Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremiahm /forum/post/20809027
I've been looking into the models listed above, and I must say, it looks like you guys have gone above and beyond of just giving a good starting point. I may end up with one the models listed above.
Can you guys clue me in on the 60/120 hz spec? I'm assuming that the frequency the screen changes is helpful in fast motion scenes, and in stat tickers on the bottom of the screen racing past and the ability to keep text clear. I was assuming that I wouldn't be happy with the lowest ones at 60 hz, and I was assuming that I would need 120 to be happy. Am I assuming right? This question stems from the last line in the above post. I wouldn't 120 hz be useful to me? Could I get by without it? Those 60hz models sure are cheaper. Will a 60 be good enough for grays anatomy or any of the other bazillion drama queen shows that my wife watches?
It all depends on what kind of material you're watching. SD tv is shot at 30fps. HD video is shot at 60 fps. Therefore, if all you watch is television, a 60hz television is all you'd need. It will double the frames on 30fps material, and pass 60fps material without any changes.
120hz comes in handy when you want to watch 24fps material, such as movies on blu-ray. 120 is an even multiple of 24, and so can pass 24fps material by quintupling the frames. A 60hz television would have to use a complicated mathematical algorithm (called 3:2 pulldown) to choose when to add or drop frames. The result is a rather juddery image, especially on panning shots.
I had a 60hz television for 4 years. I could see the judder on film, but it wasn't that bad. There was no issue whatsoever on TV material. I now have a 120hz television. Blu-Ray video is much less juddery - it now has only the native judder of a low frame rate such as 24p.
But honestly, it isn't all that big a deal. If you find a 60hz set you like and the price differential is truly that big, go for it. CERTAINLY don't pay a premium for anything over 120hz. It's all marketing gobbledeygook beyond that point.
Realistically though, anything under 120hz will probably be a budget model that suffers in other more important areas of performance as well, such as black level and color accuracy. The BX420 listed above was a budget model at 60hz that reviews say is not lackluster in those areas. Checking reviews is critical.
BTW, the refresh rate of your display will have nothing to do with whether gaming or sports on your LCD television look good. A game console connected via HDMI puts out a 60hz image. A cable box or OTA tuner will put out a 30 or 60hz image. All modern HDTVs will handle this, regardless of their refresh rate, just fine. What matters is response time, not refresh rate. Response time is the ability of a pixel to go from open (bright) to closed (dim) within a short amount of time. The average response time on a modern LCD pixel is something like 3 or 4 milliseconds. Very fast motion of an object across the image might be faster than this response time can capture, causing blurring or ghosting. I should say, I have never once noticed any ghosting or blurring on my Sony KDL-52EX700.
There is very little difference among current LCD displays on response time. Most models use panels from the same 2 manufacturers (Sharp and Samsung). The physical characteristics of these panels are mostly similar. Again, good reviews should mention if there is any blurring caused by slow LCD response times.
