Whats the difference between 60 and 120hz refresh rate?

Question

meaning can you really tell and is it worth the extra money

Answer 1

60 Hz is the standard refresh rate for TVs. It is based on the "flicker threshold" of human vision. In other words, if you flash the same image 60 times per second, it should appear as a constant image due to the eye's "persistence of vision". European TV uses 50 Hz. The threshold is sensitive to the brightness level. At low brightness, you won't perceive flicker as much. This is how movies in theaters can be projected at 24 frames per second and look smooth (actually the frames are doubled up to 48 Hz by the projector).

The 120 Hz business is an attempt by HDTVs to produce interpolated intermediate frames between the 60 Hz frames to compensate for image motion. Whether this really improves anything or is merely a marketing ploy is a matter of considerable debate.

Best suggestion - go to a store and get a demo of a 60 Hz TV vs a 120 Hz one with rapidly changing content. If you can't tell the difference, don't pay extra money for it.

By the way, contrary to what Lukester said, refresh rate has nothing to do with pixelation. That's introduced by compression effects, either by poor encoding (excessive compression or insufficient bit rate), or channel errors (poor transmission quality).

Answer 2

The difference is 60 hz.  Refresh rate is very important.  The higher the number the less "motion blur" or pixelation you will see.  Yes, it is worth the money.