Six Things You Need to Know About 120Hz LCD TVs

Motion Blur versus Judder

• Motion blur is a common complaint among users of LCDs that have no method of compensating. Specifically, a soccer ball kicked across a field may leave a streak like a comet trail along its line of travel. A 120 hertz-capable video processor inside the LCD television is intended to stop that. Depending on the set, the efficacy of the processing varies. Confused with motion blur is judder, or a jittery effect commonly seen along ticker bars and while viewing scrolling movie credits. It is important to split the terms, recognizing that most manufacturers attack each issue with different processing and not always at the same time.
  
  

Film versus Video

• Many videophiles appreciate the difference in the way film and video appears. In fact, many reviewers compliment the image quality of televisions by stating that the set has a "film-like" appearance. Applying 120 hertz processing to film sources, like movies and prime-time dramas, tends to make all sources look like video at times, reminiscent of a soap opera. Given that many shows alternate between film and video for dramatic effect, homogenizing these images may override the smoothing effect the processing imparts on the image.
  
  

Picture Quality

• Abrupt activation of anti-blur/judder processing can create a jerk in the image, or a perception that on-screen objects are "tearing." Although this is minor and does not last long, an individual viewer may find it unacceptable. The stability that 120 Hz processing imparts may or may not be an acceptable trade-off for this jerky frame interruption as the processing kicks in.
  
  

Testing

• Although it tends to be marketed as such, 120 Hz processing may or may not completely solve motion-caused issues. Depending on the television, processor, and content, this processing may have a small to total impact on the picture. The best way to determine this beforehand is to simply test various content on a display model, if the dealer allows it. Since different types of motion artifacts irritate some viewers more than others, the content must be tested independently on sets using processing that is known to solve the types of issues that are of the greatest concern.
  
  

Addictive Quality

• Motion reduction is a unique, specialized processing type that is not replicated with other processing formats. If a viewer watches enough 120 Hz content with these issues satisfactorily reduced, he may find sets that are not equipped with this processing unwatchable.
  
  

Future Improvements

• As with all features on any piece of electronics, motion reduction gets better over time. With the advent of 240 and 480 hertz motion reduction, this is already the case. However, 120 hertz is offered on lower-cost sets. A consumer must make the decision if the current and future improvements on the technology is worth the extra money, or if 120 hertz is worth the effort from the outset.