LCD IS 120 hz really that different?

[psomers]

Hey Guys.
I want to pick up another LCD. I want 1080p, but is 120 hz really that different. I have a 32 in Samsung 60hz and it has a beautiful picture. Due to my cabinet size I am looking for a 37, and I am not sure the difference in price of 120 hz is worth it. I have a PS2 , but don't really game a lot. Games look fine now, but is it really more noticeable with bluray? I don't know anyone with both 120 and blu so any suggestions would be appreciated. All lcds I am looking at are higher end for their size, so the picture quality sould be good. These are the 2 I am looking at.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=146350&i=05240XF550&tp=161

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=146350&i=305LN37550&tp=161

Please give some input.
Thanks .
Paul

[mule]

For watching chick flicks you would never see a difference.

For sports or action with fast camera panning the 120 is definately better. There is no pixelation of background detail.

But in the end I still couldn't justify $3500 on a Sony xbr, its awsome just not twice as awsome as the regular 1080p sony.

[dylanblada]

At this stage it is completly worth it. All you have to do is watch Cars on Bluray and see the 3D effect and you'll understand. It completly blew me away when I first saw a 120HZ set (I hadn't heard about it yet). And yes the action is much smoother in many cases. Go for it. Either one will be great.

[billbillw]

The real difference with 120Hz, is having a proper mulitple of 24Hz to display 24p from Bluray.

60Hz TVs have to do 3:2 pulldown to get 24p to display at 60Hz. That requires frame interpolation and can cause artifacts.

120Hz TVs can just repeat 5 frames (5:5 pulldown) to display 24p. No frame interpolation is needed. Of course, there were some early 120Hz sets that did not actually do this. They did 3:2 pulldown to get 60fps then doubled it to get 120Hz. Toshiba and some others did this.

There are some TVs who display 24p at 48Hz or 72Hz (Pioneer Plasma comes to mind), so it really depends on the TV. To make things more complicated, its usually not easy to find out how the TV handles 24p. There is often a lot of dis-information around the subject.

The faster refresh rate does help with LCD lag/smearing with fast moving scenes, but the difference is not that noticeable in my experience.

[Marty913]

The real difference with 120Hz, is having a proper mulitple of 24Hz to display 24p from Bluray.

60Hz TVs have to do 3:2 pulldown to get 24p to display at 60Hz. That requires frame interpolation and can cause artifacts.

120Hz TVs can just repeat 5 frames (5:5 pulldown) to display 24p. No frame interpolation is needed. Of course, there were some early 120Hz sets that did not actually do this. They did 3:2 pulldown to get 60fps then doubled it to get 120Hz. Toshiba and some others did this.

There are some TVs who display 24p at 48Hz or 72Hz (Pioneer Plasma comes to mind), so it really depends on the TV. To make things more complicated, its usually not easy to find out how the TV handles 24p. There is often a lot of dis-information around the subject. The faster refresh rate does help with LCD lag/smearing with fast moving scenes, but the difference is not that noticeable in my experience.

+1 to this, great answers. The two models you mentioned have another major consideration (IMO) and that's the screen size. Yes, the Toshiba is $800 more for the 120Hz (and it does do 5:5 pull down) BUT the Toshiba is also a 40" versus the Samsung's 37". I think that makes it a closer call. If you compare the 120Hz Samsung LN40A650 40" to the Toshiba the difference is only $100. I realize it doesn't answer the basic question as to whether 120 is worth the extra money but you really should compare similar screen sizes to get the true differences.

I personally would choose the maximum screen size my viewing area and wallet could support, and then look at the added cost of 120 within the brands I found offered the quality I wanted. Easy to say, maybe not so easy to do.

[MADGSF]

What Bill said about the fast moving sceens smearing. I thought that Sony would be my next TV until I saw a football game being played on one. Maybe the signal was weak but the Plasma TVs did nto have that issue.