2mg wrote: ↑03 Jun 2026, 16:13
1. So LFC is "semi-decoupled" from VRR?
It's not decoupled. It's part of VRR. In other words, LFC is a VRR feature. Well, perhaps it's more correct to say LFC is a G-sync and Freesync feature.
2. It's really the driver the one that dictates LFC behavior, not the monitor?
Without a g-sync module, it's the driver. With a g-sync module, it's the monitor.
3. Would LFC would even kick in at say 10FPS (x6 to 60Hz), or is there also a minimum range where even LFC stops working?
Yes, LFC will always multiply so that the refresh rate is within VRR range. 10FPS will become 50Hz or more.
4. Slightly off-topic, but now displays have variable OD, but on older ones you'd rather have LFC kick in ASAP (aka even on 120FPS) to hit panels max Hz since overdrive was usually just tuned for that max Hz, correct?
Probably. This was never an issue with native g-sync module monitors. They all have variable OD. I'm not sure displays without a g-sync module have variable OD even now though
1. This would also include regular strobing ala ELMB when FPS<=2xHz or more, ala 60FPS on 120Hz/240hz, because that is 2/4 strobes per 1 frame?
If it strobes, of it does BFI, and the FPS doesn't match strobe rate, you get a double-image.
2. I've an ELMB Sync monitor, aka VRR strobed (setting aside that ELMB Sync looks not-good, at least on this monitor), so when <60FPS I'll get FPS=2xHz mismatch aka frame doubling artifact, right?
Yes.
3. OTOH if this panel actually could do non-LFC VRR + ELMB Sync down to 48FPS, I presume that would flicker like crazy?
Yes, if indeed it strobes at 48FPS. But I don't think it does.
5. I can have VRR+ELMB Sync ON, but monitor OSD allows me to change Overdrive, however, no change occurs if I change it, is this a bug or intended?
No idea. Normally it should have an effect on strobe crosstalk. If it doesn't, then it means the setting is ignored and they simply forgot to gray it out and make it unchangable when ELMB is on.
By ghosting differences on LCDs do you mean with VRR but low or very unstable FPS on one single LCD, or just plain panel ghosting differences between LCDs in general?
Differences in ghosting at different refresh rates due to lack of variable OD, or badly implemented variable OD.
I have to tie in another questions here - you say that scanout is always 1/MaxHz (1/240 in my case):
1. Just to double check, lets say the game is 120fps locked, but VRR is on and the display is 240hz, that means that a single frame is displayed in 4ms, but is being held/displayed for 8ms, OR it's being double scanned 2 times x 4ms?
2. VRR will never slow down the scanout, at least when if it's in max Hz mode?
3. What about when it's set to 120Hz mode, is the scanout 1/240 or 1/120?
In VRR mode, the scanout speed is always fixed. It matches the current mode's refresh rate. No matter what the frame rate is, each frame is being scanned out in 4.2ms. After the scanout finishes, the display does nothing, meaning the frame stays on the screen as-is, until the next one is ready to be scanned out. If the next frame takes too long to arrive, then the current frame gets scanned out again (this is LFC.)
4. I still don't fully grasp why variable OD is needed if the scanout is always at max speed, the frame is just held/displayed longer or shorter depending on when the next frame comes, and the next frame can't be faster than current scanout anyway (if GSYNC+VYSNC+Reflex=ON)?
Overdrive is a voltage manipulation to the LCD pixels. The voltage alters the color of the pixels over time. If the incorrect voltage is applied to a pixel for a longer or shorter period than what was intended, the pixel will change its color to something that was not intended. This results in ghosting.
Variable OD needs to have some sort of prediction algorithm so it knows beforehand how long it will take for the next frame to arrive so that it doesn't overshoot or undershoot the voltage. This is a difficult thing to implement and also requires some processing power. The g-sync module can do it, but I guess most scalers used in monitors without a module might not be fast enough to do it.
And since we are talking about the double image/strobe issue, my question is why is that visible at all (with CRT, strobing...), do our eyes simply see that the image is duplicated because there is a flicker between repetition or is there something else involved?
It happens for the same reason why sample-and-hold displays without strobing have more motion blur the lower the frame rate gets. Your eyes are tracking what your brain thinks is continuous movement. So your eyes move smoothly and continuously to track the "moving" object. But there is no continuous movement on a screen. It's just a series of static images.
On sample-and-hold displays, when a new frame is being displayed, your eyes keep moving even though the image is static. When your eyes move while something is static, that gets perceived as a blur trail by your brain. The same thing happens when your eyes don't move but the object moves (in real life.) If you don't track a moving object with eyes as it moves, you see it have blur trail as it moves across your field of vision. Whether it's the object that moves and your eyes don't or vice versa, the result is the same: motion blur. To prevent this blur trail, the screen must turn black until the next frame arrives. Which what CRTs do (or backlight strobing, or BFI.)
When strobing, your eyes do the same thing. They move across the screen trying to track what looks like a moving object. But then the image disappears because the screen turns black. When the screen is black, your eyes keep moving, so you're now looking at a new position on the screen that's slightly ahead of where the object was. Then the screen lights up again, but it shows the same image as before (because it doubled the same frame, like 60FPS@120Hz.) So now your eyes are looking ahead of where the object was, but the object didn't move and so you see it slightly behind in your field of vision. You perceive this as a copy of the object, trailing behind the first position of the object in your FOV. The more times the same frame is shown, the more copies of it you'll see. 60@120Hz creates a double image, 40FPS@120Hz a triple image, 30FPS@120Hz a quadruple image, and so on.
This is all caused by persistence of vision. It takes some time for an image to disappear from your brain, and as a result all these effects are happening when viewing animation on a screen that consists of a series of static frames. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_of_vision