Screen technology is changing fast, and with these developments, we get more quality experiences when we watch the content or play a game. One of those things that affect this quality is the panel refresh rate.
The different refresh rates on a screen give out different quality in different scenarios.
It is one of the most important things to consider when buying a new screen. We will talk about what is the panel refresh rate.
Read: What Is Smart HDR?
What Is Panel Refresh Rate?
When you see visuals on your screen, you actually see constantly updating pixels to display the latest content from the panel of the screen processor you are using.
The trick here is that these panels update the pixels at a regular interval. There is a limit as to how many intervals there can be, and these intervals are known as refresh rates.
The higher the refresh rate, you see a smoother and more realistic view.
In simpler terms, refresh rates are the number of different visuals you see per second, making the content either smoother or slower.
The technology started with 60 Hz, but now there is a variety of different refresh rates, and all of them have their own differences that give you a better experience.
We recommend choosing 60-inch TV, 90-inch TV , and 100-inch TV for an enhanced refresh rate.
Also Read: What Is UHD?
Also Read: What Is QLED?
Different Types of Refresh Rates Explained
We measure these refresh rates at hertz (Hz), and the Hz rates you see are the numbers a screen can display and refresh every second.
To start, 60 Hz was one of the first to come out, along with 30 Hz and 60 Hz can refresh 60 times per second, and 30 Hz can refresh 30 times per second.
The latest Hz technologies are 120 Hz and 180 Hz. 120 Hz is the most common nowadays, and as you can imagine, it refreshes twice as fast as 60 Hz and four times faster than 30 Hz per second.
If you are using a higher Hz, this means lower latency since the rate of refreshment of the pixels is higher.
60Hz vs 144Hz vs 240Hz
Is It Worth having a High Refresh Rate?
When you are purchasing a mobile phone, television, or monitor, you will encounter their Hertz rates, and you will see that lower Hz rates are cheaper than those with higher Hz.
You might wonder whether it would be worth having a higher Hz screen, or do you need it for specific purposes?
If you are only watching content, most content is in 60 Hz because of the camera technologies, but if you are thinking about playing games, 120 or even 180 Hz would be your best choice.
At this point, it would be worth paying the excess amount because there is a massive difference between 60 Hz and higher refresh rate screens if you are playing games or dealing with other stuff that supports higher rates.
Also Read What Is Dolby Vision Technology?
Advantages of Higher Refresh Rate
A higher refresh rate is especially useful to those who love playing video games.
If you have a monitor having a refresh rate of 60Hz, then it will have a hard time catching up with fast-paced games.
On the other hand, monitors with a refresh rate of 120Hz can match up to the speed of fast-paced games and make the experience better for you.
A higher refresh rate can eliminate blurring to a large extent, which makes not only gaming more fun but can also help you in enjoying sports or action movies.
What Is An Ideal Refresh Rate For a Tv?
TVs most commonly have two types of refresh rates 60Hz and 120Hz.
TVs having 120 Hz ideally cost more because a 120Hz of refresh rate is usually found in high-end TVs or TVs having expensive hardware and software.
Samsung and TCL, in 2022, even launched Tvs having 144Hz native refresh rates. This has been in some computers for a year now.
But as far as TVs are concerned, many people choose the ones having a refresh rate of 60Hz or 120Hz.
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Does screen refresh rate actually matter?
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Difference Between Refresh Rate & Frame Rate
Refresh rate denotes the number of frames of a video in a second that a tv or monitor can display.
In contrast, the frame rate is used to describe the playback speed in seconds of a video or any piece of content.
A frame rate is denoted using fps (frames per second). So a frame rate that divides the video content into frames per second will make a video much smoother in terms of viewing quality.
Difference Between Effective Refresh Rate & Native Refresh Rate
Different types of TV brands come with different types of TV technologies that can enhance the motion handling and refresh rate.
So native refresh rate is something that a tv can produce on its own, and either it is 60Hz or 120Hz.
The effective refresh rate, on the other hand, is something that tv can produce by using a brand’s motion handling technology, and this is 240Hz-480Hz.
Rate on Monitors
The performance of a computer’s monitor is dependent on the graphic engine that the console or PC has or on the console or PC, it is connected to.
This means that the maximum achievable refresh rate is the rate that is listed on the monitor.
On average, a monitor has a refresh rate of 120Hz, and some monitors also have a refresh rate of 144Hz.
Gaming monitors can produce up to 390Hz of refresh rate, and in the future, this will go up to 540Hz.
Refresh Rate On Projectors
Projectors are great for enjoying movies, gaming, and other things on the biggest possible size. Earlier, projectors had a refresh rate of only 30 Hz.
But the latest projectors are made to match the refresh rate of a tv or monitor and go from 60Hz to 120 Hz.
So what is the refresh rate of a projector dependent on? It is dependent on the projector’s built-in technology, and for gaming, they are dependent on input lag.
The Verdict
To conclude, panel refresh rate is the number of pixels a screen can refresh in a second. The higher this refresh rate, the better quality you will have on your screen.
Each different refresh rate offers different quality and whether you want to have a higher Hz depends on your needs with your screen.
FAQ’s
What is a fake refresh rate?
Many Tv companies market their TVs with a flowery refresh rate name which makes it look like the tv has a higher refresh rate when in reality, that is not the case.
For example, Samsung uses the term “Motion rate,” LG uses “TrueMotion,” Sony, “MotionFlow,” and so on.
So they would market their TVs by using a term like “Motion rate of 120Hz” when in reality, the refresh rate is only 60Hzs. Make sure you check the actual refresh rate while buying a TV.
What is variable refresh rate?
The frame rate in a source is not always constant, especially in the case of video games. So when the refresh rate drops, it can lead to broken pixels.
This happens because the refresh rate of your tv and video game is not able to catch up with each other.
So the feature called variable refresh rate or VRR is used to match the frame rate and refresh rate on the go.
So when the refresh rate of the video game drops, the tv would lower its refresh rate too, and vice versa.
However, this thing can only work if both the tv and the video games support the VRR feature.
What is better 60Hz or 120Hz?
The refresh rate is directly proprtional to smoothness of the screen.
So a refresh rate of 120 Hz means the display updates itself 120 times in a second, whereas, in a 60 Hz tv, the display updates itself only 60 times in a second.
So definitely, a higher refresh rate is better and gives you a better viewing experience.
Amit Gupta is the founder of National Planning Cycles, a company that helps startups, individuals, and small businesses with their financial planning. He has a vast amount of experience in the finance sector, having managed Google Play accounts for some of the world’s most successful unicorns. Amit is an expert in his field, and he uses his knowledge to help others achieve their individual goals.