120Hz LCD TV - The Facts

As it is the case with other features, 120Hz is a buzzword to catch your eye, and give you the sensation it actually offers an improvement over the regular LCD TV. Manufacturers have a long history of using buzzwords and numbers in their favor in order to increase profit. In the case of LCD TVs, 120Hz seems to do this as well. Manufacturers have used contrast ratio numbers, myths and rumors in their favor. If a certain feature proved better or just plain useless was not that important as long as that feature coupled with marketing could increase profits. This approach applies to artificially grown contrast ratios (e.g. 1,000,000:1), viewing angles and this article’s topic, 120Hz refresh rate.

120Hz Is Supposed to Address a Problem

LCD displays as opposed to plasma, CRT, rear-projection TVs and other display types have always had lower refresh rates (higher response times). Because of this, LCD TVs have had poorer performances displaying fast moving content like sports, movies, games and basically anything that involved a fast moving object in the picture. Though the newest LCD TVs and monitors benefit from much improved response times, they are still not quite as great as plasma TVs in this area. To address this problem, manufacturers have implemented 120Hz support in some of the newer LCD TVs. 120Hz LCD TV models are supposed to be great at displaying fast moving scenes, keeping the picture sharp and eliminating that motion-blur that used to appear around the edges of the fast moving objects. At least that’s the theory, anyway. In practice however, things don’t seem to be quite as impressive.

An 120Hz LCD TV is not better Than a Plasma TV

While manufacturers want you to think that 120Hz LCD TV models are great and if you buy one you don’t have to worry about blurry images, the reality is that this new breed of LCD TV doesn’t offer significant improvement. As always, you should go for quality and buy a high-end LCD TV. That way you have a better chance of getting good quality. Relying on “120Hz” isn’t going to help you get a better TV. There are already LCD TV models that perform very well with fast moving content, even though they are not as great as plasma TVs. The truth is 120Hz isn’t really the Holy Grail of response time. It does seem to make fast moving images a bit sharper, but just a bit.

But, is it Useful for Something?

Though 120Hz seems to be almost useless, and most people think it’s supposed to make the picture sharper, its real purpose is totally different. 120Hz has the theoretical advantage to allow 24FPS (Frames per Second) content to be displayed correctly. In case you are wondering why, the reason is that 120 is a multiple of 24 while 60 (usual refresh rate) is not a multiple of 24. This 24 FPS mode is available on Blu-Ray disks that allow content to be played in 1080p/24 mode. While some will prefer to use this mode, others will dislike it and most will probably be indifferent towards which mode they use to see movies.

120Hz or Not, 1080p/24 Content Could Still Look Bad

As you have probably noticed, in the previous paragraph I used the term “theoretical advantage”. The reason is that many LCD TV models (as well as plasma TVs) aren’t able to display movies in 1080p/24 mode without introducing image artifacts. Even with an 120Hz LCD, if the video processing system can’t handle 1080p/24 properly, you get artifacts. Same story goes with a plasma TV. There are both LCD TV as well as plasma TV models that can play 1080p/24 content without any problems, but there are also models that are so bad at this that make a movie played in 1080p/24 mode unwatchable. In conclusion, you must find a review that tells you whether or not the particular TV you are interested in can play 1080p/24 content smoothly. Just the presence of “120Hz” feature in the specifications sheet doesn’t mean it can actually handle 1080p/24 well, or for that matter give you any advantage whatsoever.

Is an 120Hz LCD TV Worth the Money?

This is not the question you should be asking yourself! The correct question must involve two distinct products. 120Hz LCD TVs taken generally are not better than non-120Hz models. Each distinct LCD TV can be better or worse than other LCD TV, and you must refer to a specific model in order to categorize it as a winner or looser. The 120Hz technology itself does not make a model to be great. It is a combination of features and qualities that makes an LCD TV great. You must read reviews or see two models side by side in the right conditions in order to make the correct decision. However, the high-end LCD TV models tend to come with 120Hz. Because they are high-end, and not necessarily because they have 120Hz, they offer very good quality.