75hz strobed vs 144hz non-strobed motion clarity/persistence

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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dogroll
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75hz strobed vs 144hz non-strobed motion clarity/persistence

Post by dogroll » 24 Aug 2017, 16:26

I'm currently using an LG 24MP59HT which does strobing at 75hz. Now I'd like to 'upgrade' to the ViewSonic XG2401, but based on my napkin math, 75hz strobed actually offers less persistence than 144hz (4.75ms for 75hz strobed vs 6.9ms for 144hz), at least extrapolating from BlurBusters' own persistence chart. Would the XG2401 even be an upgrade? My main concern is motion clarity in TF2.

I will concede however that I find strobing overall harsh on the eyes, and if the XG2401 could achieve a similar level of motion clarity without needing to strobe, that might be worth the upgrade alone.

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Re: 75hz strobed vs 144hz non-strobed motion clarity/persist

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 24 Aug 2017, 22:50

Close....with one correction.

Persistence is strobe length for strobe modes.
Persistence is refresh cycle length for non-strobed modes.

For other displays other than LG, the strobe length is not necessarily 4.75ms for 75Hz. Strobe length can be anywhere between 0ms and refresh cycle length. Several displays such as BenQ/Zowie gaming monitors, as well as ULMB displays, all have adjustable persistence. You can adjust the strobe length of ULMB displays ("ULMB Pulse Width") from around ~0.25ms to around ~2.0ms.

Available adjustable-persistence displays:
All LightBoost Displays -- ~1ms to ~2ms via "LightBoost 10% vs 100%"
All ULMB Displays -- ~0.25ms to ~2ms via "ULMB Pulse Width"
BenQ/Zowie (Blur Reduction DyAc) -- ~0.1ms to >2ms
Zisworks 4K120 -- <0.1ms to >2ms (both scan mode & strobe mode)

Available strobed displays that run at any Hz
BenQ/Zowie Z-Series and newer (except XL2735), 75Hz and up

If you want motion clarity without strobing, you need massive Hertz. A good 240Hz nonstrobed will have 1/4 the motion blur of 60Hz nonstrobed. Getting blurfree sample-and-hold requires massive hertz (with GtG successfully keeping up). The flicker of a strobed display pretty much disappears (for my eyes) at above around 100Hz. For some, it's 120Hz, etc. Strobe backlights stop being harsh on the eyes at 120Hz, as long as motion is very refreshrate locked (solid 120fps VSYNC ON or good framerate-capper).

Also, if you want the best combined display on the market for strobed and nonstrobed clarity, it's currently the Zowie XL2546
-- 240Hz for minimum motion blur during non-strobed mode (240fps@240Hz)
-- Very bright strobe backlight mode that runs at any Hz from 75Hz through 240Hz (in literally 1Hz increments)

Overall, this is probably you best compromise "have cake and eat it too" display, if you really hate motion blur, but not sure whether or not you can tolerate strobing (due to flicker). You may get more strobe crosstalk at 240Hz, but you should still be able to get fairly decent strobing up to roughly ~180Hz via large vertical totals. For other strobed displays, see List of Best Gaming Monitors.
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dogroll
Posts: 36
Joined: 24 Aug 2017, 16:20

Re: 75hz strobed vs 144hz non-strobed motion clarity/persist

Post by dogroll » 25 Aug 2017, 00:31

I considered the XG2530 as well, but there isn't a single CPU on the market that can keep TF2 at a reliable 240fps, not even a 7700K at 5ghz.

And I forgot to consider strobe length... I have no idea what it is on my LG monitor. There is noticeable strobe crosstalk however, which suggests that it's not a particularly high quality strobing implementation.

If we just assume for a moment that the strobing implementation is of good quality, would you say the 'upgrade' to XG2401 is worthwhile, or just a sidegrade? The Zowie looks interesting, but I'd prefer to stick to ViewSonic for their OOTB image quality.

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