50hz or 100hz?

[Thomas H]

Hey everyone.

So, this is probably a question that has been answered before. And I do hope I'm not annoying anyone here, but...

I've recently purchased a Samsung UE49KU6470SXXN. I'll be picking up it up soon, since we're moving in a few weeks.

Now, I've been told a lot that the difference between 50hz vs 100hz isn't that big as it was 5 years ago. The tv looked great in the showroom. However, part of me is worrying a little bit.

Is it still really important to have a 100hz panel? Or is a 50hz panel in a tv like the Samsung I bought still going to give me a smooth motion experience? The reviews I find online are quite promising.

 

[dts]

All screen's have a native 50htz refresh rate...it's the software that different tv manufacturers use...but this can also have what's known as the "Soap opera" effect...Sony have nailed motion handling over the last 20 years.

 

[Thomas H]

Ah ok. So there's a good chance that my old Philips 32PFL3258 is also actually a 50hz instead of a 100hz as advertised?

 

[EndlessWaves]

All screen's have a native 50htz refresh rate...

That's incorrect, many of the higher end panels can display 100 (or occasionally 200) images per second.

The source material is only 50hz though, so you don't need a faster panel for an accurate representation of the content.

 

[Vaolis]

Whether it's important to have a 100 Hz panel or not is difficult to say.

There's no native 100/120 Hz content, at least not yet, so you'll only benefit from the native 100/120 Hz panel by using the frame interpolation (MCFI) modes provided by the manufacturers (Motionflow, Auto Motion Plus, etc.). Personally I don't notice any difference between a 50/60 Hz and a 100/120 Hz panel when watching TV, as long as MCFI is disabled. Although I've heard people claim motion is supposed to look smoother on a 100/120 Hz panel, I can't confirm. I also dislike the soap opera effect so I usually turn it off anyway. In my opinion it's more important that the panel itself delivers clean motion with low response times. OLED would be the best choice

Samsung TVs usually don't have judder-free 24p playback when the TV only has a 50/60 Hz panel, Sonys on the other hand still do. For whatever reason. If that's important to you and you're sensitive to the mild judder it may not be the best choice for blu-rays.

I'd just give it a shot. Watch all the content you would normally watch and see if you like it or not. If you're not satisfied you can always see if you can exchange it and upgrade to another model with a 100 Hz panel.

 

[Thomas H]

Thanks for the info guys!!

I'll be picking up the tv in 4 weeks, so we'll see what happens. Found some settings on here from a member who has a tv in the same range, and this member has experienced no jutter or motion issues.

 

[choddo]

Having a screen that can refresh at 100Hz or more (120 is better, multiple of 24) does mean it's less likely you'll get smear effects as the image moves quickly (the 100Hz screen would display the same
frame twice or you can opt for blanking the screen with some TVs motion handling options) but I think most 50Hz panels have reduced that dramatically these days.