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Settings for Improving Garmin® LiveScope Image Quality
When using a Garmin® LiveScope System, certain settings are more important than others when it comes to manipulating how the image appears on the chartplotter. This article will introduce settings that should be focused on and provide a description of what each setting is designed to do.
NOTE: Water conditions (Clarity, turbulance, temperature, etc ) impact all sonar returns and change how LiveScope sonar can appear on the screen.
Primary Settings for Adjusting the LiveScope Settings
Frequently Used Settings
Gain
Controls the intensity of the sonar returns on-screen.
High Gain values provide returns for objects of all sizes and surface types.
Low Gain values will filter out smaller objects and softer surfaces.
NOTE: While the Gain value will vary based on user preference, the general goal is to strike a balance between providing solid targets, while not introducing an overwhelming amount of additional clutter.
Depth Range
Controls the maximum depth directly below the transducer that can be viewed on-screen.
Use Automatic to keep the lake or sea bottom in view
Use Manual to view a specific portion of the water column on-screen and exclude anything below the value chosen
Forward Range
Controls the maximum distance forward of the transducer that can be viewed on-screen.
Water clarity determines effective forward range. Clearer water allows for greater range.
Water depth determines the maximum effective forward range. The ratio on the AUTO setting is approximately 4:1 (4 foot forward for every 1 foot down)
NOTE: When first learning LiveScope, try to keep the Range values consistent while fishing. It will help learn how far to cast and determine the actual size of fish/objects in the water.
Advanced Settings
NOTE: The best way to learn what these settings do is to just spend time using them. Seeing real-time changes to the image on-screen, as incremental adjustments to settings are made, is going to be the most effective method of gaining understanding of what they do. If changes are made that lead to undesired results, returning to default settings is a quick way to start over fresh.
Appearance
Color Scheme
- Select from a set of 15 pre-determined color schemes.
NOTE: Some color schemes look different when a chartplotter is set to Night Mode. As a result, some color schemes work better depending on the time of day. Instructions on changing to Night Mode can be found in the Owner’s Manual for the chartplotter model.
Color Gain
Adjust this setting to tune the colors of returns higher or lower on the range of available colors. This range is dependent on the chosen color scheme.
Use a lower color gain setting to “flatten” returns to a more similar brightness
Use a higher color gain setting to make strong sonar returns brighter, making certain objects “pop” on screen
Color Limit
Determines which colors from the current color scheme will be visible for sonar returns.
Use a lower color limit setting to “limit” or “filter out” weak sonar returns
Use a higher color limit setting to “limit” or “filter out” stronger sonar returns
With the example above, notice how raising the Color Limit eventually hides weak returns and the edges of stronger returns (blue colors), leaving only stronger returns (yellow/green).
Noise Reject
Noise Reject attempts to eliminate interference or technology-produced returns that are not actual objects in the water. Real objects can be impacted by adjustments to this setting but not to any significant degree.
Low – Filter out noise created by trolling motors as well as nearby transducers that are operating at a similar frequency
Medium – Capabilities of Low setting but also filters out artifacts created from hard surfaces (e.g. false bottoms)
High – Capabilities of Medium setting but with an additional filter to eliminate flickering noise (e.g. static)
Can create a slower refresh rate in the image
Ghost Reject
Unlike Noise Reject, which examines a broad array of target types, the Ghost Reject setting is solely focused on reducing the occurrence of duplicated or reflected returns. False Bottoms and Ghost Trees are examples of this behavior and can be produced when hard bottom surfaces are present.
NOTE: Ghost Trees can sometimes be a result of multiple types of targets and may require a combination of Noise and Ghost Rejects to sufficiently filter out.
TVG
Compared to Traditional Sonar, LiveScope tends to be used in shallower water. At these depths, TVG is primarily utilized to remove surface clutter and excessive noise from around the transducer.
Overall, the setting is used to lessen the impact that depth has on the brightness of returns. By raising the setting, returns near the surface will dim slightly and deeper returns will become brighter. The end result is that all returns should achieve a more uniform brightness level.
NOTE: The low setting is generally the best starting point. Raising too high may aggressively filter and hide desired targets in shallower water.
Installation
Stabilization
Provides an ON/OFF toggle for utilizing the internal sensors to stabilize sonar returns. When disabled, the image will not be able to automatically account for boat movement, but a Pitch Angle adjustment can be manually entered to account for any consistent deviations to the expected angle.
Calibrate Compass
Initiates a calibration wizard that provides step by step guidance for calibrating the internal compass of the LiveScope transducer. This is a useful tool for ensuring the direction of the Beam Icon is accurate.
NOTE: A poor calibration could cause stabilization errors.
Orientation
Allows manual control of the sonar viewing mode (Forward / Down / Perspective) or have it done automatically (Auto). If manually choosing the mode, the transducer must then be physically oriented to match the setting.
NOTE: A compass calibration is stored to memory based on the orientation of the transducer when the calibration occurred. Physically switching the orientation (i.e. Down to Forward) will require a new calibration to the compass. For more info, see section ‘Calibration Considerations’ in Related Content.
Focus
This allows a user to correct misalignment that may be visible where the LiveScope beam sectors meet. This can cause targets passing through this boundary to appear pulled apart.
NOTE: It is highly recommended to always use the appropriate AUTO setting for the body of water (fresh vs salt) the vessel is in.
Common Scenarios
Known objects do not show (e.g. jig)
Verify physical transducer Orientation matches device setting (Down / Forward / Perspective)
Set Sonar Settings to Factory Defaults
Options > Sonar Setup > Installation > Restore Sonar Defaults
This may eliminate a setting that is hiding the return
Make a small, sweep across the target’s location by manually adjusting the direction the transducer is aiming
Small targets like jigs can be very easy to miss when estimating the beam direction and width. An adjustment of a few degrees to the left or right may be enough to place the beam onto the target more solidly.
Raise gain until jig is clearly visible but not so high that it introduces clutter from smaller objects to the picture
Sometimes this additional clutter is unavoidable
Raise Color Gain in small increments to brighten jig return
Raise Color Limit in small increments to hide weaker returns
Sonar Returns Don’t Match What’s Actually in the Water
Set Sonar Settings to Factory Defaults
Options > Sonar Setup > Installation > Restore Sonar Defaults
Set Gain to a level where desired targets meet preferred intensity.
Raise the Noise Reject level
The medium setting (default) will generally be sufficient for this need. Raising Noise Reject to HIGH can result in slowness to the image refresh rate, which may not be desired.
Raise the Ghost Reject Level
The medium setting (default) will generally be sufficient for this need. Raising Ghost Reject to HIGH can result in slowness to the image refresh rate, which may not be desired.
Muddy / Pollen-filled Water
It may be possible to improve the image quality by doing the following:
Set Sonar Settings to Factory Defaults
Options > Sonar Setup > Installation > Restore Sonar Defaults
Strike a balance between enough Gain so that desired targets are clear but suspended particles remain weak in appearance
Sometimes this additional clutter is unavoidable
Lowering the color gain can help to filter out the remainder of these types of smaller/weaker returns
Be aware that aggressively lowering the color gain can weaken the appearance of stronger, desired return
Raise the color limit just enough that weaker-colored returns (suspended particles) are hidden from view
Unfortunately, pollen creates a unique situation for an angler similar to driving in fog with a car's bright headlights on. The driver experiences reduced visibility and finds it harder to see the road. In the case of LiveScope, pollen can make it very difficult to see objects of interest (e.g. bait) move in the water or splash at the surface. If pollen is thick enough, the only option may be to wait until water conditions improve.
Slow Image Refresh Rate
Make sure that Noise Reject and/or Ghost Reject are not set to a HIGH value. With these settings, it is not uncommon to observe a delay in image responsiveness, as it’s used to control flickering types of noise (i.e. static).
Optimizations have also been made to many devices via software updates, so it is vital to have the most current software version available to avoid this behavior. For information on updating device software, see the following Garmin Marine Device Software Updates
Image Blurriness
Here are some actions to combat this:
Set Sonar Settings to Factory Defaults
Options > Sonar Setup > Installation > Restore Sonar Defaults
Focus the screen more precisely around the area you are fishing so there is not a lot of active, but unused space on-screen.
Example: If the water is 5 feet deep and you’re fishing 10 feet out from the boat, don’t set the Forward Range to 50 feet. Set it to 15-20 ft instead.
NOTE: If On-Screen Controls are enabled, push the button centered between the + and – Forward Range adjustment buttons to quickly set the Forward Range to Auto.
Ghost Tree
A Ghost tree is a type of LiveScope return that is formed primarily from overlapping line-shaped returns. This can often be the result of duplicated bottom returns due to a hard bottom surface, and the pattern has been described as something that resembled a submerged tree on the screen.
Ghost Tree can often be resolved using a combination of Noise Reject and Ghost Reject settings:
Set Sonar to Factory Default settings
Set Gain to a level where desired targets meet preferred intensity.
Adjust the Ghost Reject level as high as needed to remove the Ghost Tree elements
The medium setting will generally be sufficient for this need. Raising Ghost Reject to HIGH can cause a delay to the image which may not be desired.
Raise the Noise Reject level as high as needed to remove remaining Ghost Tree elements
The medium setting will generally be sufficient for this need. Raising Noise Reject to HIGH can cause a delay to the image which may not be desired.
NOTE: Only raise these levels as high as is required. Ghost Trees can result from a combination of signal types, so finding the right balance of reject levels is vital. Certain portions of the Ghost Tree may respond better to one setting versus the other.
Empty Areas Where Targets Disappear (Dead Zones)
This can be the result of having Noise Reject raised too high, as attempts to filter out noise can inadvertently extend to real targets that enter the area.
Set Sonar to Factory Default settings
Set Gain to a level where desired targets meet preferred intensity
Lower the Noise Reject level to Low or Off
