I'm buying a bigger TV

[Thin Crust]

I have decided to get myself a 50" TV. Thing is, they aren't exactly cheap. I want to be absolutely sure before I make a purchase. One thing I'm leaning toward isthe SONY 50" (diag) R450 Series LED HDTV

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666590655

I currently have a 32" SONY Bravia and I love it. I love it so much that I'm sticking with SONY TV's again. I would like your advice and input if you are able.

My criteria is that it needs to be 50", don't care about 3D or it being a smart TV. Question is though, it's only 60 Hz. Do you think I should try for 120 or 240?

Another one I'm looking into is This one here. The Samsung - 50" Class (49-1/2" Diag.) - LED - 1080p - 120Hz - HDTV. It's not a SONY but I know Samsung is a big name and this one has the 120 HZ

[Unstable Hamster]

120hz can make a huge difference, I have a two sony TV's one is just a normal 1080p 32" 60hz, but I end up playing on my Playstation TV just because the 120hz makes the movement much smoother. I recommend 120hz.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Unstable Hamster

[Modus]

From ye book of Googs:

Pulldown and the Film-Video Dance

To answer those questions, you have to understand two important things about video. First, you can't add detail beyond what is already in the source footage. Second, the source footage is never greater than 60Hz. When you watch a movie on Blu-ray, it's a 1080p picture at 60 Hz. The disc displays 60 interlaced or 30 progressive frames at 1,920-by-1,080 resolution per second of video. For movies that were recorded on film, the original footage is actually 24 frames per second, upconverted to 30 frames through a process known as 2:3 pulldown. It distributes the source frames so they can be spread across 30 instead of 24 frames per second. Those frames are then interlaced (combined and shuffled) to 60 "frames" per second to match the 60Hz refresh rate of the vast majority of TVs you can buy today. In the case of 1080p60 televisions, the frames are pulled down to 60 full frames per second, and both the players and HDTVs outright skip any interlacing step.

Going Too Far

Enhanced refresh rates like 120Hz, 240Hz, and various other speed-boosting features on modern HDTVs, on the other hand, push the concept too far. Remember what I said earlier about not being able to add detail beyond what's in the source footage? That's exactly what those higher refresh rates do. They interpolate data between each frame to produce additional frames. But the data in those combined frames can only be based on the source frames and whatever mathematical magic the HDTV is employing to figure out the middle ground. This technique can help reduce judder, or the jerkiness that manifests when displaying footage on a display that doesn't share its native frame rate (like, for example, a 24-frame-per-second film clip pulled down to 30 fps, then interlaced to 60Hz). Some plasma HDTVs can even reach a 600Hz refresh rate, which, when you consider that the source footage is going to be between 24 to 60 frames per second, is downright overkill.

Actually, this effect can produce a distinctly artificial, unnatural feel to video.

Highlighted is what I usually tell people. Not only do you get artificially upscaled video, but it makes movies look unnatural. More isn't always better, it actually gives video the "soap opera" look, whereas lower framerates look smoother and more cinematic. Higher framerates might come into play for video games, but for video, you'll probably want to turn that awkward refresh upscaling off in the options.

[Brandon Strader]

NO. I paid $100 more than that for a 60". That extra 10" is a big difference!

I saw a 70" 3D tv on sale for like $1300. I'd either wait until the price comes down more or just get that now. 70", amazing.

[Unstable Hamster]

Not only do you get artificially upscaled video, but it makes movies look unnatural. More isn't always better, it actually gives video the "soap opera" look, whereas lower framerates look smoother and more cinematic. Higher framerates might come into play for video games, but for video, you'll probably want to turn that awkward refresh upscaling off in the options.

I agree, watching movies with 120hz looks off. So the deal is if this TV is mainly used for games 120hz, if movies 60hz.

[Thin Crust]

It would mainly be used for games. Especially PS4 in the future. Do most TV's have an option to dial it back down to 60Hz for movies?

[Brandon Strader]

I wouldn't worry too much about Hz, the TV you get will probably be 120Hz and then you'll set it to "Game Mode" and it won't matter.

[Kenogu Labz]

Keep in mind that the 'unnatural' look is due to ingrained 24fps sensibilities. Over time, you can get used to film in higher framerates.

[Mini-Me]

My current TV can operate in 120Hz without any frame interpolation. Instead, interpolation is a menu option (defaults to "on" unfortunately). Without interpolation, a 60Hz source has each frame simply repeated twice, a 30FPS source has each frame repeated four times, and a 24FPS source has each frame repeated 5 times. (Technically, I'm not sure whether the refresh rate is slightly lower than 120Hz or whether 29.97FPS NTSC and 59.94FPS ATSC are very slightly sped up, but whatever.)

120Hz+ TV's are the only ones that can play 24FPS film sources back correctly. 60Hz TV's still have to do a progressive form of 2:3 pulldown, where even and odd frames get played back a different number of times. This creates judder, which is not seen on projectors in movie theaters. If you're interested in a theatrical 24FPS presentation of movies, you need a TV with a refresh rate that's a multiple of 24.

Long story short: Unless recent TV manufacturers have removed the option to disable interpolation, you want a 120Hz/240Hz TV. (IIRC the purpose of 240Hz is to allow perfect playback for all 3D film sources too.)

Edited September 24, 2013 by Mini-Me