What is TV Refresh Rate? From 60Hz to 120Hz and beyond.

TV picture fluency depends on the refresh rate, which will greatly affect the image quality of sports events, electronic games, etc. This article will explain to you the meaning of refresh rate and the refresh rate function that suits you.

Refresh rate: What is this? Very simple. The refresh rate of the monitor is the number of times the screen updates a new image per second in Hertz (Hz). You may be familiar with the term "frames per second" (fps). The Hertz value is the default frames per second on the screen. Therefore, a 60Hz screen can display up to 60 continuous images per second, while a 120Hz screen can display up to 120 images and a 240Hz screen can display up to 240 images.

How does refresh rate work? Why should I care about it?

Your TV will display multiple video sources. Movies are usually shot at 24 fps, meaning that every second of film is 24 still images displayed in order. When making it into a DVD or streaming video, a 24 fps image is often converted to 30 fps through a process called "3:2 progressive scan", adding six "extra" by creating a large number of composite frames consisting of two 24 fps frames. "frame. (That's one of the reasons why many times, when you pause the video, the image is not particularly clear, even when you watch the movement it looks very clear.)

Show 30 fps on a 60Hz (or 120Hz or even 240Hz) screen, either to let each image appear longer (basically, refresh the image to the same image once, twice or four times), or to use Built-in programs (because TVs are basically computers now) create "middle" images in real time, which are often called "Motion Plus" or "True Motion" or some other buzzword. This technology casts each video to a maximum frame rate, but also creates a strange, unnatural fluency for the film, which we are used to watching at 24 fps (or up to 30 fps). It can make the movie (film shot) look like a soap opera (video shot), making it "feel" of lower quality, even if it is not technically the case.

VRR is a technology that allows variable (V) refresh (R) rate (R). Therefore, "VRR". VRR is very important for inputs where fps are inconsistent or fps may change (for example, video games). VRR also tends to be able to improve and lower refresh rates to ensure the highest quality image without visual artifacts such as lag or “screen tear” that occur when problems occur when pushing the next frame , it looks like only part of the image is moving, while the rest remains stationary.

Refresh rate can have a huge impact on the quality of image movement regardless of screen size (rather than still images, which are more affected by factors such as resolution or color depth).

What are the disadvantages of high refresh rate?

The biggest drawback of high refresh rates is not the refresh rate itself, but what TV manufacturers think we want. The frame rate increase of motion blur technology is a visual impairment for many people, only for shows like sports events or concerts, and will make high-quality movies and shows look "cheap".

Unfortunately, many TV retailers always enable this feature by default, which means you need to manually enter the settings and turn it off so that when watching movies or shows shots from film or digital videos that simulate film, the image will be watched It's "correct" to get up. In addition to turning off this feature, you can improve the movie viewing experience by considering the lighting of the TV viewing room to better mimic the theater experience, such as using smart LEDs that are synchronized with the images on the screen.

High refresh rates will also consume more electricity, but not big enough to allow you to see a significant difference on your electricity bill at the end of this month.

What shows benefit from 120Hz and VRR, and why?

Sports events and other live shows benefit most from high refresh rates, and VRR is especially important for video games. "Destroy" the motion blur technology of movies, even if they are usually transmitted at 30 fps, makes sports events look smoother and clearer. This is because images usually change at such a fast pace that a simple 30 fps can make tracking like baseball or hockey, etc. Additional frames for 120Hz or 240Hz devices do shed light on these small elements of high speed movement.

If you have a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, you need at least 120Hz and VRR. This is because if you don't connect a TV with these qualifications, multiple visual settings on these systems won't even start, and the console ends up outputting a lower game quality version that locks at 30 fps for a 60Hz monitor. PS5 and XBSX require VRR technology to deliver higher quality images, because while most games can consistently produce 30 fps, not every game can always reach 60 fps, and may be between 40 fps and 60 fps Move, depending on how many visual elements are filled on the screen. VRR allows the game to adjust the fps output when visual elements occupy the system processor and/or memory, thereby displaying the best current image. (240Hz is a nice visual upgrade compared to 60Hz, but won't unlock any features like 120Hz.)

In addition, if you want to connect your computer to your TV screen via HDMI (particularly HDMI 2.1) to use it as a computer monitor, you need a high refresh rate and VRR to produce a visual experience comparable to your monitor. Displays usually have greater visual depth than TVs, because computer programs require more small details to interact. If your computer has a high-end graphics card and your TV is compatible with this technology, both AMD and Nvidia have technologies that allow graphics cards to work directly with VRR technology on the TV (AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, respectively) when you are on the TV This will produce better results when playing computer games on the screen. Computers can drive frame rates, colors, resolutions and other visual elements more efficiently than cable TVs, streaming media or gaming consoles, which is why computer monitors can reach 360Hz, while even the highest-end TVs only reach 240Hz. But only custom, expensive, top-notch desktop computers are the sources you can see that you can take advantage of such high refresh rates.

Should I look for VRR and high refresh rates on my next TV?

If you plan to watch a lot of sports events or play video games, the answer is yes. The visual quality of sports events and the visual output options that are turned on in-game are worth it. There are many TVs that cost under $1,000 that have all the technical elements you need in terms of VRR and refresh rates, so you don’t even have to buy super high-end products to get super high-quality visuals.

If you mainly watch pre-recorded media/streaming content, you won’t be able to get too much benefit from high refresh rates and of course not from VRR. If Netflix is ​​already permanently resident on your TV screen, 60Hz is enough (although 120Hz or 240Hz still looks better). If you want to play games on a desktop computer, a high-end 120Hz or 240Hz VRR TV will give you a bigger screen, but a computer monitor of the same price will provide better image fidelity, so you need to decide which setting is best for you you.

The final thoughts about TV refresh rate

In short, the refresh rate allows your TV to show off buttery smooth dynamic images, sometimes even when you don't want them! Like resolution, number of colors, and depth of black space in video, refresh rate and frame rate are also places where screen technology continues to improve.

More is always better when it comes to Hertz, but for most people, 120 is enough, and VRR is a must for gamers. With that in mind, you can better decide what refresh rate features you need for your next TV. Please use the following link as a reference to help you decide which TV is best for your space and viewing habits. I wish you a happy viewing!

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