In today’s world, technology advances are the daily norm. Yet, one could not help but wonder whether all these new technologies are a necessary item or they are just part of a marketing technique. So it seems to be the case with 120Hz (and 240Hz for that matter) LCD HDTVs, which are considered, by manufacturers, at least, to be a step up from previous models, regular LCD HDTVs. But how can we find out if 120Hz is just a buzzword, meant to increase sales, by having people believe that the improvement is there, or a real revolution in watching HDTV? The question is not exactly a simple one, as many features are known to have been introduced just for the marketing sake, and not for the customers desiring a better products. Just to have an idea about such marketing techniques, think about contrast ratio, which now reaches up to 2,000,000:1, or incredible viewing angles, that customers do not really have to care for. The thing with 120Hz technology actually deals more with LCD manufacturers’ need to be on par with those that sell plasma HDTVs (which are known to be better, although more expensive) rather with an actual need from customers’ part.

What’s Refresh Rate Got to Do With It?

As with other buzzwords used in the HDTV world, 120Hz is not used hazardously. It is advertised as being able to solve a problem that LCD HDTVs have had for a very long time. Even when compared with CRT TVs, or rear projection models, not only with the competitive plasmas, LCD TVs sport lower response times. This means that watching fast moving scenes, like a football game or an action movie will not be the best experience, as the high response time affects the way the images are displayed on the screen. While many could not complain that much about such an issue, others may praise plasma for being far better in this field. Here where our buzzword, 120Hz, comes into play. It should ensure that fast moving content is displayed properly, without any blur, projecting a sharp nice looking image. Does it deliver? The practical results show that 120Hz LCD TV manufacturers should descend off their high horses.

Still Behind Plasma TV

While 120Hz LCD HDTV models do offer some improvement over models that do not have such a feature, when compared with plasma TVs, the difference still stands. Advertisers and advocates of 120Hz will try to talk you into buying their stuff, claiming that blurry images will no longer hurt your favorite sports content, but do not let yourself fooled. Whether you buy a 120Hz model or not, with the new generations of LCD TVs, you can have a decent experience with fast moving content, and without having to pay extra for a buzzword used by marketeers. It is true that these newer LCD HDTV models cannot hold ground in face of plasma TVs, yet, but, on the other hand, neither does 120Hz. Truth be told, some improvement is noticeable in terms of better response times for 120Hz models, but no more.

The key fact here is that refresh rate has nothing to do with how crisp fast moving images are. The factor that influences this, is response time. Refresh rate is an artificial measure (generated by the video processing subsystem) while response time is a physical limit of the display. That is, a display can have 50Hz, 60Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz, 200Hz, 240Hz or even higher refresh rate, or any value in between (theoretically). The response time however, is a limit and there is only one response time that a display has. In the case of an LCD, it is between 2ms up to 15ms, with the most common these days being around 5ms. A plasma TV on the other hand has a response time of 0.01ms. That is why plasma HDTVs perform better – their limit is lower (they are faster).

Is it Any Good?

From what we have learned so far, it seems that 120Hz does not do any increase in performance of an LCD HDTV. This may not be entirely true, as its major role, (while not increasing significantly the display of sharper images) is to display 24 frames per second content in a correct way, according to its advocates. Theoretically, LCD TVs with 120Hz frequency should be able to display 24 FPS video content, which is a mode used with Blu Ray discs, considered the be all the rage these days. No wonder that LCD manufacturers searched for a way to get ahead competitive plasmas, by stating that 120HZ LCDs are capable to render video content in 1080p/24 mode. If this is truly the case, we will see right away.

What 120Hz Truly Does for 1080p/24

Disappointment strikes once more, as many LCDs, and many of plasma models, as well, cannot render 1080p/24 mode, without having trouble delivering perfect image. They produce, when run in this mode, so called image artifacts, which hinder a truly awesome movie experience for the watchers. It is all about the video processing system, and if this is not capable of handling 1080p/24 mode as it should, then artifacts problems appear, ruining the final result. The thing is that some LCD models, and plasma models, are truly capable of playing 24 FPS format content with no problem, whatsoever, but, if you buy one model that cannot manage to do so, you will only end up with poorly displayed images, damaged by artifacts (note that this happens only when watching Blu-Ray in 1080p/24 mode). Now, turning to the matter at hand, not every LCD model with 120Hz attached to its name, can deliver proper quality for such content, so do not let yourself fooled by these advertising traps, and always take your research one step further. While 120Hz (or any refresh rate that is a multiple of 24) meets the basic requirement for displaying 1080p/24 smoothly, it is not enough. The TV also needs video processing that can handle this type of content correctly and without flicker.

Price versus Performance

Usually, each time a manufacturer comes up with a new product, they will try to convince you that that is it, and you have to buy it, because you will find no better. With so many products invading the market each day, it is hard to believe that each new one comes with some ground shaking breakthrough of technology. What we are truly able to tell you is that some 120Hz LCD models can be better than those that do not come with this feature, but it is far from being a general rule. Under these circumstances, we can easily say that 120Hz is dangerously close to being a feature creep, without adding too much value to LCD technology as a whole. Only comparing different models and searching for that one product that can satisfy your particular needs in a HDTV can bring you close enough to buying a competitive quality. One thing is sure: if you are looking for quality, search for high end products, and see 120Hz technology only as merely a bonus, if that is the case.