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Guide [UPDATED] Eliminate Motion Blur While Gaming With NVIDIA LightBoost!
Dec 05 2012 04:00 AM |
qubit
in Tips & Tricks
Click image to enlarge
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Yes, I've finally found the holy grail of gaming in 2D mode on an LCD monitor: zero motion blur! It literally displays motion as good as a CRT and then some. I was so stoked when I first saw the effect today, that my jaw literally dropped and I played my game open mouthed, it was that awesome! This combined the crystal clarity of an LCD display with the motion sharpness and smoothness of a CRT, all at a fast 120Hz screen refresh rate. This is something I'd never seen before and looks truly amazing - better than even a CRT. Note that 3D Vision has always eliminated motion blur in 3D mode using the shutter glasses.
All LCD monitors show significant motion blur, even my new Asus VG278HE monitor which supports a 144Hz refresh rate and NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 LightBoost, since it's inherent in LCD technology. At 144Hz the motion blur is much reduced though. This of course looks rubbish when playing any kind of animated game, especially a fast moving FPS game, which is why it's such a crying shame for gamers that CRT's became obsolete, since they didn't suffer motion blur. Even if you can't obviously see the blur due to the fast pace of the typical FPS game, the effect is still there, degrading the picture and your enjoyment of the game.
Note that this works only with NVIDIA graphics cards however, since it uses the LightBoost feature introduced in 3D Vision 2, which is proprietary.
I've discovered that there's a very simple way to eliminate motion blur:
Note that the IR emitter can be disconnected, but the setting can't be changed without it, since NVIDIA saw fit to remove the above option when it's not connected, for some reason.
The monitor is now locked in 3D mode with LightBoost permanently on. This has the following benefits:
So here's a good reason to go NVIDIA as you can't get this fantastic improvement with AMD graphics cards. If someone comes up with a small utility to set the monitor to 3D mode independently of the NVIDIA driver, then this benefit could also be enjoyed using other brands of graphics card too eg AMD and Intel integrated graphics. However, as LightBoost is an NVIDIA proprietary feature, they're unlikely to release the API, forcing this to be reverse engineered.
One side effect of enabling it is that many settings are locked on the monitor. On my Asus, locked settings include brightness, saturation, colour temperature, Trace Free, sharpness and many others. However, the brightness can be adjusted by the changing the amount of LightBoost required and the contrast setting isn't locked out in 3D mode, so the picture can still be viewed comfortably.
Bottom line: if you're a serious gamer, have an NVIDIA graphics card and care about your picture quality, then buying a LightBoost monitor is worth the price premium, hands down.
UPDATED
We have had some excellent responses to this LightBoost guide in the forum, so I'd like to update this article to reflect these useful contributions.
Mark Rejhon runs the http://www.blurbusters.com blog which is all about enabling and modding LCD monitors to use strobing backlights to eliminate motion blur and is well worth a read.
He has now joined tng as user mdrejhon to give us some very useful hints and tips. First up is a registry tweak to enable LightBoost mode independent of NVIDIA's graphics driver and crucially, the presence of the emitter, saving significant money. Click here to download it, but Windows 8 users may see issues - see his post about this first.
Then we have a great video demonstration by Mark using high speed photography to clearly show the benefits of strobing the backlight:
There's more useful hints and tips in the forum thread below, so check it out below!
All LCD monitors show significant motion blur, even my new Asus VG278HE monitor which supports a 144Hz refresh rate and NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 LightBoost, since it's inherent in LCD technology. At 144Hz the motion blur is much reduced though. This of course looks rubbish when playing any kind of animated game, especially a fast moving FPS game, which is why it's such a crying shame for gamers that CRT's became obsolete, since they didn't suffer motion blur. Even if you can't obviously see the blur due to the fast pace of the typical FPS game, the effect is still there, degrading the picture and your enjoyment of the game.
Note that this works only with NVIDIA graphics cards however, since it uses the LightBoost feature introduced in 3D Vision 2, which is proprietary.
I've discovered that there's a very simple way to eliminate motion blur:
- Ensure that the monitor is connected with a dual link DVI cable
- Connect the USB IR emitter and let the driver install complete if necessary
- Set the monitor refresh to 120Hz (3D Vision doesn't support the 144Hz that my monitor can display, unfortunately). Note that setting the monitor to 60, 100 or 110Hz refresh doesn't work. LightBoost will be on, but cause terrible motion artefacts, even worse than with it off
- Set the NVIDIA driver to always put the display in 3D mode (red highlight) in the screenshot below and click Apply:
- To stop the driver displaying an unwanted 3D Vision 2 picture, simply untick Enable Stereoscopic 3D. Leave it enabled for 3D use, obviously
Note that the IR emitter can be disconnected, but the setting can't be changed without it, since NVIDIA saw fit to remove the above option when it's not connected, for some reason.
The monitor is now locked in 3D mode with LightBoost permanently on. This has the following benefits:
- All games display zero motion blur. Sideways scrolling (worst case acid test) is perfect at all speeds
- Doesn't introduce lag
- No need to use the 3D Vision glasses and 3D mode. 3D Vision has always eliminated motion blur due to the strobing effect of the shutter lenses
- It improves the desktop too, with a perfectly clear mouse during movement (especially sideways) and much clearer windows while being dragged. This is never perfectly clear, because the mouse motion always contains a lot of jitter. It's just the way the blessed things work
- Overall picture quality appears that little bit sharper
So here's a good reason to go NVIDIA as you can't get this fantastic improvement with AMD graphics cards. If someone comes up with a small utility to set the monitor to 3D mode independently of the NVIDIA driver, then this benefit could also be enjoyed using other brands of graphics card too eg AMD and Intel integrated graphics. However, as LightBoost is an NVIDIA proprietary feature, they're unlikely to release the API, forcing this to be reverse engineered.
One side effect of enabling it is that many settings are locked on the monitor. On my Asus, locked settings include brightness, saturation, colour temperature, Trace Free, sharpness and many others. However, the brightness can be adjusted by the changing the amount of LightBoost required and the contrast setting isn't locked out in 3D mode, so the picture can still be viewed comfortably.
Bottom line: if you're a serious gamer, have an NVIDIA graphics card and care about your picture quality, then buying a LightBoost monitor is worth the price premium, hands down.
UPDATED
We have had some excellent responses to this LightBoost guide in the forum, so I'd like to update this article to reflect these useful contributions.
Mark Rejhon runs the http://www.blurbusters.com blog which is all about enabling and modding LCD monitors to use strobing backlights to eliminate motion blur and is well worth a read.
He has now joined tng as user mdrejhon to give us some very useful hints and tips. First up is a registry tweak to enable LightBoost mode independent of NVIDIA's graphics driver and crucially, the presence of the emitter, saving significant money. Click here to download it, but Windows 8 users may see issues - see his post about this first.
Then we have a great video demonstration by Mark using high speed photography to clearly show the benefits of strobing the backlight:
There's more useful hints and tips in the forum thread below, so check it out below!
106 Comments
One thing I hated about CRT monitors and the same would apply here if the backlight strobes, is eye strain.
If the backlight was flickering at 60Hz however, that would be a different story.
Doubt two 2 GB 680's can run all three.
I'm the guy who doing a "LightBoost" style hack modification of a computer monitor:
The BlurBusters.com Blog -- Hobby Project to build a Zero Motion Blur LCD Monitor
I've posted a link to your article on my blog.
Mark Rejhon
Nice site, I like what you're doing! I once replaced a bad backlight in a 22" Samsung and could have used the resources you list.
One typo on your post tho, its supposed to be "TechNGaming" not "Tech Gaming"
Here's a new tip: Stubborn games that insists on going into 3D mode (if you have no 3D glasses, or don't want 3D) ...Turn off "Enable Stereoscopic 3D", keep the NVIDIA Control Panel window open, launch the game and start the game, then Alt+Tab back, and then re-enable "Enable Stereoscopic 3D". That turns on LightBoost without enabling 3D in the videogame, because I've already launched the videogame. Switch back to the game. And then play!
Also, lower game details until you can play capped-out at 120fps@120Hz. The zero motion blur effect is strongest when you're playing a full 120fps@120Hz. Works great in older games (HL2, Quake series, etc). Harder to achieve in Crysis unless you've got a GTX680 SLI (and even at that, need to tweak a few settings). Definitely turn off the in-game motion blur settings, for games that adds artificial GPU motion blur.
We need a hotkey utility that automates all of this, enabling/disabling LightBoost via a hotkey.
1. Enabling LightBoost slightly dims the screen somewhat. To fix the dimness, use the monitor's Menu to set Contrast to 92 (for VG278H). This makes the picture brighter while preserving all colors in this Lagom Contrast Test Pattern.
2. Smooth scroll in web browsers: If you're using Chrome and web browsing, install Chromium Smooth Scroller to gain the benefits of sharp text scrolling with the mouse wheel. Smoooooooth.
Thanks for the tips, mdrejhon. I'll update the article with your blog post when I get the chance (after the site upgrades are finished).
Also, that typo is unfortunately still there on your blog.
I have the VG278HE monitor but there is no selection for Always.
It only shows "Only while 3D programs run"
Even then, I have to turn off, then turn on "Enable steroscopic 3D" before it changes from greyed out to select mode.
Also, the light on the IR box is always dim until I click on "Test steroscopic 3D" When the test is over, it turns dim again.
I loaded that same driver 306.97 and the same result.
What could be wrong with my setup.
BarryBGB, try installing this registry tweak:
http://www.blurbuste...houtGlasses.reg
Then reboot.
WARNING: If you are using Windows 8, you may have problems with redraws at Windows 8 login and the Tile screen. However, you will have zero motion blur when dragging windows around. Also try re-disabling it again via Control Panel, and seeing if the motion blur comes back.
Also, there's a VESA DDC hack available for VG278HE owners, but I have not tried it. I read it in some other forum, but try the simpler registry tweak first.
Hi Mark,
I need your help right now
I have a BenQ XL2420T and I was able to get into Lightboost 2 Mode (Desktop is really “darker” and I can’t change settings on my monitor (it says Lightboost 2 anyway).
My problem is that I have only 60 FPS in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
I used different .reg “tweaks” to get into the this mode.
I used these ones:
http://www.esreality...p?file_id=92249
http://www.scanningb...houtGlasses.reg
Furthermore I used these Asus.inf to be able to choose the monitor in the NVIDIA Menu.
I have really 3d ingame (it just needs to stay 2d) and I need mass fps, that’s all.
Can you help me?
TuGuX, the reason that your monitor looks dark, is because it doesn't support LightBoost according to the product page.
Unfortunately, the brighter screen and blur-free motion is only available on a second gen LightBoost capable monitor.
@BarryBGB
Thanks for that registry tweak - I'll try it out and update the article with it.
Welcome to tng people, great to have you with us.
@qubit
NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ 2 ready, it has LightBoost 2
It worked now somehow. I installed newest nvidia drivers from 17th december and I unchecked "Enable Stereoscopic 3D".
Now my screen is darker and I can't change settings on my monitor, it says at picture menu "Nvidia 3D LightBoost".
I have ingame the same but now far more than 200 FPS, should be workin now or not? (It feels so smooth like a CRT right now).
However I will get tomorrow the ASUS VG278HE, do I have to do the same stuff? (I don't have the 3D Kit, I bypassed it with the INF installation, so NVIDIA menu thinks I have 3D installed)
Thanks
Attention, attention!
It is normal for LightBoost to look dimmer in 2D.
That's because of lots of black period between the strobes.
Shorter strobes and longer black periods between strobes, leads to a dimmer picture on average (flicker fusion averages out the brightness -- same principle as PWM dimming, except it's only one strobe per refresh needed for the zero motion blur effect)
LightBoost is only brighter for 3D because it's timed to surge extra light (strobe) only while shutter glasses are open. No sense in wasting backlight when both shutters on 3D glasses are closed while waiting for LCD to finish refreshing between frames. LightBoost was invented because of that. Alas, it doesn't brighten 2D but you're instead rewarded with zero motion blur effect instead.
Also, I think the 1ms monitors will have better LightBoost quality, so I'm hoping someone will publish a review of one of the newer 1ms panels. I heard Benq's have brighter backlights, so that might lend itself well to short strobes better, so I am anxious to hear a comparision between an Asus VG278H(E) and a Benq XL2411T or Asus VG248QE
EDIT: I've now fixed your post, as it would confuse other people, otherwise.
@mdrejhon
Yea I have the BenQ XL2420T right now and tomorrow or in 2 days I will have the ASUS VG278HE (144 Hz).
I don't have the 3D-Kit so I have to bypass this again with a modified .inf file (am I able to use 144 Hz with my new ASUS in "Lightboost Mode"?)
It is really nice right now and it makes so much fun to play
Thanks to you all.
@qubit
Yea you are right. But I guess everyone understands when you say "3D Vision 2" or "LightBoost 2"
I couldn't get 3D Vision to work at 144Hz and I think it's prevented from doing so by NVIDIA. I dunno why though, because I managed to make it work about 3 years ago with a GTX 285 and a CRT monitor at something like 640x480, which worked quite well.
so what do I need to do to get this working on my BenQ XL2420T without a USB emitter?
@bojinglebells
First, you install this .inf via device manager: http://www.file-uplo...erride.inf.html
Then you reboot.
After this, you enable this: http://www.file-uplo...lasses.reg.html
Make sure windows is set to 120Hz
Goto NVIDIA drivers, check the box to 'Enable Stereoscopic 3D'.
Assuming it has worked, it should now list the 'ASUS VG278H' monitor as the Stereoscopic 3D display type, and not '3D Vision Discover' which is there by default.
In this same section, set the drop down box for stereoscopic 3D to 'Always Run'.
Now start a game, I tested it with CS:GO .. I had 60 FPS and real 3D on (which is not good) AND check your monitor settings (when you go in menu -> picture, there should be something like "Nvidia LightBoost", then it's working)
Next step, just uncheck 'Enable Stereoscopic 3D'. Now you should have more than 120 FPS with LightBoost (depending on your hardware), so everything is nice and working right now.
To turn it off, I guess you have to change the Always Run stuff, or completely deinstall monitor and install normal BenQ Drivers
Thanks for that link to the reg file. I will try it tonight when I get home. This has bugged me ever since I first got this monitor and 3D vision2 kit.
I hope I now can have that option of "Always"