The UHD Alliance, which helps define display standards, announced that Filmmaker Mode, which is designed to show films with as little motion smoothing or post-processing as possible, will be coming to TVs released in 2020 from Samsung, TP Vision (which makes Philips-branded TVs internationally), and Kaleidescape (via Hollywood Reporter). LG, Panasonic, and Vizio, also confirmed plans for the format 2020 televisions.
Samsung, TP Vision, and Kaleidescape have not shared which TVs will have Filmmaker Mode;mSony and TCL have not announced participation.
The goal of Filmmaker Mode is to free TVs from the dreaded motion smoothing default. Some people call this the “soap opera effect” and many filmmakers hate it because it is often quite difference and mushier than the aesthetic they worked so hard to create.
The motion smoothing default isn’t the easiest thing to turn off, as you usually have to know what the setting is called on your specific TV (it’s different and sometimes unintuitive for each) in order to turn it off.
The Verge has a guide to help you figure all that out.
Filmmaker Mode is supposed to remove all of that post-processing so that movies. The UHD Alliance also wants to make Filmmaker Mode easy to use by having it to turn on by default. And the UHD Alliance is also standardizing the Filmmaker Mode name across all TVs that have the mode so you can more easily find it in your TV’s settings.
Filmmaker Mode also has the backing of a number of directors, including Scorsese, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Rian Johnson, and Christopher Nolan.
Also at CES, the UHDA announced that the Directors Guild of America, the American Society of Cinematographers, the International Cinematographers Guild and Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation all endorsed Filmmaker Mode as their preferred method of viewing in the home. Roughly 140 filmmakers, including directors and cinematographers, provided input to its development. The UHDA also said promotional plans are underway.
It’s important to point out that Filmmaker Mode is only coming to new TVs; it’s not a software update to the TV you already own.
