Why can't I get 120 Hz on my TV?

[Jimmythebeard]

I have a new TV that should run at 120Hz but all I can get is 50Hz.

I have UHD set up and the HDMI fron Sky q box is in a 2.1 HDMI slot in my TV.  It's also set to enhanced mode.

Why can't I get 120 Hz on my TV?

[Laing1 · Accepted solution]

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@Jimmythebeard wrote:

I have a new TV that should run at 120Hz but all I can get is 50Hz.

I have UHD set up and the HDMI fron Sky q box is in a 2.1 HDMI slot in my TV.  It's also set to enhanced mode.

Why can't I get 120 Hz on my TV?

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@Jimmythebeard it's simply because the Sky Q boxes don't output at 120Hz 

[SlenderRobert]

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@Jimmythebeard wrote:

I have a new TV that should run at 120Hz but all I can get is 50Hz.

I have UHD set up and the HDMI fron Sky q box is in a 2.1 HDMI slot in my TV.  It's also set to enhanced mode.

Why can't I get 120 Hz on my TV?

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Sky Q can only output 50hz for standard TV broadcasts and 60Hz on streamed app content (when judder reduction is turned on) - that's all it can do and that's all it needs to do. Frame rate matching would be nice, but it, along with Sky Stream, are not high-end A/V devices and therefore are designed to be simple and mass-produced for a mass-market. 

[nigea99]

@Jimmythebeard 

Out of interest what were you expecting to watch in 120Hz ?

[TimmyBGood]

@Jimmythebeard 

Generally speaking, 120Hz is the refresh rate for output from decent modern gaming consoles and high-end PC graphics cards rather than set-top boxes for television: even the current Apple TV 4K tops out at 60Hz.

[MAW85]

I know this is old sorry. All of the above are correct about the box not outputting in 120hz but more to the point there isn't any content recorded at 60 or 120fps so outputting at this refresh rate is completely pointless. This high of a refresh rate is only useful for fast paced gaming. 50hz is plenty for live sports provided you have your TV set to the correct settings. 

[PandJ2020]

Whilst the input frequency may be 50/60Hz some TV's can generate faster output rates by using post processing such as frame interpolation.

However, it will introduce lag and potentially artefacts.

Personally, I keep my set in filmmaker mode - YMMV!

But nothing is broadcast natively at that speed - extra bandwidth required...