Refresh Rate Vs. Motion Rate: How TV Brands Fudge The Numbers

Nowadays, buying a TV or a monitor may seem easy, but it isn't. Not only are there a ton of models with varying specifications available, but there is also some deliberate confusion being created by TV manufacturers due to the marketing jargon getting in the way of standardized technological specifications.

The most important example of this is the sheer amount of numbers you need to pay attention to while buying a TV. To begin with, there's the resolution, which has largely been confusion-free, at least for TVs. That means you know exactly what resolution you're getting when buying a Full HD, 4K, or 8K TV. For monitors, resolutions vary far and wide, but you can still look for that specification and easily decode the actual number.

The next most important figure is the refresh rate, which is where mass confusion begins. Over the years, TV brands have started to fudge the refresh rate numbers and confuse buyers by cross-marketing them with the motion rate. Most buyers don't realize that the refresh rate and the motion rate are two different things. Here's how the two are different and everything you need to know about the refresh rate vs. motion rate debate before you buy a TV.

Refresh rate is how quickly a display can refresh to display a moving image. However, to be able to take full advantage of this refresh rate, you need the content to have a frame rate that is close to the refresh rate. Basically, whatever moving image you display on the screen will have a frequency at which it displays a new image. These images are called frames, and the frequency with which these images appear in a second is called the frame rate (via TechSmith). It's measured in frames per second, or fps.

But wait: Refresh rate and frame rate are both frequencies of images displayed in a second, so what is the difference between the two? The refresh rate is a hardware specification, meaning your TV or monitor's display panel needs to support it. On the other hand, the frame rate is an attribute of the content you'll play, like a video file or a game. Of course, for games, the frame rate will depend upon the hardware power of your computer or gaming console. It depends on the computer's hardware and not the monitor or TV connected to the computer or the console.

So if you want to play a high fps video file, the video file will need to have a high frame rate. If you want to play a game at a high frame rate, you will need to have a PC or console capable of running it at high fps and supporting the appropriate display output. And in addition, you will need a TV or monitor with a high refresh rate to be able to see the high fps content properly.

Now that we've discussed motion rate and the different names used by TV manufacturers for it, let's understand how these technologies work. Most motion smoothing is done by using motion interpolation, a method used to add more frames to give an apparently smoother image output. We see two main technologies used for motion smoothing, which TV manufacturers then try to bundle under the different names discussed above.

MEMC — Short for motion estimation and motion compensation. This is a common motion interpolation technology when it comes to motion smoothing implementations in TVs. MEMC works by estimating motion by looking at the motion vectors and the direction in which objects are moving. As this IEEE paper on MEMC explains, it calculates the motion trajectory and adds a frame before the next frame appears, acting like an artificial bridge between the two frames. Some implementations may also use AI to generate the next frame. This results in a smooth motion, which gives it a high-refresh-rate look, but may bring in additional display artifacts which defeat the purpose.

Black Frame Insertion — This is used to counter motion blur, often in scenarios where motion smoothing is in progress. Black frame insertion works by inserting a black frame between two frames, either by rapidly turning the backlight on and off, or in the case of OLED displays, rapidly turning the screen on and off, as How-To Geek explains. This gives the image a smoother look. BFI is generally used to get a smoother motion output without the typical motion smoothing effect.

With the marketing jargon and unnecessary confusion, it has become difficult to tell what refresh rate a TV has. This has made TV purchases more complicated than they should be. However, there are ways to look past misleading marketing to buy the best TV for your use.

The universal advice here would be to always look for the specification, which says "refresh rate." Regardless of whether you're buying a TV in-store, online, or already have a TV, you can check the model number online and find the full specifications on the manufacturer's website. Look for the refresh rate listed under the specifications. That's the only number you should look at, especially if you're trying to buy a TV that has a higher hardware-supported refresh rate. Make sure that the refresh rate specification doesn't say that the refresh rate is with MEMC, since that would mean that it is not the actual refresh rate but instead the motion rate.

You should also watch out for manufacturer branding around the refresh rate figure. Make sure the refresh rate figure isn't clubbed together with any of these words: Motion Rate, TruMotion, Motionflow XR, X-Motion Clarity, Natural Motion, Clear Motion Index (CMI), Clear Action, or Dynamic Motion Rate. Any such non-standard branding indicates a different term for motion rate, and not the actual refresh rate (per Tom's Guide).

Pretty much all new TVs, including the best budget 4K TVs, will have some sort of motion-smoothing technology built in, and with AI implementations getting more common, these technologies are improving as well. So if you have a TV with motion rate features, the question is — should you use them?

Well, once again, the answer comes down to preference. Motion rate isn't a bad feature inherently. It has gained a bad rep due to the faux-smoothed look's general distaste, which is called the soap opera effect. The best course here would be to enable the motion smoothing features and see how it looks with your regular viewing. If you like it, as many people do for sports content, you can keep them enabled. If you don't like it, turn it off.

Over the years, we have seen many arguments in support of motion-smoothing features. WIRED argued that you could have a good experience by turning on motion smoothing features if you keep it on the lowest setting. A PCMag opinion piece argued that you should turn on motion smoothing for live sports only and keep it off for other content, which is something a lot of folks do. Then there are folks who hold a strong distaste for motion smoothing and think it should be disabled entirely, as opined in this Vulture piece.

This difference in opinion just strengthens the fact that it boils down to personal preference, so set your TV to whatever setting looks best to you, and enjoy!