For a good while, my new Samsung TV couldn't guess what was plugged into its HDMI port (it was an HTPC running through an AVR), labeled the port as "Unknown" and enabled most of the available picture settings (Picture mode Vivid, Natural, Filmmaker (or whatever that mode is called), etc.), plus most of the advanced settings.
This morning, the TV decided the input was a PC (which it is), labeled the port accordingly, and disabled most of my picture settings. I now have only Entertain and Graphic picture modes, I'm locked out of White Balance and Gamma and other advanced settings, and my hard-won dialed-in picture settings are completely gone.
I feel like it's completely unacceptable that the TV locks me out of several picture settings based on what it thinks is plugged into the HDMI port. If this is what a "smart" TV does, I think I'd prefer a dumb one!
Is there any way to override or spoof the TV's determination of what it thinks is plugged in so I can get access to ALL the picture settings/parameters?
Hello, There. That does sound super frustrating especially when you can notice a big difference in the picture. It sounds like before the television for whatever reason, was not able to recognize due to a glitch. If you lost power or if the unit was unplugged it may have cleared the glitch, where the television now understands what is connected to it. There are various reasons why certain menu options are greyed out, all of which can be covered here: https://www.samsung.com/us/support/troubleshooting/TSG01110482. Some settings will not be available based on the incoming signal, unfortunately. You're welcome to also call in and speak with our remote support team, to see if there's a way they can do something on their end for this matter, you can reach them at, 18007267864. Thank you for being the best part of our Community!
I eventually found a workaround. I unplugged the PC HDMI from the TV, then plugged it back in. The TV asked "If this input is a PC press the UP button." I did NOT press any buttons and waited until the dialog timed out, which left the input as "Unknown" and enabled most of the picture settings (including white balance & gamma). I then edited and named the inputs and all is well again.
To whoever decided to randomly cripple hardware configuration parameters based on the type of media playing... that was truly an asinine thing to do.
