and the set looked ridiculously cheap like in a sit-com, but has the actions and explosions of a blockbuster.

Felt like watching a superhero spoof movie but with the actors acting super seriously. Funnier than a real spoof movie!

Combined with the sound that came from the TV itself which was tinny and had no bass at all. It was a bizzare experience. Made me actually finish the movie (I would rather read the random magazines from 2007 available on the table if it was normal 24fps.)

[–] fabian5003 (63) 6 years ago

Wow, thanks for sharing that story. There's something definitively fascinating about watching movies this way.

I'm glad I found someone who also enjoyed experiencing this way of watching movies. Let's make t-shirts! Let's start a movement!

[–] Frogarama (12942) 6 years ago

Just as a comparison of "more realistic" versus "movie standards," consider a live action play.

It doesn't matter what they do, the live movement of people performing a script is nothing like a movie, and if you imagine you're watching it on a screen that replicates perfectly what your eyes see, then it looks like a very low budget movie shot with a high frame rate camera.

They can never achieve movie lighting, either, because a lot of that is color timing accomplished during editing, as well as strategically placed lights that can be specific for each shot.

So yes, motion smoothing is one step closer to achieving the look of a live stage play, which is just not a movie and could never look like one.