What's that noise filter in-store TVs use that makes the picture look so horrible?

[cakefoo]

I saw a Sony setup that was playing National Treasure 2 on a Blu-ray player. It was showing a scene inside the Library of Congress.

I can't pinpoint what it was, but it seemed like the grain was way too sharp. It interfered badly with the picture quality. Grain is supposed to maintain a transparent look, but what I was seeing was distorting everything.

Your default reaction to this type of post might be, "That's what grain is." But this was not grain. It seemed more like a noise filter or like the TV couldn't resolve a very broad range of colors. It was definitely not Blu-ray quality, as I've seen the movie on my own setup.