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Re-activateAt CES, at least two companies, LG and Toshiba, are touting new LCD TV models with "480Hz" technology, seemingly upping the ante on efforts to reduce or eliminate motion blur during fast-moving scenes.
Similar to the way they've approached 240Hz technology, both these companies are combining actual increases in the TV's frame rate (motion estimation-motion compensation) with a scanning (flashing) backlight to create a 480Hz effect. The key question, of course, is whether 480Hz offers a noticeable improvement in performance over 240Hz technology—and whether it will be worth buying a high-priced TV to get it.
We'll certainly test this new feature when these TVs are released, but remember that the improvements we've seen with 240Hz technology are most evident on our test patterns, not standard TV programs or movies. It's even possible that these technologies might introduce some artifacts we find more objectionable than slight motion blur.
Stay tuned for more detailed reports on 480Hz and some of the other new technologies we're seeing here at CES.
—James K. Willcox
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