Digital Noise Reduction on Television?

Question

Hello, I have a 46 inch flat screen tv from Samsung, and it has this option of Digital Noise Reduction (DNR)

It says it reduces the noise of the image or something...

Which option do you recommend me setting it as?

Off

Low

Medium

High

Auto

Can anyone explain what this does or what option I should set it on for clear images/sound? THANKS!

Answer 1

Turn it off.

Digital noise reduction is what it suggests: a form of processing to reduce perceived visual noise in the picture.

But many visual noise reduction systems don't really do a good job at reducing visual noise anyways and may also compromise the actual resolution of the picture.

It's also an additional processing step that can be avoided to maintain signal purity as much as possible.  

It's a superfluous feature.

Answer 2

I agree that in most situations you don't want to turn that feature on.  For analog signals in fringe areas, it is a decent feature, but for digital tv it does not make sense.  If you are using digital channels, leave it OFF.

Answer 3

If the original source material is very noisy (like from an old film or TV program that has been digitized) and it bothers you, try adding a small amount of DNR.  The softer picture may be more pleasing than the noisy one.  In all other cases, it should be OFF,