LED Refresh Rate 101

LED Refresh Rate 101

Worcester | 2023

What is meant by ‘LED refresh rate’? It’s basically the amount of times a static image is displayed on the screen per second. It is the speed of the refresh rate that puts the static image into motion. A higher rate results in a smoother, crisper image.

Think back to those animation flip-books you may have had as a child. In those books, each page displayed a static image, differing slightly from the one on the page before it. If you flipped through the pages slowly, you would simply see a series of static images. But, if you flipped through the pages quickly, your brain’s perception of the images became animated. That is the same principle as the refresh rate!

Refresh rate is expressed in Hertz (Hz) as a unit. Some common high-definition ratings for LED video walls are 1920Hz, 3840Hz, and  most recently, 7680Hz. A 1920Hz rate dramatically enhances image quality. It contributes to the clarity and contrast of the image and smooth, long-time viewing. Some devices to apply a 1920Hz rate are LED screens for indoor and outdoor, advertising, and LCDs for gaming monitors. The 3840Hz rate is considered to be industry-leading and applied to most LED screen types now, including LCDs for gaming laptops or computers. The 7680Hz rate best suits LED displays for broadcasting. With this highest refresh rate level, it ensures an ultimately vivid, clear, flicker-free, top-quality display with smooth images and videos transitions. What makes this highest refresh rate possible is the equipment used in creating and manufacturing the whole device. 7680Hz is achievable through specific hardware, high-quality driver IC, PCB designs, and high-quality software, such as Nova-Star processing. In addition, a 7680Hz LED screen makes filming easier, as it’s best suited for camera shooting and live streaming.

The new Nomad Series xVision LED video wall panels by Theatrixx offers the highest quality refresh rate at 7,680Hz.

Refresh Rate vs Frame Rate

As mentioned, the refresh rate is the amount of times a static image is displayed on the screen per second, or how many times the screen can refresh itself. But the frame rate relates to the content and the number of times the processor can produce it in one second. The frame rate is measured in frames per second (fps). Basically, the frame rate refers to the content itself and refresh rate refers to the video signal or display. While the frame rate is fairly standard across most LED products at around 50–60 fps, the refresh rate can vary a lot which will have an impact on your display. In choosing which refresh rates fits your device requirement, it is also essential for you to know a little about the frame rate. These two specifications need to work in sync with each other to optimize the display. If the refresh rate can be divided equally by the frame-per-second, the outcome will be of the highest quality. If the refresh rate is not divided equally by the FPS, than the screen has to make up the difference and will result in some picture imperfections.

Refresh Rate and TV Monitors

Because the hardware and operating systems differ between LED video walls and TV monitors, there is also a difference in standard refresh rates. There are essentially two types of common refresh rates available when it comes to contemporary TVs: 60Hz and 120Hz. Generally, 60Hz TVs are more affordable than 120Hz TVs because the 120Hz spec is usually found on TVs that offer premium hardware and software features in addition to higher-quality motion handling. In 2022, TCL and Samsung both announced TVs with a 144Hz native refresh rate. This spec has been available in some computer monitors for years, and in fact, some monitors offer native refresh rates that go much higher, up to 360Hz!

A 60Hz refresh rate on a TV works well, as US broadcast television operates at a standard 30fps. The refresh rate is equally divided by the frame rate. Most movies are shot at 24 frames per second (fps), which was settled on as an industry standard. This is the frame rate you’ll likely see when you pop in a Blu-ray disc or a film on streaming service. If you’re watching a streaming movie, you’re probably watching something at 24fps, in which case, a display at 120Hz works better.

More information on commercial-grade TV monitors is available here.

Refresh Rates and Cameras

Have you ever tried to take a picture of something on your TV or computer, but it comes out with lines or flickers on the image? That is due to unaligned refresh rates! Event companies, film producers, and live streamers who utilize LED video screens as backdrops to their videos must consider refresh rates carefully. It’s essential to provide screens with the highest refresh rates because these events will be recorded with professional cameras. Therefore, the screen must be synchronized with the camera recording frequencies for the image to look clear and perfect. Otherwise, the pictures or videos will have flickers or other effects on the camera. This is achieved by using led screens and content with refresh rates that are multiples of the frames per the second format of the camera.

More information on high-performance LED video wall panels is available here.

More information about LED pixel pitch is also available.