Recently unveiled at IFA last August, 100hz televisions made a significant splash with a jaded audience literally overrun with video files. Is a 100hz or even a 200hz lcd tv right for you? Should you be investigating the possibilities?
Well, yes. 100hz lcd tvs coming to the market from a number of manufacturers including Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic may represent the next, and possibly step in the development of LCD and plasma flat-screen televisions, pushing the boundaries of high definition video in entertainment.
Why? Because, whether you're really aware of it or not, flat-panel televisions are already taking the source material coming through the cable, satellite dish, or air waves and actually making them look better. This is done through a complex algorithm processed in the TV which effectively adds frames to what you're watching. This reduces blur and other minor distortions in the images, especially with objects in rapid motion.
There was a time when only the very nerdiest videophiles cared about these issues, but with the product cycle pushing onward, more people than ever have relatively large flat-panel LCD or plasma televisions. The upshot of this is a consumer base that's more demanding because it notices every little flaw or problem in the product, including the blurs often associated with large high-definition TVs. In spite of early industry efforts to rectify this, the blurring effects still persist. 100hz and 200hz LCD and plasma TVs ostensibly exist to solve these problems to the satisfaction of even the most discriminating consumer.
100hz LCD and plasma TVs fill in the space between frames with even more frames, extrapolating even more images or frames between frames actually sent in the source material. The effect is especially apparent while watching sporting events like football or soccer in which the rapid motion of the ball can be difficult to discern on traditional TVs or even 50hz TVs.
The higher frame rate tends to make everything sharper, making even more detail and resolution pop out at the viewer. The effort here is to push all those thousands of pixels on the screen as far as they'll go in delivering a sharp, clean image.
200hz LCD and plasma TVs push this effort even further, providing over four times as many fill-in images than the old 50hz models. Initially introduced by Sony at the same IFA last August, many were skeptical. But, according to many, the differences are real, and not just when sitting a few inches away. Granted, attendees saw these images very close, which may bias the apparent results of comparisons. Also, the manufacturers selected the sample videos that would show off the new feature to the greatest effect.
To find out for yourself whether kicking up the hz in your LCD or plasma purchase would really make enough of a difference to justify the expense, there's really no better way to find out than to watch before you buy, an essential shopping tip for HD equipment that will never go out of style.
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