Difference Between Clear Motion Rate (CMR) and Refresh Rate

Clear Motion Rate (CMR) vs Refresh Rate
 

Whether or not people understand the rationale behind the refresh rates of LCD monitors, they believe or think that higher refresh rates mean more clarity in pictures or sharpness of picture on the screen. The refresh rates of an LCD explain how many times an image is drawn on the monitor every second. We have TV’s with refresh rates of 60Hz, 120Hz and even 240Hz. So does it really mean that higher the refresh rates of a TV, the sharper or clearer it is? And now there is another term called Clear Motion Rate to confuse the consumers further. This is a recent term that has been introduced by electronics giant Samsung. There are not many who understand the difference between Clear Motion Rate and Refresh Rate, and this article attempts to explain this difference.

Refresh Rate (Hertz)

All display monitors need to be refreshed many number of times every second. This refresh rate is expressed in hertz, and the number implies that the image is redrawn that many times in a second. The old industry standard was 60 Hertz, but there has been advancement in technology and now it is common to have TV’s with refresh rates of 120Hz and even 240Hz. TV’s with higher refresh rates flicker much less than TV’s with low refresh rates; also, the images are often sharper and clearer with TV’s of higher refresh rate. The human eye cannot detect a blur as the image is redrawn too quickly. This difference is all the more visible in programs where objects move at a fast rate such as sports or car racing. However, with most TV companies switching over to 120Hz refresh rate, this motion blur has more or less been controlled.

Clear Motion Rate (CMR)

CMR or Clear Motion Rate is a new concept introduced by Samsung that measures the capacity of an LCD to display fast moving objects smoothly. While there was only the refresh rate that decided the smoothness of images in a fast paced program, Samsung’s CMR takes into account backlight technology and image processor speed in addition to the refresh rate to decide motion clarity. This motion clarity means that a viewer can clearly see the name of the player and his jersey number, even when he is moving at a high speed, during NFL matches.