Samsung HOWTO

Eliminate LCD Motion Blur on Samsung 120 Hz Monitors

Supported Monitors: Most samsung 700D, 750D and 950D series.
Tested: S23A700D, S23A750DS23A950D, S27A700D, S27A750D, S27A950D
For LightBoost instructions on ASUS and BENQ 120 Hz, click here instead.

Samsung SA700D, SA750D, and SA950D has a little-known strobe backlight similar to LightBoost that eliminate LCD motion blur. Samsung does not advertise this as an official LightBoost feature. A synchronized stroboscopic backlight works by keeping pixel persistence in total darkness (unseen by eye) between refreshes, and strobing the backlight only on fully-refreshed LCD frames (high speed video). As a result, the refresh-synchronized strobe backlight eliminate LCD motion blur. This brings CRT motion clarity to LCD displays.

Enable Strobe Mode on SA700D, SA750D and SA950D

  1. Set your PC into 120 Hz mode.
    (Control Panel -> Display -> Adjust Resolution -> Advanced -> Monitor)
  2. Before the next step, change “Response Time” to “Normal” via the monitor OSD.
  3. Now, turn on “3D” via the monitor OSD, frame-sequential mode.
  4. Keep using the monitor even for 2D gaming.  (No 3D glasses needed)
  5. For better color, change “Magic Angle” to “Group View”
  6. Run motion test at www.testufo.com/photo in Chrome or another 120Hz web browser.

Note: On some computer configurations, your monitor might turn off when entering and exiting video games.  If this happens, simply turn on your monitor again.

Important: The zero motion blur effect occurs at fps matching Hz, so you ideally need 120 fps at 120 Hz for the best CRT clear motion effect.

The good news is that the Samsung strobe backlight works with both AMD Radeon and nVidia Geforce cards! (Credit: CyberGamer.com.au review).

PixPerAn tests and TestUFO tests show 75% less LCD motion blur than regular Samsung 120 Hz even for 2D usage, which is a huge reduction. PixPerAn readability test of at least 25. This is an additional reduction on top of the 50% motion blur elimination caused by going from 60 Hz to 120 Hz. As a result, you get almost a whopping 90% less LCD motion blur than regular 60Hz! This is because the Samsung 3D mode enables a strobe backlight, which also eliminates motion blur during 2D usage.

The bad news is that the input lag is worse than official LightBoost monitors, so this is not as useful for competition online gaming as official LightBoost monitors. However, the lack of motion blur is quite handy for solo gaming, and the Samsung is known to have better colors than most TN-panel monitors!

The Science Behind Strobe Backlights

The Samsung strobe backlight is almost identical to LightBoost. This high speed video (480fps + 1000fps) demonstrates a LightBoost strobe backlight successfully bypassing pixel persistence as the motion blur barrier:

TFTCentral posted a good article about Motion Blur Reduction Backlights, explaining how strobe backlights can eliminate motion blur. Other information can be found here on this website, including Scanning Backlight FAQ, as well as Science & References.

For information about LightBoost monitors or other motion-blur-eliminating monitors, see the Official 120Hz Monitor List, or the LightBoost HOWTO.