Tom Cruise Drops a Bomb on Video Interpolation, Reaches Millions

Tom Cruise Drops a Bomb on Video Interpolation, Reaches Millions​

(December 5, 2018) We typically don't cover Twitter happenings, but when Tom Cruise takes a break from filming his latest blockbuster (Top Gun: Maverick) to tweet about TV technology, then it’s worth some attention. Yesterday, Cruise and Mission Impossible: Fallout director Chris McQuarrie took direct aim at television manufacturers by releasing a PSA about the negative impacts of motion smoothing.

Motion smoothing (or video interpolation) is certainly a hot-button topic among videophiles and home theater enthusiasts, most of whom would readily agree it’s bad juju. As I like to say: “Friends don’t let friends motion smooth.” But it’s safe to assume the vast majority of TV buyers have zero clue that that motion smoothing exists, let alone that it’s a factory engaged feature on most TVs. However, thanks to one Thomas Cruise, nearly 5 million fans are a little more educated about the technology.

To put it simply, Tom Cruise wants you to turn smoothing off. His minute-plus long video glosses over motion smoothing and why it’s one of film’s greatest enemies. “The unfortunate effect is that it makes most movies look like they were shot on high-speed video rather than film,” says Cruise. “This is sometimes referred to as the ‘soap-opera effect’.” He and McQuarrie go on to explain that most TVs ship with motion smoothing engaged and give instructions on how to get rid of it. They also hint that Hollywood is talking with manufacturers to change the way motion smoothing is engaged on new TVs.

While the Internet has enjoyed ribbing Tom about his latest cause, he deserves a pat on the back for spotlighting a real issue. The truth is: TV technology has become endlessly complex and manufacturers aren’t helping matters by making up fancy names for standard features. Buyers deserve the right to get the most from their hard-earned dollars… and I’m sure directors and film creators want their hard work properly presented. And with that, I say: Thank you, Mr. Cruise. Well done, sir! Well done.

You can watch the video on AV NIRVANA's Twitter feed, here.

 

[Asere]

Good for him. I have a few friends that watch movies with the soap opera effect on. I'm like come on you need to turn off the effect. We don't need a picture that looks like an HD home video.
Unfortunately most consumers do not know what to look for or what to do with so many settings.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Right there with you - I’ve had friends comment that their new tv isn’t very good. I say I’ll take a look. The problem is always motion smoothing. Secondarily, getting it into a mode that gets it closer to a calibrated state. But smoothing can really crush the watching experience in most circumstances. There are few models that absolutely need minimal smoothing help, but that’s an exception. I’d rather see some blur than a floaty dream-like image.

In fact, I was at my brother’s for Turkey day. He has a 1yr old LG OLED. He had switched smoothing off as we had discussed... but mentioned that 4K movies looked terrible. He did’t know this - but that model of LG’s switch smoothing on when detecting 4K. You have to set the settings again in 4K HDR mode.

I only knew because of some struggles at the 2017 (maybe 2016?) Flat Panel Shootout, where The LG OLED Was turn smoothing on as they were switching between HD and 4K content.

It’s crazy. Why make an expensive TV that unfriendly? Makes me cringe to think how many people have paid $2-$4k and are watching a junk picture because of factory presets like that.

 

[Asere]

Right there with you - I’ve had friends comment that their new tv isn’t very good. I say I’ll take a look. The problem is always motion smoothing. Secondarily, getting it into a mode that gets it closer to a calibrated state. But smoothing can really crush the watching experience in most circumstances. There are few models that absolutely need minimal smoothing help, but that’s an exception. I’d rather see some blur than a floaty dream-like image.

In fact, I was at my brother’s for Turkey day. He has a 1yr old LG OLED. He had switched smoothing off as we had discussed... but mentioned that 4K movies looked terrible. He did’t know this - but that model of LG’s switch smoothing on when detecting 4K. You have to set the settings again in 4K HDR mode.

I only knew because of some struggles at the 2017 (maybe 2016?) Flat Panel Shootout, where The LG OLED Was turn smoothing on as they were switching between HD and 4K content.

It’s crazy. Why make an expensive TV that unfriendly? Makes me cringe to think how many people have paid $2-$4k and are watching a junk picture because of factory presets like that.

Yeah, I know what you mean my friend was watching one of the Transformer movies on soap mode lol. Yeah your brother was really missing out especially with an OLED you want the best PQ possible. I bet he's glad to have you around to set him straight lol.

 

[JBrax]

I also seen this and immediately wondered if Tom is a home theater enthusiast like us.

 

[bkeeler10]

Wow, would not have expected an actor/actress to publicly make a big deal out of this. But that's what it will take to get the attention of the general public. And even coming from him and getting to such a big audience, it might be largely forgotten next week. But good for them for highlighting it and giving people the information they need to investigate further.

I too have had a couple of occasions to turn smoothing off for relatives. It seems some prefer it on, but it only takes me five seconds looking at a display to realize it's being smoothed. And it drives me insane. And not only the smoothing, but the artifacts on fast motion are quite obvious. If one prefers a smoother image, at least use the lowest setting, where the effect is less "creepy" and the artifacts are reduced.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Wow, would not have expected an actor/actress to publicly make a big deal out of this. But that's what it will take to get the attention of the general public. And even coming from him and getting to such a big audience, it might be largely forgotten next week. But good for them for highlighting it and giving people the information they need to investigate further.

I too have had a couple of occasions to turn smoothing off for relatives. It seems some prefer it on, but it only takes me five seconds looking at a display to realize it's being smoothed. And it drives me insane. And not only the smoothing, but the artifacts on fast motion are quite obvious. If one prefers a smoother image, at least use the lowest setting, where the effect is less "creepy" and the artifacts are reduced.

Soap opera effect... torch mode... and rainbow effect. They all drive me crazy. I’m right there with ya

 

[tripplej]

Good for him to bring this issue to the uneducated masses. Lot of TV's can and should be corrected but the masses are ignorant and are unaware of truly great their tv could be.. Make TV"s great again!

 

[JStewart]

Soap opera effect... torch mode... and rainbow effect. They all drive me crazy. I’m right there with ya

It can also be a pain, or in some cases not possible, to show the program in its native resolution without upscaling. Same pain for native frame rate. Things don't always convert so well.
Soap opera is definitely the worst though.
Way to go Mr. Cruise.

 

[Todd Anderson]

When I took my THX calibrator training (4 years ago), one of the first steps of the process was to check a TV's menu system to make sure it was in one-to-one pixel mode. 99% sure I'm remembering this correctly... The reason: closed captioning is encoded in the very top line of pixels. You've probably seen it (it looks like a scrambled line of dancing dots). Anyhow, people were calling and complaining that their TV wasn't operating correctly because they could see these dancing dots. So the solution was to ship TVs in a slightly zoomed mode (not one-to-one pixel), thus eliminating the possibility of seeing that that top line and eliminating calls to call centers.

The strange part is that zoom eliminates a true 1080p presentation.

I'm not sure if that's still the case, or a remnant of the transition from SD to HD broadcasts. But, again, bogus.

These TVs should all be shipped in something resembling optimal states of operation, with a simple first layer menu system that has easy to understand presets for the most common viewing conditions and trouble shooting problems. And those menu options should have a brief video or word description telling the viewer what it is/does and why.

In fact, a simple 3 minute video could quickly describe what D65 white is, why it's important... why you want your TV to be in a calibrated (or semi-calibrated state)... when to engage motion smoothing... etc.

 

[Tony V.]

Interesting, I would not have thought that Tom would have been an advocate of this.

I wonder why manufacturers dont ship TVs with the best mode as a default. These days calibration is not going to drift much from display to display of the same model so why not have it properly calibrated right out of the box? Panasonic has usually got their one movie mode thats very close to perfect right out of the box but Ive seen some sets that look awful in any preset mode.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

It drives me bonkers. As a video producer, for decades we asked for the capability of capturing footage on video at a frame rate other than 29.97i. There were companies shooting with PAL cameras (25fps), and then converting the final project to NTSC (29.97fps) for broadcast, just so they could mimic the feel of film on the budget of video. Not to mention the folks who were shooting independent film on PAL cameras, then just slowing it down to 24fps for a film output.

FINALLY, around start of the 21st Century, camera makers gave us the ability to shoot at 23.98 or 24p. Shortly after, we were able to overcrank frame rates for smooth, gorgeous slow motion shots.

Then a year or so later, the same manufacturers started adding Video Smoothing, Motion Smoothing, etc. to their television sets, and setting the default to "On." Basically, they gave us the middle finger, and negated the ability they had just given us, by giving the uneducated a "tool" that they didn't ask for, didn't need, and didn't know how to operate. A tool that faked a look of old cameras.

That mode should be obliterated.

 

[Todd Anderson]

It drives me bonkers. As a video producer, for decades we asked for the capability of capturing footage on video at a frame rate other than 29.97i. There were companies shooting with PAL cameras (25fps), and then converting the final project to NTSC (29.97fps) for broadcast, just so they could mimic the feel of film on the budget of video. Not to mention the folks who were shooting independent film on PAL cameras, then just slowing it down to 24fps for a film output.

FINALLY, around start of the 21st Century, camera makers gave us the ability to shoot at 23.98 or 24p. Shortly after, we were able to overcrank frame rates for smooth, gorgeous slow motion shots.

Then a year or so later, the same manufacturers started adding Video Smoothing, Motion Smoothing, etc. to their television sets, and setting the default to "On." Basically, they gave us the middle finger, and negated the ability they had just given us, by giving the uneducated a "tool" that they didn't ask for, didn't need, and didn't know how to operate. A tool that faked a look of old cameras.

That mode should be obliterated.

I had no idea that the video-creation side of the industry was so offended by interpolation – but I totally get it. It seems like a no-brainer response!

@thrillcat... are soap operas actually shot in 29fps?

 

[JStewart]

These TVs should all be shipped in something resembling optimal states of operation, with a simple first layer menu system that has easy to understand presets for the most common viewing conditions and trouble shooting problems. And those menu options should have a brief video or word description telling the viewer what it is/does and why.

You're spot on with this one. The way displays come now is opposite of how they should. The additional features are supposed to be there IF there's a problem to overcome, not to be the problem. If set manufacturers did what you suggest many would benefit.

 

[Todd Anderson]

There are variations across batches of displays... in fact some manufacturers have been known to source different different displays for the same model. But, I agree, there are general settings that should be engaged, out of the box, to get users in the neighborhood of a calibrated picture out of the box.

Outside of that, the current array of complex controls should be stashed away behind a significantly simplified layer of controls that an owner could select with a point and click of a remote (or via an app).

What's silly is that TVs do not ship with some sort of onboard software that can walk users through the equivalent of a Spears and Munsil disc. I'm imaging an interface that presents the only control needed to adjust a particular picture quality. I know it can be done, because receiver manufacturers have made big headway in easy setup over the last three years.


The basic problem is that most (nearly all) TV buyers don't want to mess with settings. They don't even know they should. They want to buy, set it up, and start streaming or watching cable. And the assumption is, like a smartphone, you get it, turn it on, and start using it.

 

[tripplej]

Unfortunately, the masses are ignorant and assume whatever shows up once they plug the TV into the wall socket is what it is.. Sad, indeed. So much potential wasted.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

I sneak into peoples houses and turn that feature off when they are not looking. I’ve had a few complain to me tha the image suddenly looks less smooth

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I had no idea that the video-creation side of the industry was so offended by interpolation – but I totally get it. It seems like a no-brainer response!

@thrillcat... are soap operas actually shot in 29fps?

I just saw this question.

Today, probably not. I'm guessing that these days, soap operas have begun shooting at 23.98, just like all the other producers that were dying for the option to use 23.98.

However, in the past, they were shot in the same television studios, with the same studio cameras as the game shows, nightly news, etc, at 29.97. The low-budget nature and daily shooting schedule required multiple cameras and minimal editing, so they used the studios, probably 3 cameras at a time. The big difference is, they've always been lit like a feature film, not a typical studio production, which is why the frame rate stood out so much with soap operas. Now that it's as simple as a menu setting, I'm sure they're using 23.98, though I can't be sure. I haven't watched Days since I was in college.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I haven't watched Days since I was in college.

I was just getting ready to ask that...

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I also have a Samsung QLED in the living room, and I've found their menus to be wonky. Sometimes, as you go through the list putting things where you want them, a setting you make might automatically change a setting higher in the list, so it's important to double check everything before exiting the menu, and after any change, check again, until you can see the entire thing is how you want it.