Have you ever been watching a movie only to find yourself squinting to see the dim screen? You increase your TV’s brightness according to your preferences, only to find that it appears to keep dimming automatically.
Don’t worry. You aren’t losing your eyesight.
TVs have several brightness settings which can dim the screen when enabled. Luckily, these settings can be disabled or adjusted, allowing you to set your TV’s brightness.
So, which settings should you disable to stop your Samsung TV from dimming?
Keep reading to find out!
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1. Ambient Light Detection
Samsung TVs feature an ambient light detection sensor, which is labeled as “ECO sensor” in older models. This handy function consists of a small sensor that measures the room’s brightness and adjusts the TV’s brightness accordingly.
Smartphones and tablets also have a similar feature often referred to as auto-brightness. This protects the users’ eyes and, theoretically, saves them the pain of adjusting the brightness manually.
However, the ambient light detection feature can sometimes cause the TV to be too dim or malfunction, dimming the TV during broad daylight.
So, if you find that your TV’s brightness is constantly fluctuating, it’s a good idea to disable it.
How to Disable Ambient Light Detection?
The instructions to disable the ambient light detection feature on Samsung TVs differ depending on when the TV was released.
You will need to disable this function through the TV’s settings using your TV remote.
Bear in mind that once this feature is disabled, you will need to manually adjust the brightness to see the TV in a light or dark room.
2016 Models and Below
Step 1: Navigate to System.
Step 2: Select Eco Solution.
Step 3: Then, head to Eco Sensor.
Step 4: Select Off to disable this feature.
Watch the video below on how to disable Ambient Light Detection on Samsung TV 2016 models and below
2017 Models and Above
Step 1: Go to the Settings.
Step 2: Click on General.
Step 3: Go to Ambient Light Detection.
Step 4: Select the slider icon to toggle this setting off.
2. Contrast Enhancer
Similar to ambient light detection, the contrast enhancer tool also adjusts your screen’s brightness. However, instead of brightening or dimming the entire screen, it brightens/dims certain areas of the picture to ensure the light and dark areas are balanced.
This ensures you can see the picture clearly, even during dark scenes.
While this function is usually useful, it can become troublesome if it continues to dim the screen. Alternatively, some film fanatics may find it bothersome as it adjusts the picture’s original contrast, changing a movie’s overall look.
Let’s learn how to disable it.
Step 1: Navigate to your Samsung TV’s Settings.
Step 2: Go to Picture.
Step 3: Head to Expert Settings.
Step 4: Toggle the Contrast Enhancer off.
Watch the video below on how to set the Contrast Enhancer on Samsung TV
3. Brightness Optimization
Brightness Optimization is very similar to ambient light detection. The main difference between the two is their names and the process to enable/disable them.
This feature also brightens and dims your TV screen to match the environment’s lighting, making it brighter when the room is bright and vice versa.
While this feature usually works well, the sensor can incorrectly asses your room’s brightness, making your TV unnecessarily dim. Additionally, different users have various picture preferences. So, while one person may love this function’s adjustments, others will find them unbearable.
Let’s learn how to turn off brightness optimization on a Samsung TV.
Step 1: Click on the Settings on the Home screen.
Step 2: Navigate to General & Privacy.
Step 3: Then, select Power and Energy Saving.
Step 4: Go to Brightness Optimization and turn it off. You’ll know you’ve successfully disabled it when the indicator goes from blue to black/gray.
Watch our video below on how to disable Brightness Optimization, Reduction, and Motion Lighting on a Samsung TV
4. Brightness Reduction
Have you ever enabled low power mode on your iPhone or dimmed your laptop screen to preserve the battery? Brightness reduction accomplishes the same task on your TV, as it dims the screen to reduce its power consumption.
If you’re eco-friendly or budget-conscious, this is a great setting to enable, as it will conserve electricity.
This function does not adjust the brightness according to the room’s ambient.
However, one downside of this function is that it dims your TV screen, making it look darker and less vibrant.
While disabling this feature will increase your TV’s power consumption, it will also brighten the screen and enhance your viewing experience.
Step 1: Go to the Settings.
Step 2: Select the General & Privacy option.
Step 3: Navigate to Power and Energy Saving.
Step 4: Go to Brightness Reduction and select it to turn it off. Once disabled, the indicator will be greyed out.
5. Motion Lighting
The last setting we suggest disabling if your Samsung TV keeps dimming is motion lighting. This function brightens or dims your TV depending on the picture’s movement. It will adjust the picture’s brightness when there is a lot of motion on-screen and then revert it to the original brightness once the image is still again.
If you’ve ever gotten a headache from watching an action-packed film at peak brightness, then you’ll find the motion lighting function helpful. However, if you’re struggling to see the screen, it’s best to disable it.
Motion lighting also seeks to conserve energy, ensuring your TV does not consume tons of electricity while displaying fast-paced scenes.
Let’s learn how to disable motion lighting!
Step 1: Open the Settings menu.
Step 2: Go to General & Privacy.
Step 3: Select Power and Energy Saving.
Step 4: Click on Motion Lighting to disable it. The indicator will become greyed out once this feature is turned off.
Note: You can always turn any of these features back on by following the same steps listed above and clicking on the setting you want to enable. The indicator will become blue once the setting has been turned on.
Good luck!
Yesenia Achlim is a technical copywriter and editor with a focus on AV equipment. She aims to break down complicated topics and make technology accessible, no matter your technical expertise. When she’s not teaching you how to replace a projector lamp, you can find her reading and baking.