Tv what does hz mean

Some TVs let you choose how much of this processing gets applied to the image, others have just a single setting.

More on these settings further down. The other alternative is black frame insertion BFI or a scanning backlight. This is where all or part of the backlight of the TV turns off goes black. This effectively means the image doesn't "hold" in place, so your brain doesn't blur it. Do it poorly, however, and many people will see the image flicker. The light output of the TV also drops, as it's not outputting any light for a period of time.

Both of these techniques are what manufacturers use to come up with their "effective refresh rate" numbers. For example, a TV with a 60Hz refresh and a scanning backlight might claim to have an effective refresh rate of A TV with a more elaborate BFI mode, and frame interpolation, might have a claimed effective refresh rate of " It's also possible these features, when enabled, are bothersome over time.

Some people are especially sensitive to a flickering backlight, so you might need to turn these features off. If you're concerned about that, or notice motion blur, it's best to find a TV that actually has a Hz refresh rate. There are two things at play here. The first is simple, and one we've said many times before: don't trust marketing.

At least, don't trust it at face value. Marketing is designed to sell you a product, not give you information about a product. That's secondary. The second is being able to reduce motion blur. When Hz p TVs first hit the market, they offered a noticeable improvement in motion resolution. The technology has only gotten better.

But if you're sensitive to motion blur, or you want to get the most from your Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 , it is worth checking for a true Hz TV. It would be a shame to let all that extra 4K resolution go to waste due to blur. It's also worth checking reviews for measurements and subjective takes on how the TV handles motion -- that's more useful than any manufacturer-supplied spec. Note: This article was originally published in but has been updated regularly since.

Got a question for Geoff? Still have a question? He also thinks you should check out his best-selling sci-fi novel about city-sized submarines and its sequel. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. And you can guess how many times a Hz screen can refresh.

With videos or video game graphics, this is expressed as frames per second fps. Movies typically run at 24 frames per second because it's a theatrical standard, while many games can run at up to fps. Just to confuse you more, manufacturers sometimes list the touch response rate or touch sample rate for touchscreen displays, which is also measured in hertz.

This number relates to how often the touchscreen scans for a touch from your finger. The higher the touch response rate, the faster it responds to your touch. A higher refresh rate allows a phone's display to keep up with gaming action and reduces motion blur on video, but it can also make navigating around the interface feel more responsive than it would on a display with a lower refresh rate.

Games look less choppy during frenetic action, video footage of fast-paced sports action appears smoother, and any jerkiness scrolling a long web page is reduced. To get the full benefit of a high refresh rate, you also need a high frame rate, and ideally, the two match. The cost is often your battery life. Refreshing the image on a display more times per second requires more battery power. Processing power is also needed to run graphics at a higher frame rate.

Processors have improved enormously, but battery life is still limited on smartphones. For that reason, most phones with high refresh rates do not run at the highest rate all the time. Higher refresh rates first came to smartphones with the gaming-focused Razer Phone , but manufacturers like Samsung, OnePlus, and Google have since adopted them in flagship devices like the Galaxy S21 series and the Pixel 5. The benefits of a high refresh rate for a TV or monitor are much the same as for a smartphone.

The onscreen action should appear smoother, and the image can appear sharper. Especially with competitive PC gaming, titles often excurse well above 60fps, and many modern gaming monitors will offer Hz or even Hz refresh rates in order to capture the best gaming experience. While a Hz TV isn't necessarily the perfect display to pair with a PC game, it's going to handle things much better than a 60 Hz option.

I wish I could say it was as simple as checking a spec sheet, but refresh rates are often represented in a confusing manner. For at least the last decade, TV manufacturers have implemented so-called " motion interpolation ," sometimes called motion smoothing, motion assistance, or the " soap opera effect.

Keep in mind that this kind of interpolation, while available in some form on almost every TV, doesn't have anything to do with whether the TV is a 60 Hz or a Hz model. And while some types of content can certainly benefit from these modes, they aren't the same thing as a hardware-level refresh rate.

Manufacturers often list refresh rates on TV product pages, but you should always cross-reference with professional reviews and sites like Amazon or Best Buy. However, there are ways to find out a TV's true refresh rate. Spec sheets on sites like Amazon and Best Buy often list real refresh rates, and often times manufacturers' product pages are reliable too.

But if a manufacturer lists an "effective" refresh rate, the TV's actual native refresh rate is usually half of the advertised effective rate, and other factors—like smoothing and backlight scanning—are sometimes used to multiply refresh rates into higher and higher numbers, such as " Hz. Ultimately, your best bet is to check out unbiased sources like enthusiast forums and professional reviews— here's a good place to start. We'll help you find the best stuff and love the stuff you own.

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