What does the Hertz (Hz) designation in LCD TV specs mean?
Asked by
Quandry (
45
)
December 14th, 2009
I am looking for a new television for gaming and I am noticing different Hz ratings on the tvs. (60hz, 120hz, 240hz) What do they mean in viewing terms? Better picture? Quicker screen regeneration? Better flow of motion? None of these? Help!
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
9 Answers
Response moderated
The refresh rate of the picture; as the screen is “drawn”, the pixels are refreshed a certain number of times per second, thus refresh rate. Rate is measured in “cycles per second” and the abbreviation for this is Hertz (or Hz for short). Although most video has a frame rate of 30 times (images) per second, the pixels are “charged” with information more times than that, which presents a crisper and more accurate image to the eyes.
It is said with higher refresh rates, there are less chances of visual artifacts when objects move quickly through the picture. Sometimes quick pans of the camera will cause flicker on the screen, or distortion where objects appear to bend when the camera pans from one side to another. This can also be a property of the camera type, as some camera technologies suffer from refresh issues when acquiring the image (CMOS sensors in particular).
For part two of your question (Great Job @sndfreQ ) A bigger number is better. It is even more important to have a fast refresh rate for gaming.
This is the speed of the vertical refresh, old crt sets used 30hz for over 50 years but newer sets run at 120hz with some at 600hz or faster
I think you mean 60hz, 120volt or 240volt; the volt is the speed of the electricity the TV will accept, 60hz is the speed of the alternating current revolutions per second the TV will accept, this is important, because other countries use different hz and voltages, a few European countries use 50hz not 60hz at 240volt, this would change the wattage coming into your TV, this may be fine for an electric razor but a TV is full of capacitors that would have a different value with a lower incoming frequency, this may cause damage.
@thecaretaker 60,120 and 240 are actually the refresh rates for consumer LCD panels right now. I don’t know where @NadaNormal got 600 from.
240 being the newest feature, you will pay for it. 120 was last years tech, probably the sweet spot for performance/price.
@thecaretaker LG, Samsung & Sony all offer an LCD panel at 600hz this season with 1200hz in the works for next year
forgot about the plasmas, sorry bout that.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
