As gamers will tell you, refresh rates matter. Anecdotally, it seems that they would prioritize a faster refresh rate over a higher resolution, at least up to 144Hz with 1920×1080 resolution. But is that 144Hz monitor really going to provide the performance it claims?
To address this, VESA has announced a certification program to certify the performance of a monitor with a range of more than 50 test parameters that include refresh rate, flicker, gray-to-gray response time, video frame drop, and video frame rate jitter.
120Hz and 144Hz are the most common specifications for gaming displays with 1920×1080 resolution. Looking at the 144Hz LCD panels (not the monitor) currently available in the market, the most common size is 15.5″ with a resolution of 1920×1080. Next comes 17.3″ also at 1920×1080 resolution, then 27″ with a number of panel models at 3840×2160 resolution. Other sizes are available, for example, 16.1″, 32″, 43″ and larger.
In terms of faster panels, there are 240Hz panels in similar sizes and Innolux has 16″ and 17.3″ 1920×1080 resolution panels with an impressive 480Hz refresh rate. And to top that off at Display Week there was a demonstration 75″ display reaching 576Hz.
The point is that the panels for these refresh rates are available in a range of sizes with resolutions suitable for many gaming enthusiasts. The question is then whether the panel and controller board circuitry delivers on those specs. This is where VESA is looking to keep things honest with their ActiveSync .
In a similar vein, VESA is also certifying displays targeted at media with their MediaSync certification. As they describe it, certifying to ensure jitter-free media playback supporting all international broadcast video formats.
Details of this program are available here: https://www.adaptivesync.org/ together with a list of the actual test criteria https://www.adaptivesync.org/performance-criteria/.
There is also a link to the currently certified products. Not surprisingly for a new standard, there are only a few products listed.