Have there been any advancements in variable refresh-rate based technologies?

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, let me sum it up in few words. Rather than having fixed refresh rates (60Hz, 72Hz, 85Hz etc...), where only few source formats are compatible, VRR offers the ability to display the source frame 1:1 at any given moment.

This particularly useful for gamers as the frame-rate continuously fluctuation when the v-sync is disabled. So if a game is rendered between 23-47fps, the motion will not appear smoothly on any fixed refresh-rate displays. Sure, one can enable v-sync, but it only reduces the problem as anything below 60fps is halved to 30fps, and anything below 30fps is halved to 15fps and so on (when the output is 60Hz). So having a GPU and display capable of VRR can help maintain smooth motion in 1:1 faction.

i'd consider it lucky if we just get "fixed" rate options in the future like crt monitors had (some desktop lcd's claim to sync at 72hz or so but its been shown they really don't or don't do it properly anyway). maybe optional rates are just around the corner who knows with 240hz displays coming out.

i'm with you on syncing hz & fps - its the way to go. variable dynamic refresh would guarantee you never see double images (fps below refresh) or "tearing" (fps above refresh) - neither which are pretty. the only problem i see is if your card goes much below 60, your going to get hella flicker. with a dark game and decent frame rates it maybe not much a problem, but a bright game much below 60fps might be unbearable. my 2 cents.

p.s. i tend to think only in terms of crt. with lcd you wouldn't get any flicker, but since hold time would increase at lower fps, you'd get more blur.

http://www.freshpatents.com/-dt20081218ptan20080309652.phpI'm not a big fan of concept patents with prophetic examples. Have you guys actually read this patent?

I'm not a big fan of concept patents with prophetic examples. Have you guys actually read this patent?

Hi xrox, haven't seen you in a while (^-^)

No, I only glanced at it. I couldn't find pocket full of information regarding VRR, which is why I posted here.

i'd consider it lucky if we just get "fixed" rate options in the future like crt monitors had (some desktop lcd's claim to sync at 72hz or so but its been shown they really don't or don't do it properly anyway). maybe optional rates are just around the corner who knows with 240hz displays coming out.

i'm with you on syncing hz & fps - its the way to go. variable dynamic refresh would guarantee you never see double images (fps below refresh) or "tearing" (fps above refresh) - neither which are pretty. the only problem i see is if your card goes much below 60, your going to get hella flicker. with a dark game and decent frame rates it maybe not much a problem, but a bright game much below 60fps might be unbearable. my 2 cents.

p.s. i tend to think only in terms of crt. with lcd you wouldn't get any flicker, but since hold time would increase at lower fps, you'd get more blur.

Hold-time has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, when displaying low-motion contents (24, 24 and 30), high-hold time helps to produce smoother motion. But when displaying high-motion contents (50/60p), it can produce motion blur, which some may find aggravating.

This is why I prefer displays with the option to control exposure time (hold-time)

have you looked into frameless rendering (http://www.acm.org/crossroads/xrds3-4/ellen.html) - its an alternative to vrr which can give the same effect.
i never considered it a good alternative, since it also substitues blur/artifacts for temporal aliasing.
more processing power might make it viable in the future. i hate reading those patents... i watch the videos :)

video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018915362682031037)

Hi xrox, haven't seen you in a while (^-^)

No, I only glanced at it. I couldn't find pocket full of information regarding VRR, which is why I posted here.That patent seems to suggest a concept of detection and conversion of the input refresh rate to fall within the range of the VRR display (assuming there is one available). One of the prophetic examples is 24Hz input converted to 72Hz for display (which Pioneer already does).

Edit: I'll try a patent search later

have you looked into frameless rendering (http://www.acm.org/crossroads/xrds3-4/ellen.html) - its an alternative to vrr which can give the same effect.
i never considered it a good alternative, since it also substitues blur/artifacts for temporal aliasing.
more processing power might make it viable in the future. i hate reading those patents... i watch the videos :)

video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8018915362682031037)

Excellent, thanks for the info