Here’s the question:

One things that I have run across on my quest for a TV is: Pixel response time, shown as 8 ms (milliseconds) more or less. Where does this fit in and what range should we be looking for?

If you are looking to buy a new LCD HDTV, there are several things that you need to think about. There is the number of pixels on the screen (you can get an actual 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, or the less expensive 1,366 x 768). There’s the contrast ratio, which can range from 500:1 up to 30,000:1 or more. There’s the refresh rate (either 60 or 120 hertz).

And then there is something called the “response time”. This is measured in milliseconds. If you were to go back a few years, response time was as high as 65 milliseconds. 8 milliseconds is pretty common now, but it can go as low as 2 or 3 milliseconds.

The response time measures how long it takes for a pixel on the screen to go from black to white and back to black again. This controls how crisp the screen will look when there is a lot of movement. With a long response time, you can get ghosting or smearing in the picture when things move on the screen. With a short response time you don’t.

8 milliseconds is common because, if you divide 1 second by 120, you get 8.25 milliseconds. If it is 8 or less, you generally won’t see any ghosting. Below 8, many people cannot see a difference. If you go to a retailer and look at similar screens with different response times, you will be able to tell if it makes a difference to you or not. If not, it becomes a moot point.

These two articles go into it in a lot more deatil if you are interested:

- LCD screens in a nutshell

- LCD Response Time – Is faster always better?

In this video, there is an advantages/disadvantages comparison between DLP and LCD screens. One thing DLP has going for it is super quick response times:

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