XL2411Z and XL2420Z announced on BENQ’s website

Posted Dec 9, 2013 by

The XL2411Z and XL2420Z have been simultaneously announced on BENQ’s website.

These monitors have BENQ Blur Reduction, which is a strobe backlight similar to LightBoost, whichΒ works at 75Hz through 144Hz, revealed in BENQ XL2720Z currently being tested at Blur Busters.

About Mark Rejhon

Also known as Chief Blur Buster. Founder of Blur Busters. Inventor of TestUFO. Read more about him on the About Mark page.

20 Comments For “XL2411Z and XL2420Z announced on BENQ’s website”

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Mark Rejhon
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Mark Rejhon

Noteworthy point: The XL2411T is more easily available in Europe, I haven’t seen a U.S. retailer stock the XL2411T.

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10 years 4 months ago
supermote
Member
supermote

What’s difference between XL2411Z and XL2420Z ?

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10 years 4 months ago
damiola
Member
damiola

case and inputs:
11Z have d-sub(vga), dvi, hdmi
20Z have same as above plus dp(displayport)
one case(hull) for xl2410t, xl2411t, xl2411z is same
another case(hull) for xl2420t, xl2420te, xl2420tx, xl2420z

same case on several models give better customers price for newer models… or better profit for benq πŸ™‚

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10 years 4 months ago
Ewok
Member
Ewok

Where did you find the information about a 75Hz strobed mode? 75Hz isn’t mentionned on BenQ’s website.

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10 years 4 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

BENQ sent me a XL2420Z for testing. I’ve confirmed 75Hz strobing is working, via my tweet on Twitter. In fact, strobing works at any refresh rate in 1Hz increments — even 125Hz (for Quake Live) or 96 Hz.

Follow @BlurBusters to get these little easter eggs I sometimes reveal a little early.

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10 years 4 months ago
Aldo
Member
Aldo

Hello, I’m between waiting for XL2420Z or a new G-Sync monitor (PWM-Free) or buying the XL2420TE, but I need to clear up some doubts first:

1. I’m assuming that the built-in 75-144hz strobing in XL2420Z is activated via the monitor’s OSD, meaning you don’t need the Lighboost utility by ToastyX (correct me if I’m wrong). Since you put it manually, do you also get a choice for strobing brightness like ToastyX’s strobelight? Is there a strobing auto mode (similar to G-Sync’s) or only manual?

2. In your tests with the XL2420Z, is there a perceivable difference between using Lightboost and BenQ’s included Motion Blur Reduction (75-144hz)?

3. In terms of compatibility, I suppose that if you want to reduce motion blur using a strobing backlight, you are forced to use a computer in most cases. With G-Sync because you need a special graphics card for the GPU-Monitor communication to work. With Lightboost because you need the Strobelight utility to make the strobing work. My question is, considering the XL2420Z has its Motion Blur Reduction technology built-in, is it possible to get the benefits of said technology using another device, such as a PlayStation 4? If it’s possible, is using said monitor’s technology the only way to use backlight strobing with other, non-PC devices?

4. Is there any information on XL2420Z’s release date and pricing? What about monitors with G-Sync built-in?

5. Is the XL2420Z Zero-Flicker (PWM-Free) like the XL2420TE?

Thanks a lot.

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10 years 4 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

Incidentally, the G-SYNC motherboard seems to be PWM-free. However, this is a G-SYNC preview monitor and not representative of final product.

1. Yes, the BENQ strobing (75-144Hz) is activated via the menu. No utility. You just press a physical button for strobing on/off.

2. The XL2720Z (27″ model), keep tuned for the review. I can’t say anything officially yet about the performance of the beta firmware, until I’ve firmware-upgraded it to final firmware.

3. Strobe backlights theoretically can work with consoles and other sources. It simply requires 60Hz strobing. It actually strobes 120Hz (double) at 60Hz on the Z series, but proper blur reduction is single-strobe-per-refresh. Which is a flicker problem at 60Hz. So the manufacturers are currently afraid of providing 60Hz strobing, is because it would produce painful flicker for some people, and produce some complaints. (60Hz flicker is far worse than 120Hz flicker)

4. I’ve gotten earliest date of mid-Jan (referring to XL2720Z) and late-1Q / early-2Q (referring to the 24″ models). So there might be a longer wait for the 24″ models.

5. Yes, all the Z series are PWM-free when you turn off the Blur Reduction.

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10 years 4 months ago
Aldo
Member
Aldo

1. Sorry for not making myself clear, what I meant by Manual is choosing a fixed refresh rate (strobed) like with Toasty’s Strobelight. What I meant by Auto is like G-Sync’s ability to synchronize strobing/refresh rate with the input FPS, so the screen strobes/refreshes on par with the FPS, though I hardly doubt the Z’s Motion Blur Reduction has such an option due to the lack of GPU-Monitor communication.

1a. I didn’t explain myself on this one either. Basically my question was: supposing I can set the Z’s Motion Blur Reduction as I please, which is the way to go with a device that’s only capable of content up to 60fps (like the PS4)? 75hz strobed or 120hz strobed? Taking into consideration both flickering and motion reduction. And, would it be worth the motion blur reduction after the added flickering? What would the refresh rate not being an par with the FPS imply?

2. and 3. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. I feel I have learned so much about the topic in the past few days. Your site has been very helpful.

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10 years 4 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

1. None of the monitors (today or upcoming) can do it. Variable-rate strobing is a very hard engineering problem due to flicker problem of random strobes. There’s a possible algorithm, however.

1a. When you go below 75Hz, you are double-strobed. At 60Hz, that means 120Hz strobing. For pure 60Hz strobing, that depends on your eyes and personal preferences. It would be like an old-fashioned 60Hz CRT monitor. For some, the blur reduction is worth it, but for others, they really prefer a higher refresh rate (75+ Hz really helps, but consoles are always 60Hz). I am asking BENQ if this will continue to be the case in the released version of the monitor.

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10 years 4 months ago
Aldo
Member
Aldo

Thanks a lot for your kind reply.

1. So only manual mode choosing one from 75 to 144hz, no auto, right?. Supposing I set the backlight to strobe at 75hz (lowest) and use it for 60hz sources (e.g. PS4), could flickering become a problem? What if I chose 120hz (strobed) for the same source? I’m pretty sure the 120hz would have less flicker than 75hz, but which setting would be the one to pick taking into consideration both flicker and motion blur reduction?

2. On the other hand, if I were to use Lightboost at 100hz for 100hz sources (computer games at 100fps), aside from the blur reduction, would I notice an increase in flickering compared to my current monitor (Asus VS247H-P) being at 60hz with my computer (60hz) as a source?

3. This might sound off-topic, but why is Lightboost’s lower limit 100hz? Is it really a bad idea to go below 100hz?

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10 years 4 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

1. I’m not sure what you mean by “Manual” versus “Auto”, as the Z series strobing behaves far more automatic than LightBoost does. Can you clarify what you mean by “Manual” versus “Auto”? Pressing a hardware button (and works on Linux/SteamBox/Mac/PC) is a lot more automatic than installing, configuring and running an app (ToastyX Strobelight), isn’t it?

1a) You can’t set strobe rate separate from refresh rate. The strobe rate is always automatically set to the refresh rate for both LightBoost and for BENQ Z-series Blur Reduction. Also, scientifically, for best motion quality, you should have only one strobe per refresh (and a frame rate preferably matching refresh rate), or the strobing isn’t zero-motion-blur. It still continues strobes at 60Hz, but it double-strobes. (120Hz strobe @ 60Hz can look as ugly as 30fps @ 60Hz — with a double edge effect). I’m talking to BENQ if they can enable a firmware modification for a 60Hz strobe mode.

2) Any strobing (even 144Hz strobing) is more flickering than your current monitor. However, most people aren’t bothered by 100Hz-and-up strobing flicker. You can turn the strobing feature ON/OFF.

3) LightBoost lower limit is 100Hz because of a vendor decision. The original LightBoost was originally designed for 3D Vision, and they set 100Hz as the lower limit because 3D shutter glasses at 50Hz/50Hz per eye is very flickery. Now, subsequent strobe backlights are now enabling lower refresh rates (e.g. BENQ Z series at 75Hz).

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10 years 4 months ago
Mark Rejhon
Author
Mark Rejhon

Thanks to Marc of Display Corner for the heads up on this!

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10 years 4 months ago
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