What is VRR and ALLM in TV?

XXMAN98

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We are now in an era of Xbox Series X /S and PlayStation 5 consoles, and many TV manufacturers are enhancing their latest TVs with gaming technology to give gamers a better experience.

Most prominent for TV gaming technology are Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), both of which are supported by many modern TVs with HDMI 2.1 ports.

What is VRR?

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Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) is an HDMI technology that enables a TV or monitor to automatically adjust its refresh rate in real-time to match the frame rate of a compatible console or PC output. Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One X and Xbox One S all support VRR, so a matching TV ensures that its output is the same regardless of the frame rate sent to the panel.

For example, if a game is outputting at 60 frames per second, but occasionally drops frames due to complex scenes, a regular TV without VRR will show lag during these dropped frames. However, a VRR-enabled TV will adjust the refresh rate to fit the game output, so you won't see any stuttering or tearing.

Currently, like the PS4 and PS4 Pro, the PS5's HDMI output doesn't support VRR, so even if you have a VRR-enabled TV, you'll still see a lag in some games. However, Sony plans to bring VRR to the PS5 later.

What is ALLM?

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Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM) is a TV technology that you may already be using on your TV even if you don't have VRR. It automatically switches to a specific game mode when it detects a game, and the connected console sends a small flag to the TV and selects the screen mode for you. Game mode usually turns off things like motion processing to reduce latency.

In summary, if you are a gamer looking for a new TV, make sure your TV includes at least one HDMI 2.1 port with 4K 120Hz, VSR, and ALLM support.
 
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