What's the big deal with Filmmaker Mode? Up until very recently, one of my biggest pet peeves when it came to TVs related to the default picture mode, typically referred to as "Standard" or some synonym.

The issue is the inadequacy of the default mode when it comes to watching cinematic content: From the overbearing sharpening to the too-cold color temperature, to the implementation of motion smoothing (the so-called soap opera effect). It's a picture mode that's perhaps useful for watching daytime broadcast TV but wound up butchering the creative intent of Hollywood productions, as well as TV shows from the likes of Disney, HBO, Amazon, Apple, and Netflix that are shot and produced with Hollywood-level production values.

Ordinarily, my suggestion is to find the Movie or Cinema mode of a TV and ensure any motion processing is turned off, and that noise reduction is set to low or off. Usually, the Movie mode will already use the color temperature that's closest to 6500 K, but it can't hurt to check that too.

The issue is that most TV owners are not interested in customizing the picture modes and then switching between them manually depending on content. In the old days, there was a usage scenario separation between source devices, so for example you might assign the movie mode to the Blu-ray player input that's almost certainly going to be used to watch movies, and you'd assign Game mode to the gaming console input, etc.

But with streaming, that goes away, since you never know what sort of content is going to play from a streaming source, it could be video games, sports, Cartoon Network, could be YouTube. And it could be movies.

Automatically turning on Filmmaker Mode is a huge step toward making TVs intuitively adjust the content. Taken in conjunction with auto low latency mode (in other words auto Game mode), you can now have a TV that optimizes its picture appropriate to the content that's playing. The catch? At least in terms of this update, the functionality is restricted to Amazon Prime Video and to 2020 plus 2021 LG TVs running WebOS 5.0 or WebOS 6.0.

And for now, a pop-up window (that appears when playback of comparable content begins) will give LG owners the option of opting out of using Filmmaker mode.

Combined with the deepest blacks, enhanced contrast and vibrant colors of LG’s advanced TVs, viewers will get to experience unparalleled depth and realism through Prime Video’s vast selection of movies and series, including Amazon Originals such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Boys, The Tomorrow War and the highly anticipated upcoming series The Wheel of Time premiering November 19. One-click access to the Prime Video app is provided by the hot key on LG’s Magic Remote.

LG

But that alone is significant news and is presumably a harbinger of more services offering auto filmmaker mode functionality. The upshot is automatically activating Filmmaker Mode ensures these adjustments are applied by default, so you can sit back, dim lights, press play, and relax.

The new firmware that activates auto Filmmaker Mode for Amazon Prime Video rolls out to compatible LG TVs beginning this week.