Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

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digitalnyx
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Joined: 24 Dec 2016, 15:12

Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by digitalnyx » 24 Dec 2016, 15:34

Hello,

I realized a few years ago I am extremely sensitive to motion blur on PC monitors. Using the great resources on Blur Busters I ended up purchasing an ASUS vg248qe and setting up Lightboost. I could finally game for more than 30 minutes without getting a migraine, just like my old CRT!

Fast forward to the now - I am still happy with my purchase but I use a Retina MBP for work and the ASUS 1080p screen is really noticeable after that. I decided I wanted a 1440p screen for games so I just aimed high and purchased an ASUS PG279Q. The new screen arrived and I set it up; picture looked amazing on the IPS panel. That's about as good as it got. I can't play for 20 minutes without feeling like someone is tying my ocular nerve in a knot. G-Sync is a joke as far as blur is concerned and ULMB seemed OK but only near 85 Hz but the ghosting / pixel blur still was there. I tried every setting possible and scoured the internet for information to no avail; my vg248qe was just better in every way.

So, I think I want a 1440p screen still but I guess it will need to be a TN panel at least. I have been thinking about an ASUS ROG TN panel version but I am not sure I am sold on ULMB. I was also looking at some of the new BENQ 1440p. I have a 1070 GTX and as I understand it I basically need to maintain a frame rate somewhere near the strobe rate. So I am not sure if 1440p is a great choice yet or not.

If anyone could offer advice on any 1440p screens and blur reduction from experience I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks,

Falkentyne
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Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by Falkentyne » 24 Dec 2016, 16:55

What was the problem with ULMB? You can use ULMB at 100hz if you want, or 120hz. Is there a problem with inverse artifacts or something? The VG248QE's Lightboost mode was known for having very low to no overdrive artifacts, especially if you went into the service menu and changed the "OD Gain" setting from 0F (default for lightboost) to 0C, and then followed that by setting the Contrast down to 0.

The PG279Q is an IPS panel and I think the TNs should perform better in Lightboost mode than the IPS versions. If you want a monitor that is most like Lightboost, you probably want the Benq XL2735, and install a Vertical Total (VT) Tweak (Custom resolution, 1920x1440, VT = 1825) for 100hz and 120hz. Then if you want to reduce the amount of inverse ghosting, you can go into the FACTORY MENU and change the "OD Gain" (yes, the same option as in the VG248QE's service menu) to one of several options.

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Be warned that this monitor does not have the "Single Strobe" option for refresh rates lower than 100hz, so 85hz and 60hz will double strobe. Only the older XL2720Z 1080p (and the XL2420Z, XL2411Z, XL2430T) will single strobe.

digitalnyx
Posts: 2
Joined: 24 Dec 2016, 15:12

Re: Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by digitalnyx » 24 Dec 2016, 19:26

Falkentyne,

Thank you for taking time to reply.

I am not sure what to call what I am seeing on ULMB but I will try and describe it. When doing the UFO test with G-Sync I get a VERY noticeable ghost blur effect. When I switch to ULMB I see the UFO very clearly but there are 2 more UFOs behind/inside him each dimmer than the last. It looks like ghosting in that the strobe effect is painting a blur free ghosting trail. I have tried at 85, 100, and 120 Hz but I mentioned 85 Hz as it leaves the smallest trail; this is the same result in games. I have tried all the strobe levels in increments of 10 and I have tried with and without overdrive.

The Benq XL2735 is at the top of my list currently and your mentioning it will probably solidify that choice.

Thanks!

Falkentyne
Posts: 2793
Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by Falkentyne » 24 Dec 2016, 20:26

Yes, this ghosting issue is worse on IPS monitors than on TN monitors. But usually TN screens will show inverse ghosting unless they are calibrated well. The VG248QE did not show this ghosting pattern in Lightboost mode because of per-line overdrive. Most of the 24" Lightboost monitors looked similar.

The Benq TN monitors also have that double ghosting pattern, but there are ways to minimize it (XL2720Z: Setting AMA to "high" after enabling blur reduction, then dropping the contrast; XL2735: messing with the OD Gain factory menu option). The Benq Z Series monitors are infamous for having this pattern when NOT strobing, due to overly aggressive default overdrive. Again there are ways to improve this depending on model.

http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467

destor1ze
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Joined: 30 Apr 2016, 05:28

Re: Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by destor1ze » 08 Jan 2017, 14:23

Falkentyne wrote:Yes, this ghosting issue is worse on IPS monitors than on TN monitors. But usually TN screens will show inverse ghosting unless they are calibrated well. The VG248QE did not show this ghosting pattern in Lightboost mode because of per-line overdrive. Most of the 24" Lightboost monitors looked similar.

The Benq TN monitors also have that double ghosting pattern, but there are ways to minimize it (XL2720Z: Setting AMA to "high" after enabling blur reduction, then dropping the contrast; XL2735: messing with the OD Gain factory menu option). The Benq Z Series monitors are infamous for having this pattern when NOT strobing, due to overly aggressive default overdrive. Again there are ways to improve this depending on model.

http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
If i don't use blur reduction on my xl2411z, will my contrast setting make any difference? currently its on 50

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Re: Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 22 Jan 2017, 15:16

Motion blur headaches are nothing new -- there is a small section of population that is blur-sensitive (but not flicker-sensitive).

Occasionally, some people are prone to motion blur headaches (source, source) and forum members regularly come here to gain the comfort of busting motion blur (our namesake). Over the years, I've seen hundreds of anecdotes, and I can even be occasionally prone to strain-by-motion-blur (in extreme eye-tracking situations, like doing hours of TestUFO Panning Map tests) but there are people who are extremely sensitive to it. It's indeed a real problem, albiet a niche one.

Try reducing ULMB duty cycle a little bit (strobe length) -- it will reduce motion blur further and slightly reduce the amount of crosstalk (at least at the top edge of the screen). It dims the screen a lot, however.

Try reducing contrast and raising the brightness of blacks. Narrowing the dynamic range of an LCD often greatly reduces strobe crosstalk, at the cost of colorfulness/picture quality. But if your vision is so sensitive to motion artifacts, this is also worth a try.

TN screens will generally have less ghosting than IPS in strobed modes. Monitor with tweakable strobe lengths & phase settings are also very helpful (e.g. XL2720Z) but LightBoost mode on the old VG248QE's are extremely good at eliminating ghosting. Very few monitors are as artifact-free as VG248QE's, and some of the techniques that is done to do this, often reduce brightness/contrast.

Please note, people who are more sensitive to flicker, will not find these instructions relevant... Most people are more sensitive to pain-by-flicker than pain-by-motion-blur
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Falkentyne
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Re: Looking for 1440p Advice (blur sensitive)

Post by Falkentyne » 22 Jan 2017, 16:01

There is a service menu setting for the VG248QE called OD Gain. Changing this in Lightboost mode from 0F to 0C, after the monitor has warmed up for an hour, and then dropping the contrast to 0, removes 98% of all ghosting from the screen. Probably one of the most impressive things I have ever seen on a LCD. But the black level is horrible at those settings and contrast ratio is probably less than 200:1.

The XL2735 has this option as well. The OD Gain setting in the service menu works well with the AMA option to allow more fine tuning over the overdrive setting. Unfortunately the XL2735 doesn't have the Single Strobe option for 60hz (The single strobe option is supposed to allow refresh rates from 60hz to 85hz to single strobe (but with visible flicker) instead of double strobe (double strobe looks horrible). I know I've complained intensely about this, but the lack of Single Strobe on this monitor is the pure exact reason I refused to upgrade from the XL2720Z to the XL2735.

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