BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

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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Juzy
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BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by Juzy » 21 Mar 2021, 03:19

Hello all, I've read a lot of informations on the Blur Buster website concerning motion blur reduction. Thanks for all this work, all those informations, and explanations.

I have a question about what technology is the best to reduce motion blur (low brightness, bad colors are not a problem for me).

Also, I add that I actually use this monitor : HP 22x (22", 144hz 1ms gtg with freesync).

I play mostly Overwatch and during fast movements, I still perceive some motion blur at 144fps+ and I want to reduce motion blur to the minimum possible when I have to aim on targets in fast FPS games, even if I have to play with less than 144hz, as long as It's more than 80-90hz.
For me, if the blur is lower on moving targets at 80-90hz with a MBR technology compared to my HP 22x at 144hz without a mbr technology I will be satisfied :)

So, this is the monitors that I can afford actually :

- A BenQ XL2411P with the motion blur reduction (not DyAc) : With the Blur Buster strobe utility for BenQ compatible monitors, I've read on the Blur Buster website that this is the best monitor to lower the motion blur on moving targets when using the strobe utility.

- Any " old " Lightboost monitors like the Asus VG248QE with the Lightboost strobe utility so I can adjust and find the best result for me to lower motion blur the maximum I can, or

- An ULMB monitor like the Asus VG248QG / VG249Q / Asus VP249QGR more recent : Are those monitors better than older Lightboost monitors with the strobe utility used and/or better than the BenQ 2411p with the mbr and the strobe utility used ?

So my question is : What's the best monitor between the benq 2411p with mbr and the strobe utility, ULMB/ELMB monitors, and lightboost monitors while using the Lightboost strobe utility ? I'm okay to play with low brightness and bad colors as I've said.

Thanks for your help ! :)

nuninho1980
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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by nuninho1980 » 21 Mar 2021, 06:23

ULMB (NVIDIA) has replaced LightBoost (NVIDIA) in 2015. LightBoost (LB) has WELL discontinued since 2015 because ULMB is motion clearer than LB. LOL
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Juzy
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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by Juzy » 21 Mar 2021, 06:41

nuninho1980 wrote:
21 Mar 2021, 06:23
ULMB (NVIDIA) has replaced LightBoost (NVIDIA) in 2015. LightBoost (LB) has WELL discontinued since 2015 because ULMB is motion clearer than LB. LOL
Oooh ok thanks for the reply, so the lightboost utility can be used with ulmb monitors ? Since ulmb is the " new enhanced version " of lightboost ?

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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by RealNC » 21 Mar 2021, 11:07

Juzy wrote:
21 Mar 2021, 06:41
Oooh ok thanks for the reply, so the lightboost utility can be used with ulmb monitors ? Since ulmb is the " new enhanced version " of lightboost ?
You don't need any utility. You can just enable ULMB in the nvidia panel. You can choose between three modes: Normal, G-SYNC and ULMB.
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Falkentyne
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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by Falkentyne » 21 Mar 2021, 21:57

Juzy wrote:
21 Mar 2021, 03:19
Hello all, I've read a lot of informations on the Blur Buster website concerning motion blur reduction. Thanks for all this work, all those informations, and explanations.

I have a question about what technology is the best to reduce motion blur (low brightness, bad colors are not a problem for me).

Also, I add that I actually use this monitor : HP 22x (22", 144hz 1ms gtg with freesync).

I play mostly Overwatch and during fast movements, I still perceive some motion blur at 144fps+ and I want to reduce motion blur to the minimum possible when I have to aim on targets in fast FPS games, even if I have to play with less than 144hz, as long as It's more than 80-90hz.
For me, if the blur is lower on moving targets at 80-90hz with a MBR technology compared to my HP 22x at 144hz without a mbr technology I will be satisfied :)

So, this is the monitors that I can afford actually :

- A BenQ XL2411P with the motion blur reduction (not DyAc) : With the Blur Buster strobe utility for BenQ compatible monitors, I've read on the Blur Buster website that this is the best monitor to lower the motion blur on moving targets when using the strobe utility.

- Any " old " Lightboost monitors like the Asus VG248QE with the Lightboost strobe utility so I can adjust and find the best result for me to lower motion blur the maximum I can, or

- An ULMB monitor like the Asus VG248QG / VG249Q / Asus VP249QGR more recent : Are those monitors better than older Lightboost monitors with the strobe utility used and/or better than the BenQ 2411p with the mbr and the strobe utility used ?

So my question is : What's the best monitor between the benq 2411p with mbr and the strobe utility, ULMB/ELMB monitors, and lightboost monitors while using the Lightboost strobe utility ? I'm okay to play with low brightness and bad colors as I've said.

Thanks for your help ! :)
Not all monitors that support Gsync also support ULMB.
Most do but not all.

ULMB is indeed better than the original Lightboost (Lightboost was designed specifically for 3D glasses, which is why the color shift is so bad in it. Lightboost became popular only because there was (more than one) way to enable Lightboost mode WITHOUT having a 3D glasses kit.

The drawback of ULMB mode is the very limited adjustability of the settings on most monitors, and the brightness reduction is quite a lot.

Benq Blur Reduction was reverse engineered by Benq from Lightboost, using the same electronics with a few things added (this was proven by Strobemaster on his website article, i think it was "display-corner" or something, I forgot the site), followed by adjustable parameters thanks to Chief Blur Buster's work with Benq, allowing tuning of the amount of blur reduction (vs brightness) and the crosstalk location. You could also use custom vertical totals in a custom resolution to reduce the crosstalk and which also extended the blanking interval which increased brightness. The original BBR used a 1.8x LED backlight voltage boost to compensate for the strobing (similar to lightboost here). It was a bit difficult to get a really good bright level without having the blur reduction effect being too low, however. Another benefit of the original BBR monitors was the ability to single strobe at 60hz (and 75hz and 85hz) refresh rates, which was removed from all of the later Benq monitors. The original Z series monitors were the XL2411Z, XL2420Z, XL2720Z and XL2430T. I am unfamiliar if the Zowie rebrands (XL2411, XL2420, XL2720) maintain the same single strobe override option in the "Service Menu" or not.

Later Benq changed monitor scalers (from MStar to Realtek) and simultaneously removed the single strobe override, which means all refresh rates lower than 100hz would double strobe. Benq also made three newer monitor lines, one with Benq Blur Reduction undocumented and hidden in the service menu (as Blur Reduction), officially supporting freesync while keeping MBR undocumented, this used similar strobing as the original Z series, another line with DyAc, which used a higher voltage backlight boost during MBR modes, which was officially supported (freesync was only on some models now), and a third line with DyAc+. DyAc+ increases LED brightness voltage even more than the first DyAc does, with the original mode called "Dyac High" and the new mode "Dyac Premium". There are different "Persistence" and "Area (Crosstalk)" values for each DyAc mode, but the difference in the two modes is not just the different preset values. There is actually a higher LED boost in DyAC Premium mode than DyAC High on the DyAC+ models. At the same "Intensity (persistence)" setting, DyAC Premium + 50% OSD brightness is the same brightness as DyAC High + 100% OSD brightness.

If you don't want low (60hz, etc) refresh rate single strobe, the DyAc+ models are your best choice for high brightness, high quality blur reduction IF you want to go with Benq. The XL2546K and the XL2746S are the two best monitors in this line (24" and 27").

The best overall Benq monitor for strobing if you do NOT need 60hz single strobe is the XL2746S. The XL2746S is a true 8 bit TN panel, with colors coming VERY close to an IPS in quality. The XL2546K is still a 6 bit + FRC panel.

Note that Benq also has a 1440p TN monitor with DyAc, the XL2735, although I would not recommend it. Max refresh rate is 144hz, and it only accepts limited Vertical Total increases to reduce strobe crosstalk at 100hz and 120hz (stock VT at 2560x1440 is 1510, the most it can go up to is around 1820). At 144hz, the vertical total can barely go above stock (by comparison, the XL2746S, which has a default vertical total of 1154 at 144hz, can go all the way up to VT 1650, which removes ALL the strobe crosstalk off the screen! And 100hz and 120hz can go from 1133/1144, to 2250 VT!!). Note: Avoid the XL2730Z, XL2730 and XL2740.


The best IPS for strobing currently is one which Chief worked hand in hand with Viewsonic with, the XG270 27". This can strobe (single) at 75hz to 240hz refresh rate, and is a 1080p monitor. This is an EXCELLENT monitor with upgradeable firmware. Note that this still cannot single strobe at 60hz refresh rate for consoles / 60fps locked games and emulators, but an upcoming sequel to the XG270 will unlock 60hz single strobe. The XG270 offers the best image quality for strobing of any monitor that is NOT an LG OLED TV (these can strobe at 60hz, but the input lag is not great for gaming!), with the best picture quality since it is an IPS.

So : ignoring the LG OLED's:

The best strobing monitor at the moment is the XG270 1080p 27" IPS. Great quality and brightness. There will be a 24" sequel that should allow 60hz strobing.

The second best strobing monitor is the Benq XL2746S. Good quality and great brightness.

If you can wait, there will be more 60hz single strobe monitors later in the year, another new Viewsonic and other options as well.

Juzy
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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by Juzy » 22 Mar 2021, 00:40

Thank you a lot for all those informations / explanations. Since I have a low budget, I've finally buyed a BenQ XL2411P to benefit from the motion blur reduction and the blur buster utility for benq monitors so I will be able to lower motion blur while having a better brightness than without the utility.

My primary concern is to lower the blur to the minimum on moving targets in-game, but I had the habit to play with a high brightness to " see better " and I wanted to lower eye strain and motion blur perception, so I lowered the brightness recently on my standard HP 22x 144hz monitor with no MBR technology and I find that I can feel a little less motion blur, especially on very fast movements and also I find that I have a little less eye fatigue with a low brightness compared to a high brightness when I play for more than a hour or two in a row, especially on close quarter fights.

I also lowered the digital vibrance on the nvidia panel, I used to play with the maximum (100), I lowered to 80 and finally I use 60, since I play mostly Overwatch which is a game with a lot of different colors everywhere I find to feel less eye strain with less digital vibrance since there is less brightness, less digital / color vibrance and I use a " low blue light " setting on my monitor to lower the eye strain.

I used to prefer high brightness with a high digital vibrance to see better in-game but I finally lowered those settings to feel less eye strain.

nuninho1980
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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by nuninho1980 » 22 Mar 2021, 07:52

If you want console games or retrogames, you get the IPS monitor with ULMB HACK for 60fps single-strobe + very good color quality but it may cost high price. Do you forget this?
--> But ATTENTION you have NVIDIA videocard for hack ULMB.
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Juzy
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Re: BenQ MBR, ULMB or Lightboost ?

Post by Juzy » 22 Mar 2021, 09:53

nuninho1980 wrote:
22 Mar 2021, 07:52
If you want console games or retrogames, you get the IPS monitor with ULMB HACK for 60fps single-strobe + very good color quality but it may cost high price. Do you forget this?
--> But ATTENTION you have NVIDIA videocard for hack ULMB.
Thanks for the reply. I have find the topic about the ULMB hack for 60fps single strobe but I play all the competitive games with the lowest graphics possible usually so this ULMB hack is not really important for me, and I even played with a resolution of 1280*720p when I had a little 750ti with 120+ fps with a Ryzen 3200g.

I remember when I built my first pc more or less 10 monthes ago, I was running Overwatch with a 3200g with only the integrated graphics at 80-90fps on 1280*720p and a resolution scale of 75% so the graphics were just acceptable for me, I did that on my first 144hz monitor (I'm still on my first one) for about a month (my goal was to learn to play on pc since it was the first time I played an FPS game on pc).

So, with 80-90fps I was able to see a clear difference compared to a 60hz monitor when I was playing on console at 60fps capped.

After a month of playing like that with 80-90fps on a 144hz monitor a couple of hours per day, I finally find a cheap used 750ti to push in 720p 100% resolution scale with a stable 120fps on Overwatch, still with my 3200g CPU. So I used a 3200g with a 750ti to have 120fps stable on Overwatch, for a couple of monthes.

I'm now on a Ryzen 3 3100 because I wanted to push above 120 fps and also for a little more FPS on other games, also I wanted to increase the resolution above 720p so I buyed a couple of monthes later a gtx 780 amp edition to play some single player and coop games, to be able to play in 900p or 1080p.

So now I can push Overwatch for a couple of monthes now at 140+fps on 1920*1080p with a cheap entry-level gaming CPU Ryzen 3 3100, and only 8gb 2666mhz DDR4 of RAM. As I've said I'm on a budget. Since the gtx 780 amp can take up to 250 watts (ouch...), I have a 650W PSU (80+ certification, I don't want my appartment to be burned, and me too...).

At first I tried to find an RX 470/570/480/580 but the prices were too big for me, before 2022 I want to change my GPU for an other GPU since 250 watts used at full load for my gtx 780 amp is not economical for the electricity bills, preferably I want a GPU that can use less than 150 watts at full charge like a 970 or better, gtx 1060 or better, or an rx 480/580 or better (in term of performance for sure).

So actually I cap my FPS at 140 on Overwatch (I used to not cap the FPS to have the less latency possible, and I was always above 160 to 180 during teamfights in 720p and 900p resolution, I capped at 140fps in 1080p because I have some fps drops in the 140-150fps so just under the 144hz).

After only a couple of hours played I instantly noticed that I had a slightly better aim (about +5% bodyshots and +5 to +10% more headshots depending of the character played with capped fps compared to uncapped fps), despite having a little more lag because of the capped fps, with vsync and freesync activated to have a slightly more fluid game.

Even if I have more lag it doesn't matter for me (as long as I don't have an insane input lag who can really impact my gameplay negatively, It's fine for me), I want to play competitive FPS games the more fluid possible, that's my prioriry / what I prefer.

I want more consistency in term of input lag, (having 200+fps and then 150 because 6 ennemies are jumping / rushing / pushing yous make the input lag bigger when the fps drop even if you're always above your refresh rate in term of fps, so your aim can be very slighly negatively affected by the small difference in input lag caused by the fps drops, correct me if I'm wrong but that's what I've read).

The negative point of capping fps It's to add a little more input lag but for me, I prefer to land a little more shots and to have a little more input lag, unless maybe I play a very short-range game with a lot of weapon spread so input lag is more important here, and maybe capping fps in this kind of game will not result in a sligtly better accuracy so having less input lap in short range fights, with or without big weapons spread can potentially improve the kdr (kill/death ratio'), maybe in those situations uncapping fps is better here to do slighly better games in term of eliminations, and a little less deaths potentially.

Also, I want to lower the blur to the maximum possible but I'm on a low budget, that's why I made this topic even if I'm not really talking about blur reduction right now, I just share my entry in the pc gaming world so maybe you can give me advices since I only play on pc for a little less than a year now.

So now, I very rarely have drops in the 130-140fps, because I use Spotify to listen music and also I have one of more small idle games running in the background (they use less than 10% of CPU usage and less than 500mb of RAM).

Also I use a standby list cleaner to free the small amounts of unused RAM for gaming when needed (since I only have 8gb of RAM for almost a year, 8gb was enought for 720p and 900p resolution for my light games who don't require a lot of RAM to work, but in 1080p I had some crashes because of a lack of RAM availiable while playing Overwatch without the small software to clear the RAM in standby, now since the RAM in standby can be free to be used in games when needed I don't have crashes anymore thanks to the " ram standby cleaner ".

Also, I want to play some games who requires more than 8gb of RAM to be played in 1280*720p or above like Forza Horizon 4, also I played Destiny 2 in 1080p with low graphics (I really liked the colours and the graphics in general in this game), I was able to run the game at 100 to 110fps during light teamfights but I had drops in the 70fps, with freesync It's okay for me but I suspect my 8gb of RAM to limit my FPS a little.
I mean, with 16gb of RAM instead of only 8, on some more demanding games, having more RAM can probably improve the stability of fps so instead of the 70-110fps I have in Destiny 2 I will maybe have 80-90fps to 110 with 16gb ram instead of 8, with a better fps stability so a better fps on average.


(I buyed 16gb of DDR4 RAM @2933mhz today to run some other games because I can't run some games with only 8gb of RAM since Windows 10 takes a couple of Gb of RAM, I can't play some games even in 720p like Forza Horizon 4, even with a small software to clear the RAM used in standby, even with nothing running in the background, no social media application or even an application to listen music)


To come back to the initial topic, I finally buyed the BenQ XL2411P because I have a low budget and there is an utility (the Blur Buster strobe utility) to adjust motion blur and brightness, I'm currently on a TN panel (HP 22x) and with a little of color/digital vibrance I already find the colors really beautiful in-game. So I will still play on an other TN panel with my new monitor that I will receive in a couple of days (the BenQ XL2411P, but this time I will be able to lower the motion blur contrary to my actual monitor the HP 22x).

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