ViewSonic's PureXP vs ULMB.

Ask about motion blur reduction in gaming monitors. Includes ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur), NVIDIA LightBoost, ASUS ELMB, BenQ/Zowie DyAc, Turbo240, ToastyX Strobelight, etc.
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vityafx
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Joined: 17 May 2022, 09:04

ViewSonic's PureXP vs ULMB.

Post by vityafx » 17 May 2022, 09:14

I have been following the website since before it got redesigned in 2017. I loved that finally someone knowledgable spends time researching motion blur reduction and sort of promoting higher refresh rate monitors and helping everyone use their monitors correctly.
In 2020 I bought ViewSonic XG270 as per the website as it suggested it as the only BlurBusters certified monitor at that time.

Now I am curious about switching to either 4K 27" or 4K 32" with a 240hz refresh rate. Here are a few questions of mine:

1. Are you (The Chief, BlurBusters) just not contacted by ViewSonic anymore to certify the monitors or their PureXP implementation is always certified by BlurBusters? Or exactly the opposite, all the new monitors with PureXP aren't certified (and are considered not removing motion blur well enough)?
2. Is there any comparison as to what is better: ULMB, PureXP, or any other motion blur reduction mechanisms?
3. Is PureXP on one monitor as good as PureXP on another (new) monitor? I have an XG270 and want to jump to a 32-inch 240hz monitor once it comes out. By looking at the trends (what doesn't of course say anything), I expect the 240hz variant to be announced either this year or early next year. If it is not going to be certified by BlurBusters, does it automatically mean it wouldn't pass the certification if asked? BlurBusters.com stopped updating the news page so I don't know how anything changes in the blur reduction and motion clarity in the newest monitors and don't really know what to expect.

Please help me buy my next monitor. I am coding and playing online games competitively, and I also just like high refresh-rate monitors in general and have liked them since the CRT time.

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Re: ViewSonic's PureXP vs ULMB.

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 17 May 2022, 17:42

1. Manufacturers contract me on a per-model basis. Sometimes the budget of a manufacturer are only on specific models (e.g. XG270, XG2431). Other models are not Blur Busters Approved.

2. PureXP can be much better and more flexible than ULMB, even though it takes a little bit more adjustment work:

(2a) Complete continuum of strobeable refresh rates in the range of 59Hz-241Hz in 0.001 Hz increments
ULMB only supports two or three refresh rates

(2b) More pre-tuned refresh rates (60, 75, 85, 100, 120, 144, 165, 180, 200, 224, 240)
ULMB only pre-tunes two or three refresh rates

(2c) Re-tunable by Strobe Utility at www.blurbusters.com/xg2431
ULMB is hardcoded and can degrade with panel-lottery and temperature behaviors.
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(2d) Perfect zero crosstalk during optimized custom QFT modes, including perfect zero crosstalk operation (esp at 100Hz and lower, VT2700 and higher)
ULMB on LCDs always have at least a little strobe crosstalk, as I've never seen NVIDIA successfully tune ULMB to as zero-crosstalk as the best XG2431 QFT modes, especially at top/bottom edges. XG2431 PureXP also has less input lag than NVIDIA ULMB too. XG2431 is one of the few perfect zero-crosstalk LCDs when using the refresh rate headroom trick, combined with Strobe Utility retuning, combined with generous refresh rate headroom for more time to hide LCD GtG better between refresh cycles.

3. No, the PureXP vary widely in quality. I have not tested PureXP on models that are not Blur Busters Approved, but from glances I've seen, they range from the gamut from worse-than-ULMB to better-than-ULMB depending on model. You'll have to roll the dice, sometimes they'd otherwise pass Blur Busters Approved criteria if they sent it for testing after making only slight modifications (e.g. add 60Hz single-strobe, add Strobe Utility support) -- a great example is BenQ XL2546 DyAc would be easily Blur Busters Approved with a few minor modifications made by BenQ.

If unfamiliar with strobe crosstalk, here is an example:

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On the XG2431, with an optimized PureXP mode, combined with lower Hz, larger vertical total, and Strobe Utility retuning, it is possible to have 0% crosstalk (less visible than the "1%" in above image!) for the complete panel surface, top/center/bottom, at lower refresh rates. Since there is no phosphor ghosting trails and you have perfect geometry, that means the XG2431 can beat a Sony FW900 CRT (and many other CRT tubes) in motion clarity -- perfect motion clarity is achievable if combining all the re-calibration tricks combined with refresh rate headroom.

The Perfect 0% Crosstalk LCD -- But Only After DIY Calibration

The entire GtG heatmap (all GtG transition combos -- different colors are slower than others) is hideable in the Vertical Blanking Interval achievable on XG2431, which is tantamount to a pause of many milliseconds -- even up to 13 milliseconds -- inserted between ultrafast-scanout refresh cycles. This allows me to keep the backlight turned off longer, while waiting for real-world LCD GtG100% to finish in total darkness, unseen by eyes, for any possible color combination. Remember, not all pixels refresh at the same time which makes strobe backlights tricky to get perfect. But you can get GtG100% on all color combos on all pixels on the entire surface of the XG2431, completely hiding any incomplete LCD GtG from eyes, if you utilize all possible advanced crosstalk-reduction tricks. You know the "1ms GtG"? Often 10ms real world. But guess what? XG2431 can VBI for 10ms and more! Problem solved.

If you ever used an Oculus Quest 2 VR LCDs, you are already familiar with the better-than-CRT perfect strobe-crosstalkless LCD already. The XG2431 can do that (at 60-100Hz). If you do 120Hz and up, but keep large vertical total (QFT) you will start to have very faint crosstalk at the top/bottom edges, but still perfect for something like 80% of the screen surface.

Even 180Hz-240Hz on the XG2431 can be tuned to better looking than, say DyAc on a BenQ XL2546 -- if you retune via Strobe Utility. You will have more crosstalk, but the middle 50% of the screen can still be made darn near perfect.

The benefit of the continuum of refresh rates is you can choose your crosstalk-vs-Hz tradeoff, as governed by the laws of physics of LCD GtG hideable between refresh cycles.

You can always switch modes, e.g. 240Hz+PureXP Extreme, versus 100Hz+PureXP Custom (your custom tuning).

Expect a little crosstalk (but almost identical in quality to ULMB) out of the box. The sweetness comes to your CRT-familiar eyes once you download Strobe Utility and ToastyX CRU and start tuning.
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