Tom Cruise's new mission: To get people to watch movies properly on their modern TVs

Tom Cruise has embarked on a new mission - to get people to watch movies properly on their modern TVs.

The actor took a break from filming his latest blockbuster to record a video explaining how to get rid of motion smoothing, an effect built into many new television sets, which can appear "strange" to viewers without it being clear what is different.

The technique is used to smooth moving images, and is most commonly used to improve the viewing of sport.

However it makes movies or higher production-value TV shows appear as if they were shot "on high-speed video rather than film" - sometimes known as the "soap opera effect".

In a video posted to Twitter, speaking alongside director Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise said: "Most HD TVs come with this feature already on, by default, and turning it off requires navigating a set of menus with interpolation often referred to by another brand name."

McQuarrie added: "If you own a modern high-definition television there's a good chance you're not watching movies the way film-makers intended, and the ability for you to do so is not simple for you to access,".

Social media users responded enthusiastically to the post, with some admitting they change the settings on their friends' TVs when they are out the room.

Tom Cruise didn't kick start the anti-motion smoothing movement though - Hollywood film-makers and actors have been on the case for more than a year.

Cruise and McQuarrie said they hoped their video would raise more awareness of the feature's presence, as many manufacturers either rename it or placed it behind several layers of settings menu screens.

They said film-makers were already working with manufacturers to change the way the feature was presented and activated on TVs, which they suggest would give users greater access and choice over when to use it.

The video encourages users to search online for how to turn off motion smoothing for their brand of TV in order to watch movies "exactly as the film-makers intended".