60 Hz vs. 120 Hz: The ultimate battle of TV displays

VD October 10 2021

If you are bringing a 120 Hz TV home, you need to make sure that it is indeed a TV with a 120 Hz refresh rate, not a TV with a 60 Hz refresh rate panel simulating a 120 FPS effect. If it is indeed a TV with a 120 Hz refresh rate, you can instantly witness the 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz comparison outcomes.

Most of the time, the TVs offering a 120 Hz refresh also allow the user to adjust the refresh rate to 60 Hz—a great way to experience 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz effects yourself.

You should make sure to use a TV with a 120 Hz refresh rate even if it is hooked up to a PC or any other device not capable of delivering 120 FPS. The reason is that the TV will be able to interpolate 60 FPS video input into a 120 Hz output, which is better than having it run at 60 Hz only.

A 120 Hz refresh rate does not necessarily mean that your TV will have faster response time - ghosting and motion blur in games and movies still occurs at all refresh rates, but you can experience much less when running games and watching videos at 120 Hz compared to 60 Hz.

With TVs offering the so-called Motionflow technology, users are also able to choose between two different motion compensation technologies: Motionflow XR 960 and Motionflow XR 480. These are different technologies that are used to make the TV output look smoother. The first one can interpolate 1440 Hz, whereas the second one is able to interpolate 480 Hz.

60 Hz vs. 120 Hz: The significant difference

Cutting directly to the main point, the whole 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz debate is based upon the refresh rate a TV will provide its users. A refresh rate is the measure of the ability of a display to draw a new image over the screen. The refresh rate is a measure of time taken by the image to get drawn on the screen, while the unit used (Hz) is frequency.

If a display has a 60 Hz refresh rate, it will display the following image with a 60 Hz refresh speed.  (60 Hz is the "standard" for movie content in the US.)

On the other hand, a display with 120 Hz or more can draw different images on the screen at a speed of 120 Hz. That means it will be able to perform two complete image draws during one frame time, which is how it can achieve 120 FPS.

That's why playing faster games on TVs with higher refresh rates produces a much smoother experience compared to TVs that are limited to 60 Hz only. For example, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive running at 144 FPS looks much better when your TV refreshes at 120 Hz than when it refreshes at 60 Hz - even if you play with Vsync turned off. You should keep in mind though that you need a very powerful computer to play 144 FPS on CS: GO.

But let's be honest, not everyone cares about the 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz debate for watching movies or playing games - most people are more interested in the difference between HDMI 1.4 vs 2.0. Only a few gamers are aware of these differences, but it's actually quite important when you want to get your hands on the best TV for your gaming PC. The reason is that TVs with HDMI 1.4 can only run at 30 Hz from 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) @ 60Hz RGB color mode while getting a real 4K @ 60Hz means checking if your desired TV has at least one of the following three HDMI specs: HDMI 2.0, HDMI 2.0a or HDMI 2.0b.

Should you even care about the 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz contest?

It depends on whether you are getting a TV for general use or a specific purpose. 

For instance, if you are looking for a TV display that you will use for high-end graphic arts designing or for a game console setup that supports a 120 Hz refresh rate, then you need to gather all the information you can regarding the 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz comparison.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a TV that will be used as an ordinary PC monitor or as a display for watching movies, then getting a 120 Hz refresh rate is not necessary. In this case, you would want to check out the difference between LCD and OLED TVs .

In general, there are no major differences between 60 Hz and 120 Hz when it comes to playing games or watching movies on TVs. However, going with a TV that refreshes at 120 Hz is always more future-proof than settling for one that refreshes at 60 Hz - just in case you ever want to watch movies from your computer at 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) @ 60Hz RGB color mode. This is especially true if you own a powerful enough PC to run games from it.

Will a higher refresh rate going to ensure a more precise picture resolution?

This is one of the greatest myths that’s associated with a display’s refresh rate. And to be very honest, this led to the 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz debate in the first place.

But in reality, the ‘refresh rate’ is not going to have much of an impact on the overall screen resolution. 8 out of 10 people will not even feel any difference between both refresh rates. That’s because the whole 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz debate is for users like a professional TV expert in recognizing a display’s properties and positive impacts.

The only thing that actually affects the resolution of a TV is its pixel density, not its refresh rate. So unless you are looking to get an ultra-high-end display for your gaming PC, then there’s nothing much in getting a 120 Hz refresh rate over 60 Hz.

60 Hz vs. 120 Hz: The best option!

Again, either going with a 60 Hz refresh display or a 120 Hz refresh rate display depends on your preferences and requirements. If you are looking for a TV that can be used as a living room or office TV, you don’t need to think much about 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz. Just go with any reliable TV brand and model.

But if you are a gamer, going with a 120 Hz will surely give you a significant advantage over your rival in competitive gaming modes.

Conclusion

That’s pretty much all you need to know about the 60 Hz vs. 120 Hz feud. A higher refresh rate will eventually be a better option, but only if your required software or console setup will support a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Besides, going with a 120 Hz display option will also be more expensive than a 60 Hz display option, especially if you don’t need to have a 120 Hz display in the first place. For years, the 60 Hz refresh rate display has been the top game in the industry because of its wide adaptability.