Help needed with picture settings

[Mr+Ripley]

  This isn't exactly a Sky issue, but this is the only forum I use & I'm hoping someone out there will know the answer. I recently bought a new TV -75" Samsung QLED Q8F 4K Vision AI Smart TV - 2025 - & last night watched my first film on it - Wolfman in UHD HDR. It was viewed in a darkened room & I selected Film Maker mode. During dark/nighttime scenes ( there were a lot ), I kept seeing patches of light on the screen that should not have been there. I'm sure there's a term for this, but I don't know what it is. Hopefully, you can see what I mean in the screenshot below.

  As the end titles were playing, I tried to find a solution in the Picture Settings. AI mode had been on, I turned it off, but no difference. Colour Tone was set to Warm 1, I tried the other options, again no difference. Same with Colour Space, which had been on Auto. Also found something called HDR Tone Mapping that had options of Static or Active. It was on Static. Changing to Active didn't change anything.

  Basically, I couldn't find anything to get rid of the light patches. I haven't seen them whilst watching regular TV, Yellowjackets, for instance, has been fine even though it has a lot of nighttime scenes. When I watch regular TV, I have Picture Mode set on Standard. However, I would like to use the Film Maker mode & Cinema mode, so using Standard mode when watching films isn't an option I want to use.

  Any help will be greatly appreciated. I won't be able to replicate what I saw last night until tonight when it's dark. The screenshot shows a blue background, whereas it was actually black, but you can still see the patches of light.

  

[Marlu-Nyu]

What you're seeing is most likely backlight bleed or blooming, which are fairly common issues with LED/LCD TVs — even high-end ones like your Samsung Q8F QLED. It’s especially noticeable in dark scenes, HDR content, and modes like Film Maker that don’t artificially boost brightness or contrast.

Backlight bleed is when the TV’s backlight leaks around the edges or unevenly across the screen. Blooming, on the other hand, is a halo effect caused by the TV trying to light small bright areas on a dark background — it’s a side effect of how local dimming works on these panels.

Since you're not seeing it during regular TV viewing (like Yellowjackets), it’s probably only becoming noticeable when the image is mostly dark and your TV’s trying to do more precise contrast work in HDR.

A few things you could try:

• Check Local Dimming Settings (sometimes called Smart LED in Samsung TVs): Try turning it off or setting it to low. This can sometimes reduce the blooming effect.
• Switch HDR Tone Mapping back to Static: Active can sometimes add unwanted processing or boost highlights too aggressively, which might be causing those light patches to stand out.
• Try Cinema Mode instead of Film Maker Mode: It’s still pretty accurate but might treat lighting a little differently, depending on the TV’s firmware.
• Do a black screen test: Put up an all-black image or a very dark scene with subtitles in a dark room — if you still see the patches, it's almost certainly backlight bleed or blooming.

Unfortunately, these are hardware-related limitations with most non-OLED TVs, and some units are worse than others. If it continues to bother you, and you're still within your return period, it might be worth looking into an exchange — sometimes panel variance is enough that a different unit will have less noticeable bleed.

Hope that helps!

[Mr+Ripley]

  @Marlu-Nyu  Thank you very much for the speedy & detailed reply. I have heard of backlight bleed & blooming, now I know what they are. I gather that Film Maker mode is a fairly new thing, & I did notice a small difference between that & Cinema mode, with Film Maker mode being slightly better. But I will give Cinema mode a try.

  HDR Tone Mapping was actually set to Static during the film.

  I've had a good look in the Picture Settings & can't find anything called Local Dimming or Smart LED. I did find some other settings, I'll add some screenshots that give more detail. There's something called Contrast Enhancer, which is currently set to Low, but can also be set to Off or High. Another setting is Shadow Detail, which is currently set at 0 but can go from -5 to +5. I haven't tested these, do you think they will make any difference?

  

[Marlu-Nyu]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  @Marlu-Nyu  Thank you very much for the speedy & detailed reply. I have heard of backlight bleed & blooming, now I know what they are. I gather that Film Maker mode is a fairly new thing, & I did notice a small difference between that & Cinema mode, with Film Maker mode being slightly better. But I will give Cinema mode a try.

  HDR Tone Mapping was actually set to Static during the film.

  I've had a good look in the Picture Settings & can't find anything called Local Dimming or Smart LED. I did find some other settings, I'll add some screenshots that give more detail. There's something called Contrast Enhancer, which is currently set to Low, but can also be set to Off or High. Another setting is Shadow Detail, which is currently set at 0 but can go from -5 to +5. I haven't tested these, do you think they will make any difference?

  

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Thanks for the reply and the extra detail — really helpful.

If HDR Tone Mapping was already on Static, then that rules out one of the possible culprits. Since you've had a look and can't find anything called Local Dimming or Smart LED, it's possible Samsung have renamed or buried it deeper in the settings under a different menu (they like to change things slightly with each firmware or model year). Sometimes it might appear only when specific modes are active — for instance, only when HDR content is playing.

Regarding the settings you did find:

• Contrast Enhancer: This one can definitely affect perceived brightness and can sometimes amplify blooming or light patches in dark scenes. I'd suggest trying it on Off — especially in Film Maker or Cinema mode — to keep the image closer to what the content creator intended. High can often look unnatural and exaggerate the backlight issues.

• Shadow Detail: This adjusts how much shadow detail is lifted or crushed in dark areas. Since it's at 0, you’re right in the middle. If you're seeing unnatural bright patches in shadows, try nudging this to -1 or -2. Going too far in either direction can crush detail or introduce noise/lightening, so adjust cautiously and test with a dark film scene to see what feels best.

A few more things worth trying:

• Ambient Light Detection / Adaptive Brightness: Make sure these are off, as they can conflict with other picture settings in dark environments.

• Try Cinema mode as a backup: While Film Maker mode is slightly more accurate, Cinema mode can sometimes handle shadow gradation and blooming better depending on firmware.

• Game Mode: Make sure it's not accidentally turned on, as that can override a lot of visual processing options and may affect contrast handling.

• Perform a full Picture Reset: Just in case a previous setting is sticking in the background. You can always reapply your preferred settings after.

Lastly, every panel has some level of variation — it's possible your unit has slightly more backlight bleed than average. It's a pain, but if none of the above makes a meaningful difference, and you're still in the return or exchange window, it may be worth considering a swap — sometimes just getting a different panel helps.

Let us know how you get on after tweaking those settings. Would be interesting to hear if Cinema mode or Shadow Detail helps reduce the distraction!

[Mr+Ripley]

  @Marlu-Nyu  Once again, thanks for the detailed reply, you definitely know your stuff. I've turned Contrast Enhancer to Off, & changed the Shadow Detail to -2. Game Mode is Off.

  As for Ambient Light Detection / Adaptive Brightness, no sign of those in the Settings.

  There is something called Colour Space which has three settings, Native, Custom & Auto. Which of those is best in general?

  I'm not sure when I will be able to get around to checking out these changes, but I will post again if I find anything.

[xenon81]

Based on the picture i'm not sure if altering settings will truly solve the problem. It looks like a faulty panel with extremely poor uniformity and should be swapped. 

[lettice]

Is this TV under guarantee?

If so, go back and get it looked at or replaced.

No amount of tweaking is going to fix the issue I expect.

Plus, although some good/ fair advice in here, changing a lot of those options is possibly going to cause issues elsewhere if you are not making a note or not that familiar with them.

Might be worth also, after getting a new panel, looking locally for a TV specialist that does calibration.

That TV is one that any specialist would be willing to calibrate for you in your home environment.