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.


30 Comments For “Samsung HOWTO”

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JMH
Member
JMH

Hey I cannot believe the difference this make i love it but i have 1 problem

I have the S27a950 i have done what is in the instructions but when i join a game i have to enable the frame sequential VIA the OSD everytime i go into a game

When i leave the game its still on

So how can i have this on all the time?

Thanks

brid555
Member
brid555

Did you ever find a solution for this. I just got 3 samsung S23A700D and every time i turn off and on my pc or monitors, or just put the pc to sleep. The monitors all turn off frame sequential mode. Theres no way everytime i turn my pc im going to go into 3 monitors OSD and turn it on, so i need to find a solution or im selling them.

LinkinMcOwnage
Member
LinkinMcOwnage

I can confirm that this works on my S23A750D at 120Hz with DP connection.

waterse
Member
waterse

Exciting!!!
I will test zero motion blur with my S23A700D and hd6850 display card this night.
But I want to know the reason that change “Response Time” to “Normal” via the monitor OSD in step 2. May I change to “Fastest” option for lower reponse time.
Furthermore, please give me some advice to reduce the input lag in 2D FPS games. Thanks.

MrInvisible3
Member
MrInvisible3

Unfortunately, there are some nasty motion artifacts that show up if you use a “Response Time” of Fastest. The pixel response need to be optimized with the timing of the strobe backlight, which hides most of the pixel response curve in total darkness, between backlight strobes.

If you want the fastest response, least motion artifacts, and minimum input lag with a strobe backlight, I highly recommend one of the new 1ms monitors (BENQ XL2411T or ASUS VG248QE).

PCM2
Member
PCM2

I can confirm that this also works on the S27A750D. I believe another user reported otherwise (perhaps on an S23A750D) but there is no reason why it wouldn’t work on the SA750 series. I have confirmed subjectively and using an evaluation of the MER performance.

MrInvisible3
Member
MrInvisible3

(Editor’s note: I can confirn that PCM2 = http://www.pcmonitors.info = a very good monitor review website, go visit them!)

Thanks for following up, I’ve added the S27A750D.

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