600htz subfield drive

[BMW]

While I am still looking at the G10 vs the S1, the main differences seem to be The THX viewing and 600 htz subfield drive, which the S1 has. What is this and how does it affect the picture? Thanks
BMW

 

[SopRage]

The "600 Hz Subfield Drive" is a "feature" of both models and is simply marketing-speak for "plasmas handle motion better than LCDs."

The Panasonic plasmas are essentially refreshing the picture 600 times per second whereas the new 240Hz LCDs are doing so 240 times, 120Hz LCDs 120 times, etc. At any rate it's a moot point in your decision since both of the panels you're considering do the same thing.

 

[popotoys]

Not quite, a plasma is only really 60hz:

This is a quote from here -> http://www.tvlampsnbulbs.com/2009/03/what-does-600hz-subfield-motion-mean/

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A standard video signal is actually a series of still images, flashed on screen so quickly that we believe we are watching a moving image. The typical frame rate used in North America is 60 frames per second (60Hz) meaning that a TV would display 60 individual still images every second. Sub-field drive is the method used to flash the individual image elements (dots) on a plasma panel. For each frame displayed on the TV the Sub-field drive flashes the dots 10 times or more, meaning that the dots are flashing 600 times per second (600Hz) or more. (Example: 60 frames per second x 10 sub-fields = 600 flashes per second).

It all boils down to TV manufacturers using some science to trick our eyes into perceiving a better picture. The television shows you the image at the same refresh rate but fires the individual pixels faster so the images appear smoother.
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[SopRage]

My bad; I should have clarified. For what it's worth, I believe that a lot of the "240 Hz" TVs use this trick to some extent as well. Only the "true" 240Hz TVs actually interpolate the claimed number of frames.

 

[SopRage]

I did some more digging and found this GREAT site that explains this whole thing wonderfully.

 

[popotoys]

I did some more digging and found this GREAT site that explains this whole thing wonderfully.

Awesome, that is what LCD's do to get to a higher refresh rate. LCD's either duplicate frames or interpolate frames which requires some sort of video processing. It still technically is not the same as what the plasma does. The plasma does not create new frames. It flashes the individual pixels faster.

 

[BruZZi]

Awesome, that is what LCD's do to get to a higher refresh rate. LCD's either duplicate frames or interpolate frames which requires some sort of video processing. It still technically is not the same as what the plasma does. The plasma does not create new frames. It flashes the individual pixels faster.

Except ...

The "Smooth Mode" on Pioneer Plasmas use frame interpolation.

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