BENQ XL2720Z 27" of goodness :) [Version 2 firmware is good]

[Chief Blur Buster]

MSTAR USB debug tool is correct. Do not install software from CD's that come with MSTAR units. Keep tuned.

[Chief Blur Buster]

UPDATE:

Blur Busters Strobe Utility is now RELEASED!

http://www.blurbusters.com/strobe-utility/

[phroaig]

have just received a telegramme from BenQ stating:
XL2720Z：
•The S/N before ETA2E05795CL0 needs to burn in V002 FW.
•The S/N after ETA2E05795CL0 is already equipped with the compatibility to support third-party software utilities (including ETA2E05795CL0 itself).

[LogicElite]

UPDATE:

Blur Busters Strobe Utility is now RELEASED!

http://www.blurbusters.com/strobe-utility/

Well done chief! thanks! can't wait to try the utility!

If you need someone to test your upgrade procedure I'll be watching my pms!

Regards.

[LogicElite]

Here a great XL2720z review for you guys! BTW, Blurbusters is mentioned a couple of time in this article

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/benq_xl2720z.htm

Cheers!

[Chief Blur Buster]

Yep, TFTCentral tested V2 firmware, and the Blur Busters Strobe Utility!

[Crazy Chuckster]

Well Benq's site is a bit misleading concerning availability of the XL2720Z so I started an online chat. They apparently have them in stock but are upgrading the firmware on them which the guy volunteered to tell me without asking. I will quote my chat log below.

Chat session started at 13:10:46
Please be patient while you are being connected with an operator ...
You are now chatting with Robert

charles:Is this monitor in stock SKU-XL2720Z-001 or on backorder.

Robert:Howdy! How can I help you?
lemme double check
pretty sure its on backorder
yeah, it's on backorder

charles:the site is misleading, it says more expected last week but shows in stock
any idea when more may come in?

Robert:let me go double check
ok so i just talked to my head of monitors lady
she said we have them in stock, they are just getting the new firmware installed
they are expected to start shipping here in the next couple days

charles:Ok nice to hear I was worried about the firmware issue. I may place a backorder. Thank you Robert
Robert:no problem

Now with that being said I dont know if I want to hold out to try their gsync series or give this one a try.

Chief do you think there will be a big difference between the XL2720Z and XL2720G when it is released?

[Chief Blur Buster]

Chief do you think there will be a big difference between the XL2720Z and XL2720G when it is released?

I'd need to test it to find out. It is a personal decision about buying now or waiting.

I cannot advise (except point out that ULMB is currently not as adjustable as BENQ Blur Reduction at this time). I have repeatedly told manufacturers (ASUS, BENQ, NVIDIA) to add adjustability to their strobe technologies, so that we can create additional 3rd party utilities for them! They are currently paying close attention, and are giving serious due consideration to this. Until manufacturers decide (witness BENQ V1 versus V2), the crystal ball can unexpectedly reboot itself.

In recent months, Blur Busters has established lots of new contacts deep inside several manufacturers, and I am already influencing monitor design (e.g. I singlehandedly caused BENQ to release V2 firmware, and it is known in some circles NVIDIA probably introduced ULMB thanks to Blur Busters' tireless promoting of LightBoost), and some manufacturers have noticed my research in Electronics Hacking: Creating A Strobe Backlight which has indirectly accelerate strobe backlight engineering.

However, I should point out that "Better Than 60Hz" technology has accelerated in the last 2 years, with future 1440p and 4K monitors, plus OLED, means there is always "something new around the corner" much like for CPUs and GPUs. I anticipate continued accelerated innovation for a decade to come, because there are just so many improvements suddenly arriving over the next 10 years, speeding up gaming monitor innovation faster (like moribund HDDs then suddenly SSD's arrived and things innovated faster for a while). This is what is currently happening with gaming monitors today. If you decide to wait, you may end up waiting for years, since by the time XL2420G comes out, a brand new monitor may come out, etc. It's now continually happening with "Better Than 60Hz" technology at the moment. Our moral of the story is if you can afford it, "Buy now, and Buy again later to upgrade" -- much like for CPUs and GPUs -- many of these "Better Than 60Hz" monitors currently have a reasonable resale value on eBay at the moment. Recently, gaming monitor performance are unexpectedly suddenly improving faster than GPU progress and CPU progress where Moore's Law has slowed down.

I can understand and appreciate the dilemma for tight budgets -- it's your choice! -- but regardless, if you choose to support Blur Busters -- you should buy via the Official 120Hz Monitor List which now includes V2 Firmware BENQ monitors (It's up to you, but appreciated!)

[Mouzuone]

You wrote changing the crosstalk causes 2-3ms input lag - extra or total?. How much input lag does lightboost have or add?

[Chief Blur Buster]

You wrote changing the crosstalk causes 2-3ms input lag - extra or total?. How much input lag does lightboost have or add?

More accurately, strobing (not crosstalk) adds a slight amount of input lag (often ~4ms total lag).
Strobing is the cause, while crosstalk is the side effect.
Check high speed video of a LCD refreshing & of backlight strobing

This is because with motion blur reduction strobing, the LCD panel glass is refreshed in dark, and the backlight waits until end of refresh to do all-at-once strobeing. If the displays wait until the right moment, there's more input lag. If you strobe early to reduce lag, there is crosstalk (incompletely refreshed LCD) because of an earlier strobe. The Strobe Utility allows you to adjust for the tradeoff, reduced lag versus reduced strobe crosstalk. When combined with the Vertical Total 1350 trick for longer blanking intervals, more of the crosstalk is essentially hidden in the blanking interval between refreshes, but gives you approximately +(1/2 refresh cycle input lag) = 1/2 of 1/20sec = 4ms average input lag for the maximum possible motion clarity.

Right now, the BENQ Z-Series is the first strobe-backlight monitor that allows you to adjust the Crosstalk setting -- towards less input lag, or towards better motion clarity.