BenQ flicker free technology

Secret_Window · 10 Sep 2015 at 23:25

Just wondering whether the BenQ 'flicker free' technology is useful or not?

I am thinking of getting either the BenQ EW2440L or RL2455HM purely for gaming on my ps4. The appeal is the flicker free technology at 60hz, as playing at 60hz on my current monitor is causing me eyestrain and headaches. I just seem to be one of those who is really sensitive to this sort of thing.

Ideally just want something comfortable for my eyes at 60hz for console gaming. I am not sure if what I need most is the flicker free technology or something more responsive that has a decent overdrive and doesn't cause motion artefacts at 60hz.

Any thoughts?

drunkenmaster · 10 Sep 2015 at 23:50

120hz screen will benefit you. The ultra low motion blur monitors which may suit you work at high hz. Also a higher hz gives an improved screen quality regardless of frame rate you run at. 120hz has better response times, better overdrive modes, less motion blur and the ultra low motion blur modes. These don't depend at all on frame rate. 120hz monitors look better, have less blur and are clearer when reading text on a desktop when simply scrolling as well as in games. This is all in standard 120/144hz refresh rates. In ultra low blur modes the screens effectively induce flicker as with the old crts, as with them the higher the hz the less noticeable the flicker and at some point you can't see it anymore. It works for some, not for others.

Either way, I'd honestly always recommend a 120hz screen regardless of usage now, they are simply better in every way. Reason overdrive works better on higher hz screens is given the same frame rate, you have more refreshes so the chance of overdrive overshoot is drastically reduced. LIterally everything works better at 120+hz over 60hz screens.

Secret_Window · 11 Sep 2015 at 00:03

I have a 120hz screen which I use for pc gaming. The problem is 60hz for console gaming as I'm limited 60hz via hdmi, and I think coming from 120hz to 60hz is not working well with my eyes when I game on my ps4. So I thought maybe getting a 60hz screen with flicker free technology might ease the strain.

I completely agree with you on the 120hz topic by the way, which is partly why I think I am struggling so badly with 60hz.

Falkentyne · 11 Sep 2015 at 02:55

Benq flicker free has to do with backlight PWM control for brightness instead of linear voltage, not the refresh rate!

Backlight PWM is a very very VERY high frequency cycle, which some people are adversely affected by (maybe even more so than a scanning backlight).

Non flicker free monitors use PWM dimming for brightness control. This has nothing to do with the refresh rate. Might be confusing strobing with flicker free (strobing is flicker by default but that's for motion blur reduction).

PCM2 · 11 Sep 2015 at 07:10

Don't limit your choices to models that are advertised specifically as 'flicker-free'. The vast majority of monitors released now are, even if they don't always advertise the fact. Often they do as it's a ball BenQ got rolling. I'd certainly advise against the RL2455HM - just because they sponsor tournaments and give away free monitors doesn't make it a good one. And you most certainly don't want a 120Hz monitor as you can't take advantage of it and would be left with some obvious drawbacks compared to other 60Hz models. The EW2440L is a better choice, but you should also consider some IPS-type models which could prove equally responsive to the RL2455HM with obvious image quality advantages.

Baddass · 11 Sep 2015 at 09:19

this article talks more about what causes flicker in LCD monitors and how manufacturers are overcoming it. All BenQ monitors now should be flicker free, and as PCM2 says, many other manufacturers have done the same:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/pulse_width_modulation.htm

Secret_Window · 11 Sep 2015 at 11:23

Falkentyne said:
Benq flicker free has to do with backlight PWM control for brightness instead of linear voltage, not the refresh rate!

Backlight PWM is a very very VERY high frequency cycle, which some people are adversely affected by (maybe even more so than a scanning backlight).

Non flicker free monitors use PWM dimming for brightness control. This has nothing to do with the refresh rate. Might be confusing strobing with flicker free (strobing is flicker by default but that's or motion blur reduction).

OK, thanks.

PCM2 said:
Don't limit your choices to models that are advertised specifically as 'flicker-free'. The vast majority of monitors released now are, even if they don't always advertise the fact. Often they do as it's a ball BenQ got rolling. I'd certainly advise against the RL2455HM - just because they sponsor tournaments and give away free monitors doesn't make it a good one. And you most certainly don't want a 120Hz monitor as you can't take advantage of it and would be left with some obvious drawbacks compared to other 60Hz models. The EW2440L is a better choice, but you should also consider some IPS-type models which could prove equally responsive to the RL2455HM with obvious image quality advantages.

Regarding console gaming, do I really want to have the best image quality and colour reproduction over responsiveness or is there a monitor that features and has a balance of both? From what I understand, it seems the choice of panel depends on the type of usage. I used to own a dell u2312hm which was IPS for example, but didn't think much to the screen for pure gaming.

Having said all the above, I have taken your advice and had a look around at some affordable IPS monitors, and the Asus VX239H looks quite reasonable - do you think this would be suitable for my needs?

Baddass said:
this article talks more about what causes flicker in LCD monitors and how manufacturers are overcoming it. All BenQ monitors now should be flicker free, and as PCM2 says, many other manufacturers have done the same:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/pulse_width_modulation.htm

Thanks

PCM2 · 11 Sep 2015 at 12:29

Secret_Window said:
OK, thanks.

Regarding console gaming, do I really want to have the best image quality and colour reproduction over responsiveness or is there a monitor that features and has a balance of both? From what I understand, it seems the choice of panel depends on the type of usage. I used to own a dell u2312hm which was IPS for example, but didn't think much to the screen for pure gaming.

Having said all the above, I have taken your advice and had a look around at some affordable IPS monitors, and the Asus VX239H looks quite reasonable - do you think this would be suitable for my needs?

Thanks

It wouldn't be my first choice, and at the risk of mentioning competitors I'll leave it at that. But the VX239H would provide pleasing image quality for console gaming and is also pretty responsive. You have to look beyond misleading figures stated by manufacturers and appreciate that on a 60Hz monitor its response times only actually matter up to a point. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18566417

Secret_Window · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:20

I am looking at all types of screen panels, and certainly not limiting myself to one option, but I am intrigued whether you think IPS screens are better generally all-round. From personal experience, I thought the Dell u21312hm for example wasnt as good as some reviews were saying. The IPS glow was quite extreme compared with other IPS screens I have seen, and despite having good input lag, the way it handled motion in gaming was not good for my eyes, and this was all after coming from a hp 22" 60hz tn panel. I then moved to the Samsung 27a950d which I am using now, which I feel is better screen, not just just for 120hz but the image quality as well. For console gaming however, when using the hdmi input at 60hz, it hurts my eyes, so I assumed it was a combination of moving from 120hz to 60hz, the overdrive in the panel which is set for 120hz in mind, and the possibility of PWM flicker.

So the whole purpose of this, is rather than replace the monitor, which is ridiculous, as running in 60hz is only the problem, I decided to entertain the idea of getting a dedicated 60hz screen which might be better for 60hz gaming than my Samsung.

PCM2 · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:49

Secret_Window said:
I am looking at all types of screen panels, and certainly not limiting myself to one option, but I am intrigued whether you think IPS screens are better generally all-round. From personal experience, I thought the Dell u21312hm for example wasnt as good as some reviews were saying. The IPS glow was quite extreme compared with other IPS screens I have seen, and despite having good input lag, the way it handled motion in gaming was not good for my eyes, and this was all after coming from a hp 22" 60hz tn panel. I then moved to the Samsung 27a950d which I am using now, which I feel is better screen, not just just for 120hz but the image quality as well. For console gaming however, when using the hdmi input at 60hz, it hurts my eyes, so I assumed it was a combination of moving from 120hz to 60hz, the overdrive in the panel which is set for 120hz in mind, and the possibility of PWM flicker.

So the whole purpose of this, is rather than replace the monitor, which is ridiculous, as running in 60hz is only the problem, I decided to entertain the idea of getting a dedicated 60hz screen which might be better for 60hz gaming than my Samsung.

Most modern IPS-type monitors handle motion a lot better than the U2312HM. I can tell you that the S27A950D is a superb 60Hz performer, in fact I use the very similar S27A750D as a reference monitor when analysing motion performance. You are correct that it uses PWM, though, and at a fairly low frequency of 180Hz which could certainly cause visual discomfort for you. Ensure that you're using the 'Faster' rather than 'Fastest' setting at 60Hz, however. I'd highly recommend reading the article linked to in the thread pointed out in my previous post.

Secret_Window · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:55

PCM2 said:
Most modern IPS-type monitors handle motion a lot better than the U2312HM. I can tell you that the S27A950D is a superb 60Hz performer, in fact I use the very similar S27A750D as a reference monitor when analysing motion performance. You are correct that it uses PWM, though, and at a fairly low frequency of 180Hz which could certainly cause visual discomfort for you. Ensure that you're using the 'Faster' rather than 'Fastest' setting at 60Hz, however. I'd highly recommend reading the article linked to in the thread pointed out in my previous post.

I have already started reading it. Very interesting.

Thanks, PCM2

PCM2 · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:59

Secret_Window said:
I have already started reading it. Very interesting.

Thanks, PCM2

You could also try running the Samsung at '100' brightness to eliminate PWM and see how you find it. You may have to reduce the brightness sliders in-game or make other adjustments and everything would likely look quite poor, but it would at least help narrow down what is causing you the discomfort.

Secret_Window · 11 Sep 2015 at 16:03

PCM2 said:
You could also try running the Samsung at '100' brightness to eliminate PWM and see how you find it. You may have to reduce the brightness sliders in-game or make other adjustments and everything would likely look quite poor, but it would at least help narrow down what is causing you the discomfort.

I will certainly give it a try. Thanks!

Update:

Ok tried it. Changing the brightness to "100" and the Response Time to "Faster" did help immensely with the problem I was having. The only issue is having the brightness that high feels like it is burning my retinas.

So to conclude, it seems like it may well be a mixture of the PWM flickering that is causing me headaches and switching the overdrive response time to a lower setting eliminated the motion problems I was seeing as well.

Now I feel even more reason to find a dedicated 60hz monitor with a balance of no PWM and decent overdrive lol.

Secret_Window · 11 Sep 2015 at 22:47

PCM2, I read your review on the Samsung S24D390HL and was impressed. I'm now trying to decide between that and the BenQ EW2440L. The question is whether to go with AMVA in the BenQ or AD-PLS in the Samsung. Which do you think has better overdrive for pixel response in terms of causing the least trailing and inverse ghosting? I'm quite satisfied with the contrast and colour performance in both, it now just comes down to which screen has the least problems with motion.