60Hz or 120Hz?

[Aliem]

So I'm (finally) getting a PS3, and with it, a Sony Bravia. However, I dunno whether to get the TV in 60Hz or 120Hz, or if it even really matters. I've heard from some people that games look a lot better with 120Hz, but I've heard that they look awful.

So, for a PS3, which would be better, if it even matters?

[MottZilla]

I don't think either would be bette, it's probably a matter of preference. So go and look at two different models and see which you prefer. They want to sell you a TV, they should be able to assist you in finding the models on display to look at and make your own judgement.

[cbailey78]

a 120hz doesn't have a flickery screen because the refresh rate is faster than your eyes can detect.

[Aliem]

I'm wondering about motion blur on LCD TVs from 60 compared to 120. It's been a while since I watched anything on an HDTV, so I'm not sure how much they have improved.

Thanks for the replies =]

[Nicholas Steel]

LCD 60hz and 120hz won't flicker as each frame is shown for the whole duration 1/60th of a second where as CRT only shows a frame for something like 1/1,000 of a second.

120hz means motion compensation, unless your going with a good brand I wouldn't bother with it. Also motion compensation works by running at 120hz and inserting an additional frame after each source frame derived from the last source frame (prediction). Avoid 200 and 240hz displays as they would compound any problems that occur in the prediction process.

The purpose of motion compensation is to eliminate the judder caused by converting a 24fps movie to 25 or 30fps. When converting to 25fps they double the 24th frame while speeding up the movie ever so slightly to 25fps, I forgot what they do for NTSC but wikipedia has plenty of info.

[Aliem]

It doesn't really sound like a terribly important aspect, then. I'm going to see if I can actually see some in use other than at a store - it's really tough to get an accurate gauge of real picture quality with the displays at Target :p but as it stands, I'm leaning toward a 37" Vizio (or Insignia, depending on where I buy it) or a Bravia.

[Nicholas Steel]

Get them to show it with motion compensation on preferably the medium setting (high will usually have a fair bit of artifacting) as well as with it off. If they say it doesn't support it, tell them you've read the companies site and it says it supports it and ask for the remote.

[AtmaWeapon]

The television industry got to a point where no one bought TVs often, because there wasn't much of a reason to. They make more money if you upgrade your TV frequently. So we moved to HD, which is definitely an improvement but you can still argue whether it matters (I'm still getting plenty of enjoyment out of my 31" SDTV I paid $250 for in 2002!) Then poor TV CEO had a problem: everyone had huge HDTVs and didn't have a reason to buy another unless they'd managed to throw a Wiimote through it. So we started talking about BS numbers like "response time" and "refresh rate".

I stare at a 60hz monitor all day long. I've played plenty of PC games on it. It's fine. An SDTV running NTSC has a 29.97Hz refresh rate. Did you ever notice flicker on it? What about the 24hz in a movie theater? Not a problem? What makes you think you'll notice a difference between 60Hz and 120Hz then? It's mostly Mr. CEO thinking up a new reason for you to need a new TV. (I am aware that what it takes to have no perceived flicker is different in all conditions. My guess is if TVs and movies use ~30Hz and computers use 60Hz then something in that range is probably good.)

Have any doubts? Go to your favorite store and get them to put a DVD on the 60Hz TV you're looking to buy. Watch it for a few minutes and see if you notice anything wrong (make sure it's actually using HD; it's all-too-common for the losers at BB to be blasting an SD signal that's stretched to the screen.) Now watch it on the 120Hz. Does it look better to you? Now think about what the difference in cost could buy you. Is any perceived difference worth that money? If so, then buy the 120Hz TV and get on with it.

Oh but maybe you should save up more pennies and invest in 3D! It's THE FUTURE.

[Aliem]

Haha.... Thanks for putting that into perspective for me, Atma. =] All rightie, I've made my choice. I'm picking it up in two weeks, when I get my bonus.



Oh but maybe you should save up more pennies and invest in 3D! It's THE FUTURE. That's all my boss talks about at work anymore. He's already saving up for one.

[Nicholas Steel]

I enjoy 100hz displays for TV and gaming, not 200hz though. 100hz helps boost the frame rate for games which run at a low fps like N64 and ps2 games. (by creating a frame based on the previous source frame and inserting it between source frames will result in a smoother transition between source frames, thus doubling the frame rate essentially) Also makes TV silky smooth rather then judder very visibly to me. Blue Ray movies displayed at 24hz shouldn't need any motion compensation though.

24hz refresh is flicker free for me too, it's the judder that 25 and 30fps material experience that drives me to want awesome motion compensation.