TFT-Hack | perform like CRT [no more ghosting/motion-blur]

derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
edited February 2013 in Competitive Play
i just stumbled over this: http://www.blurbusters.com/nvidia-3d-lightboost-can-be-used-in-2d-mode-for-zero-motion-blur/
no more ghosting, no more motion-blur.
(there is also a way without an ini-file or registry-hack entry.)

the best is to read all the articles: http://www.blurbusters.com/



as i am still using a crt, i dont need it,
but i guess a lot of you will help and love this!


gl
hf
«1

Comments

  • Visor1Visor1 Join Date: 2012-01-13 Member: 140300Members
    here is one of the threads on it

    http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1734114

    I'm not sure how many people have tried it for ns2 but from my testing if you can't hold a a constant 100fps or more it was worse.
  • frallan123frallan123 Join Date: 2012-05-12 Member: 151962Members
    Its awesome in NS2, everything feel so much smoother with lightboost than normal 120hz, in competitive I always am around 100fps if not more, maybe lower sometimes if its really long game. but in the start its just amazing.
  • suttysutty Join Date: 2010-08-01 Member: 73403Members
    The problem I have with it on my monitor, is it makes everything far to dark! - unless I'm missing something ?
  • JektJekt Join Date: 2012-02-05 Member: 143714Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited February 2013
    Unfortunately LightBoost doesn't work with 144hz, have to limit to 120hz to get it working. Not that it matters in NS2 anyway.
    Does decrease the brightness significantly, I've got mine at an OK level by setting contrast to 90 and maximizing the LightBoost option in my monitor settings. Check the nvidia control panel, should be able to get high enough brightness easily even with LightBoost.
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    edited February 2013
    Visor1 wrote: »
    if you can't hold a a constant 100fps or more it was worse.

    that sentence makes no sense to me.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Vega
    Woa, this sounds like great news. Now, how to get it to work at 144 Hz, that would be incredible. There must be some way.
    120Hz@strobed, looks much better than 144Hz@non-strobed.
    CRT being a strobed technology, 60fps@60Hz (strobed) has less motion blur than traditional LCD 120fps@120Hz (non-strobed).

    So 144Hz isn't as big as it may seem.
    For single-player videogames, I'd rather have 85Hz@strobed than 120Hz@non-strobed
    Strobed (CRT) looks much smoother, it has less motion blur.

    For strobed displays (CRT's or strobed backlights), refresh rate does not affects motion blur.
    Instead, in this situation, motion blur is directly proportional to the strobe length.
    This is for situations when your game is displaying framerate matching refresh rate (fps = Hz).
    There no motion blur difference between 60fps@60Hz strobed and 144fps@144Hz strobed, if strobes is the same length (e.g. 1ms)
    Shorter strobes means less motion blur, regardless of refresh rate.
    (That's also why short-persistence CRT's have less motion blur)

    So 144 Hz doesn't matter unless you want less input lag.
    To avoid getting an excessively powerful GPU, while having 100% of benefits of zero motion blur:
    (1) High enough refresh rate (= strobe rate) to be above your flicker fusion threshold, and not bother your eyes.
    (2) Low enough refresh rate (= strobe rate) to allow your GPU to run full framerate @ refresh rate
    That way, you don't need a GTX680 SLI or a GTX690 to get the "perfect CRT motion effect"
    if you can live with 85fps@85Hz strobed (e.g. single player where input lag doesn't matter as much).

    That said, I agree, the strobe rate should be configurable to match the refresh rate!

  • ZEROibisZEROibis Join Date: 2009-10-30 Member: 69176Members, Constellation
    The lcd will still have input lag no matter what you do. Motion blur ect is then on top of the input lag. I still wait for some reasonable replacement for CRT that does not force me to lower my standards.
  • ScardyBobScardyBob ScardyBob Join Date: 2009-11-25 Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Cool info. I'll consider this for the next time I upgrade my monitors.
  • CurveCurve Join Date: 2003-12-17 Member: 24475Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Question, I tried this earlier today, my fps kept dropping to 60 as if vsync was on.

    Is that expected?
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    nope, not at all.

    and shouldnt be related at all.

    the only thing that changes is,
    that the graphics card locks your hz at 120hz
    and sends a syncroniziation signal to the monitor.

    then the monitor syncs the strobing backlight to this signal.
    thats all.

    trough the strobing, it dosent appear as bright as before
    but you can change the strobing intensity in the monitor menues.
    but think about it, if you extend it to 100% the strobing effect will vanish
    if you reduce it, you will loose brightness, but you will also push the motion blur further down!
    because reducing it means it wont light up the leds as before, so your eye gets shorter light intervals
    which makes them appear .... darker.
  • Rich_Rich_ Join Date: 2012-11-05 Member: 167152Members
    edited March 2013
    So this only works with 120hz monitors?
    also, Has anyone tried the asus 144hz 2ms (fast!) monitors? Newegg reviews seem 'perfect' really, wanna know if anyone can confirm they are as good as they seem, cheapest 120hz thats readily available is a benq, and thats around 450$, asus apparently kept the price down on their 144hz by not including 3D vision components.
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    yeah, but as the technology is only synced with 120 the 144 hz will work with 120 hz instead. they are working on getting it running at 144hz too.
  • DraconisDraconis Join Date: 2003-02-18 Member: 13722Members, Reinforced - Onos
    Just changed monitor this week end to try that. The result is quite astonishing especially in frantic hand to hand combat. Brightness is not a big deal unless sun is shining on your desktop.
  • mdrejhonmdrejhon Join Date: 2013-03-04 Member: 183682Members
    edited March 2013
    I'm the BlurBusters.com Blog, the home of the most popular LightBoost HOWTO, the Samsung Zero Motion Blur HOWTO, and the HDTV Overclocking HOWTO. Some of you have already linked to me... I wanted to clarify some information I'm reading in this thread:
    derWalter wrote: »
    the only thing that changes is, that the graphics card locks your hz at 120hz and sends a syncroniziation signal to the monitor.
    Not necessarily. You can use VSYNC OFF with LightBoost, but it is sometimes tricky. It's easier to do VSYNC OFF with the hack method of LightBoost, rather than the easy method of LightBoost. The easiest is to follow step "TIP: Improving Convenience, Stability & Eliminating “Control+T”" somewhere in the LightBoost HOWTO.

    One BIG warning, it's known (by long-time CRT users who are also long-time LCD users) that tearing is often easier to see on CRT's than on LCD's. The same problem occurs with LightBoost. This is because LCD motion blur masks the tearing somewhat. So, if you love VSYNC OFF gaming, and want to minimize input lag, it is in your interests to have really high frame rates (e.g. 300fps+) and consistent frame-render-times. This keeps tearlines small, because short frame render times (high frame rates + minimum stutters) means small-offset tearlines, which are much harder to see. Also framedrops can be easier to see on CRT than on LCD (since LCD motion blur used to hide stutters a little), so you'll need to beef up a little to gain the maximum benefit.

    So as a rule of thumb, best fluidity on CRT's and on LightBoost tend to be:
    VSYNC ON -- 120fps @ 120Hz "perfect CRT motion effect"; but slight amount of input lag
    VSYNC OFF -- uncap your framerate if you don't like to see tearing.

    Use a good CPU, a good GPU, a good SSD (eliminate texture load stuters), use a gaming mouse (eliminate mouse stutters). Very especially for VSYNC OFF with CRT's and LightBoost, the name of the game is to eliminate as many weak links as possible, because stutters means bigger-offset tearlines as the scenery jumps bigger amounts during pauses, and tearing becomes easier to see. Beef up your system to make VSYNC OFF smooth looking and mostly invisible. One compromise is Adaptive VSYNC at 120fps, it has slightly less input lag than VSYNC ON, but more input lag than VSYNC OFF.

    The good news is that there are still faster reaction time with LightBoost + VSYNC ON, than without LightBoost at VSYNC OFF. Even though there's more input lag, the clearer motion leads to less brain lag (faster reaction time). Reacting sooner because you saw enemies more quickly during fast motion, means you can still out-compete other people who have more input lag than you do. The zero motion blur effect is actually more important for certain types of combat/FPS type operations, like high speed low-pass helicoptor in Battlefield 3, or operating superfast characters such as "Scout" in Team Fortress 2; and the fast 180-degree flick turns in Quake Live; you can see enemies more clearly since panning scenery now remains as perfectly sharp as stationary scenery; making it easier to track eyes on fast-moving objects. That's the CRT effect, that LightBoost brings...

    Professional competition gamers (e.g. Team Exile 5 -- added to list of reviews) have started using LightBoost, and you can still use VSYNC OFF with LightBoost too, it just takes a little bit more work (and very good system specs if you hate tearing).
    derWalter wrote: »
    then the monitor syncs the strobing backlight to this signal.
    [technical-info]
    Actually, the monitor apparently does that on its own by following the vertical blanking signal which already exists in all video signals. You can see a 1000fps high speed video of LightBoost successfully bypassing LCD pixel persistence (my popular video, over 10K views).



    The catch is nVidia lock-in which is understandable; nVidia developed this technology, originally for 3D Glasses (makes image brighter for 3D glasses by flashing only while shutters are open) but has the side effect of bringing the CRT-effect to LCD's, elimination of LCD motion blur. Thousands of people on two dozen forums have discovered that this tweak produces clearer motion (if you've got the GPU power for 120 fps, since LightBoost is arbitrarily disabled at less than 100 Hz). But it seems to be an initiating signal, not a synchronizing signal, somebody successfully hot-plugged a LightBoost monitor from an nVidia computer to a Radeon computer; and LightBoost kept working as long as the timings were correct (Custom Resolution), with a vertical total pixels of 1147 or 1149 (1080 + porch + sync pixels). Someone also tried using softmccs from Entech Taiwan and the DDC/CI code 03 FA 00 0A sort of worked on a BENQ XL2420T, but did not work on other monitors unless LightBoost was already enabled. This was talked about, approximately Post #494 of the HardForum thread. This was experimentation, so that someone could create a LightBoost utility.
    [/technical-info]
    derWalter wrote: »
    but think about it, if you extend it to 100% the strobing effect will vanish
    This isn't standard PWM brightness that stops being PWM at 100%; this is a synchronized strobe back light to bring the CRT effect, at one carefully timed strobe per refresh. So provided you've enabled LightBoost, it is still doing synchronized strobes at a setting of 100%.

    When LightBoost is enabled, backlight strobing is 1.4ms flashes per 120Hz frame during LightBoost=10% setting (not OFF) and the strobe lengths gradually lengthen until you reach LightBoost=100% which does 2.4ms flashes. That's still better than non-LightBoost 120 Hz. But yes, the image does get darker. Normal LCD's continuously display their frames, so as your eyes track moving objects, you get motion blur since your eyes are in a different position at the beginning of a refresh versus the end of a refresh. Strobed displays (e.g. CRT's and LightBoost) avoid this by displaying the frames stroboscopically which eliminate the motion blur from being seen.

    Generally, as a rule of thumb, for motion blur comparison:
    (measured in PixPerAn)

    baseline - 60 Hz LCD - 16.7ms frame sample
    50% less motion blur (2x clearer motion) - 120 Hz LCD - 8.33ms frame sample
    85% less motion blur (7x clearer motion) - 120 Hz LightBoost set to 100% - 2.4ms strobe flash
    92% less motion blur (12x clearer motion) - 120 Hz LightBoost set to 10% - 1.4ms strobe flash

    You can see the strobes in my high speed video of LightBoost, it makes LightBoost look like CRT, see high speed video of CRT -- with the same motion blur elimination benefits as confirmed by many gamers. (Some people have actually replaced aging Sony FW900 CRT's with LightBoost monitors now...) So as a result, a LightBoost 120 Hz display can have 12x less motion blur than a common 60 Hz LCD. And 6x less motion blur than regular 120 Hz LCD's (without LightBoost enabled)! Enabling LightBoost, even set to 100% (longer strobe lengths) will still have 7x less motion blur than a common 60 Hz LCD.

    Note the interesting situation of getting 1.4ms strobes out of 2ms LCD monitors. The pixel persistence is simply kept in total darkness, while waiting for pixels to change colors. Then the strobe backlight flashes on fully refreshed frames. Strobes can be shorter than the pixel persistence, shattering the pixel persistence barrier, as a motion blur limiting factor. LightBoost displays have no limiting factor how sharp motion can become -- motion blur is no longer detectable by sensitive eyes (even by CRT die hards). CRT colors can be better (unless CRT is worn and dead anyway), but the motion blur problem has been finally conquered on LCD's... (media articles and competition gamers are now beginning to cover this as we speak...)

    Cheers
    Mark Rejhon
    www.blurbusters.com -- Eliminating Motion Blur on LCD's -- Home of the LightBoost HOWTO!
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    i did it... i swaped from my beloved ibm think vision c190 CRT to a benq xt2411l


    144 hz @ 120 hz strobed.

    NO its not like a crt at all.

    as soon as i turn on lightboost, i see a pattern emerging as soon as i start to
    move my mouse.

    its very strong on even colored surfaces, as long as i dont move, the picture is brilliant,
    but as i move this pattern emerges and ofc gives me INSTANT EYE CANCER!

    if i use the screen at 120hz/144hz only, the problem dosent show.
    but as soon as i switch to 3d mode (lightboost) i can see the pattern.
    also in 2d (windows) as in 3d applications (eg. ns2)


    i guess i am seeing the tn panel matrix.

    any suggestions?
  • ezekelezekel Join Date: 2012-11-29 Member: 173589Members, NS2 Map Tester
    edited April 2013
    ZEROibis wrote: »
    The lcd will still have input lag no matter what you do. Motion blur ect is then on top of the input lag. I still wait for some reasonable replacement for CRT that does not force me to lower my standards.

    That will be never(or not anytime soon), recent monitors just keep showing larger display sizes and larger resolution, or a fixation on "wonderful colors" I'm not seeing any push towards lowering input lag. However if you're playing on a 60hz CRT then a 120hz LCD shouldn't feel much off, but if you're playing on 75-160+ hz crt, then nevermind you have an amazing experience but are just damaging your eyes. Not to mention you can play on lower resolutions and not get a stretching effect or need to black bar so you get improved performance as well in games

    I never really understood the no-native resolution on CRTs and why it can't be done for lcds and such without using black bars, but finding out requires google.. and right now that's too many keystrokes away


    Edit: Will read some of this later, but just wondering if I'm capable of doing this and is it really a benefit?

    I play games as quake and such, and yes I do notice when I pan very quickly the image becomes blurred

    specs: not sure if I have the requirements to use this, again I didn't have time to read the whole article during this post

    benQ xl2420t native @120hz
    i7 3770k @ 4.2 ghz
    gtx 680 2 gb oced (with max-pre rendered frames @ 1)
    8gb ram @1600mhz ddr3

    If I force 8 threads I can get around 700-999(capped) frames in source games, however in a game like ns2 I can barely keep it above 100 mid to end game. So will this be worse than what I have before?

    Also can this be enabled/disabled? cause there's a few singleplayer games I like to play in ultra whatever max settings and doubt my fps can remain above 120 @ 1080p

    edit2: This won't increase input lag, right? vsync off @ pre-render frames 1 (or 0 if the driver allows)
  • GlissGliss Join Date: 2003-03-23 Member: 14800Members, Constellation, NS2 Map Tester
    mdrejhon wrote: »
    asdf
    awesome post, thank you for taking the time to come here. I still have issues though - even when everything is set and Stereoscopic 3D is unchecked, I still have vsync in NS2. this is the only game that I've tested where this happens - any ideas?

  • ezekelezekel Join Date: 2012-11-29 Member: 173589Members, NS2 Map Tester
    Gliss wrote: »
    mdrejhon wrote: »
    asdf
    awesome post, thank you for taking the time to come here. I still have issues though - even when everything is set and Stereoscopic 3D is unchecked, I still have vsync in NS2. this is the only game that I've tested where this happens - any ideas?

    No idea, but if you're using nvidia have you tried going to manage 3d settings and instead of using global settings, specifically going to ns2 and forcing the application to have v-sync off? That normally shuts it down
  • SquishpokePOOPFACESquishpokePOOPFACE -21,248 posts (ignore below) Join Date: 2012-10-31 Member: 165262Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Do I have to have the IR emitter to get past that splash screen when I try to enable 3D vision?
  • GlissGliss Join Date: 2003-03-23 Member: 14800Members, Constellation, NS2 Map Tester
    edited April 2013
    ezekel wrote: »
    Gliss wrote: »
    mdrejhon wrote: »
    asdf
    awesome post, thank you for taking the time to come here. I still have issues though - even when everything is set and Stereoscopic 3D is unchecked, I still have vsync in NS2. this is the only game that I've tested where this happens - any ideas?

    No idea, but if you're using nvidia have you tried going to manage 3d settings and instead of using global settings, specifically going to ns2 and forcing the application to have v-sync off? That normally shuts it down
    yep http://i.imgur.com/W4jSm6n.png
    Squishpoke wrote: »
    Do I have to have the IR emitter to get past that splash screen when I try to enable 3D vision?
    no I believe this is where overwriting the monitor ID / applying the registry fix comes into play

    my monitor isn't even supported and it works so that may be the cause of some issues that I'm having though (W2363D-PF)
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    Squishpoke wrote: »
    Do I have to have the IR emitter to get past that splash screen when I try to enable 3D vision?
    nope, just install the hack :)

    http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/#hack
  • AussieKidAussieKid Join Date: 2012-08-07 Member: 154896Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Shadow
    I take it this is for 120hz monitors only?
  • ScardyBobScardyBob ScardyBob Join Date: 2009-11-25 Member: 69528Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    AussieKid wrote: »
    I take it this is for 120hz monitors only?
    No, but only some 120/144Hz monitors support the LightBoost technology needed to do this trick.
  • ezekelezekel Join Date: 2012-11-29 Member: 173589Members, NS2 Map Tester
    But the question remains, can this be used without v-sync, and is there negative side effects like extra input lag/tearing/worse performance? or is it pure benefit. Can't get something like this if it has side-effects
  • JektJekt Join Date: 2012-02-05 Member: 143714Members, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
    You'll lose a lot of brightness. And if you have a 144hz monitor you'll need to run it in 120hz mode.
  • ezekelezekel Join Date: 2012-11-29 Member: 173589Members, NS2 Map Tester
    Jekt wrote: »
    You'll lose a lot of brightness. And if you have a 144hz monitor you'll need to run it in 120hz mode.

    So the only downside is brightness? I'm on 120hz

    And can't I just raise my brightness/gamma/contrast/ or even raise the black equalizer and still be fine?
  • mdrejhonmdrejhon Join Date: 2013-03-04 Member: 183682Members
    derWalter wrote: »
    as soon as i turn on lightboost, i see a pattern emerging as soon as i start to
    move my mouse.
    Are you seeing the LCD Inversion pattern?
    http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/inversion.php
    http://www.techmind.org/lcd/

    If that is what you are seeing on the XL2411T, that's strange because it shows up more on my ASUS VG278H but almost invisible on my XL2411T, which I don't notice when I play video games. I actually get a little less eyestrain during games with LightBoost than without, since motion blur is a bit hard & my BENQ XL2411T is way too bright (without enabling LightBoost) even at low brightness settings, which enabling LightBoost solves (dims the image for 2D usage). Some people don't like the LightBoost effect, while some people really like it a lot (Vega bought quad Titans recently, for example)
  • mdrejhonmdrejhon Join Date: 2013-03-04 Member: 183682Members
    ezekel wrote: »
    Jekt wrote: »
    So the only downside is brightness? I'm on 120hz
    You can increase contrast and adjust nVidia control panel, but I generally prefer to keep better colors by keeping Contrast at 65; it is a bit darker but the colors are better.
  • mdrejhonmdrejhon Join Date: 2013-03-04 Member: 183682Members
    BTW, check this out:
    TFTCentral has tested LightBoost with their equipment and found
    LightBoost outperforms all past scanning backlights they have ever tested,
    including the old BENQ AMA-Z and Samsung MPA from 2006.

    tftcentral.jpg

    Check out TFTCentral's Motion Blur Reduction Backlights article!
    Newegg and ASUS also mentioned LightBoost in their YouTube video.
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    AussieKid wrote: »
    I take it this is for 120hz monitors only?
    my monitor supports up to 144 lightboost supports just 120hz :)
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    mdrejhon wrote: »
    derWalter wrote: »
    as soon as i turn on lightboost, i see a pattern emerging as soon as i start to
    move my mouse.
    Are you seeing the LCD Inversion pattern?
    http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/inversion.php
    http://www.techmind.org/lcd/

    If that is what you are seeing on the XL2411T, that's strange because it shows up more on my ASUS VG278H but almost invisible on my XL2411T, which I don't notice when I play video games. I actually get a little less eyestrain during games with LightBoost than without, since motion blur is a bit hard & my BENQ XL2411T is way too bright (without enabling LightBoost) even at low brightness settings, which enabling LightBoost solves (dims the image for 2D usage). Some people don't like the LightBoost effect, while some people really like it a lot (Vega bought quad Titans recently, for example)

    thx for this post, i ll read into that more deeply when at home.

    for the brightness i am with you, i turned down lightboost to 10% for the shortest bursts,
    and can still play on daytime without problems.

    i ll try to take pictures of the pattern. as far as i am concerned it only emerges
    when lightboost is enabled and the picture moves. i think it just shows on
    the parts which are moving, but i ll have to test all that.
    like i said, i ll try to take pictures of it and maybe a video.

    i think i didnt see those patters emerging without lightboost,
    so maybe i am just switching to 144hz mode instead.

    as lerk i feel much better with my movement,
    but i cant track moving objects with my eyes anymore.
    they just blur out for me, crt is so much better,
    its unbeliveable right now. i also feel a slight input lag,
    it does not compare to the "hard" and direct feeling of my crt.


    but everythin else is so more convenient,
    its small, uses less energy, dosent blur (everything is so sharp and big,
    i die mostly of the time cause i feel like in slow motion :D; 16:9...)
    could raise it to the height of my eyes, dont have to look down all the time
    and so on... just want to find a way to live with it...
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