What Is Trumotion? Complete Guide

When you’re watching TV, don’t you prefer the display images to appear more lifelike and realistic? This can be especially important for content that features a lot of motion, such as sports events, or when playing fast-paced games.

For example, if you’re watching a basketball game, a TV with seamless and fluid motion can help you see the ball moving smoothly through the air, and the players running and jumping in a more natural and fluid way. The images will be less blurry and more stable. If you recently got an LG TV, you may have already noticed a distinct difference in the way the images appear on your screen. This alteration is the result of an innovative technology developed by LG called TruMotion.

So what is Trumotion?

The short answer is – “TruMotion is a technology that’s designed to enhance the overall picture quality of your viewing experience by making movement seem more natural.”

What Does LG Trumotion Mean?

TruMotion is a technology implemented by LG that serves as a form of motion smoothing. Its primary function is to increase the framerate at which videos are displayed on your TV screen by inserting additional “fake” frames between each real frame.

Typically, movies and TV shows are shot at 24 frames-per-second (FPS), but by using this technology, your TV can predict and fill in the missing frames. It raises the framerate to either 48 or 60 FPS. This feature can improve the viewing experience of certain fast-paced content, such as sports, making the images look smoother and more fluid. 

Just like LG, Samsung, Sony and many other brands use similar technology but with different names. Let’s see some of their details:

Samsung: Motion Rate

The Motion Rate refers to the refresh rate of a Samsung TV. The Motion Rate value is calculated by multiplying the actual refresh rate by 2. However, Samsung is not always consistent in its use of this term. For instance, with some HDMI 2.1 TVs, they may choose not to advertise the Motion Rate and instead only promote a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

Sony: Motionflow XR

Sony does not promote Motionflow XR consistently as not all of their TV models are advertised with this fictitious refresh rate value. Additionally, the multiplier used for the Motionflow XR number varies depending on the TV’s refresh rate, with 60Hz TVs having a multiplier of 4 and 120Hz TVs having a multiplier of 8. 

Hisense: Motion Rate

The Hisense U6G utilizes Motion Rate with a multiplier of 4. On the other hand, entry-level TVs like the Hisense A6G use a multiplier of 2, resulting in a Motion Rate of 120. However, the refresh rate of their Roku models is advertised as the actual refresh rate.

TCL: Natural Motion

TCL offers TVs that are based on both Android and Roku, and they promote the Natural Motion feature in the same way for both. Their higher-end and mid-range TVs utilize a straightforward multiplier of 4. However, their approach is not uniform for the lower-end models. For example, the TCL 4 Series/S435 2020, which has a 60Hz refresh rate, is advertised with a Clear Motion Index of 120, which is not consistent with the multiplier approach. On the other hand, the TCL 4 Series/S446 2021 QLED is advertised without any artificial refresh rate specification.

Vizio: Dynamic Motion Rate

Vizio employs Dynamic Motion Rate, previously known as Effective Refresh Rate, which is a basic multiplier of 2.

What is the difference between TrueMotion and Motion Rate?

True motion refers to the actual movement or change in position of an object or entity over time. It is the physical displacement or movement that occurs in reality.

Motion rate, on the other hand, refers to the frequency at which a display updates its image to create the illusion of motion. This is usually measured in Hertz (Hz) and is often referred to as the fake refresh rate. For example, a TV with a motion rate of 120Hz will refresh the image 120 times per second.

What Is TruMotion 120?

The TruMotion 120 on TV indicates that the TV has a native 60Hz panel whereas everything higher including 240, 960, and 1440 usually means that the TV has a 120Hz native panel. 120 is assigned to entry-level TVs; such TVs have a matrix with a 60 Hz image support frequency. These are TVs in the budget and mid-range segment. Hence, a TV with TruMotion 120 will show video at this frequency, but half of the frames will be thrown away, and you’ll be watching the video at 60 Hz.

What Is TruMotion 240?

TruMotion 240 on LG TVs means the video is transmitted at 240 fps via HDMI, but it’s equivalent to a 120 Hz native refresh rate. TruMotion 240 index is assigned to TVs with modern screens that support 120 frames per second. Such TVs can show videos of the highest quality.

What is LG TruMotion “Clear and Smooth”?

The TruMotion technology feature offers two distinct picture settings – Clear and Smooth – to optimize motion handling for TV, movies, and sports.

The Clear setting on TVs improves picture quality by enhancing sharpness and edge definition, ideal for detailed scenery or fast camera movements in sports. For shows with a lot of motion, such as action scenes, the Smooth setting is better, minimizing blurring and stuttering for a more natural-looking and smoother picture.

How To Disable TruMotion on LG TV?

If you find the soap opera effect produced by TruMotion to be too intrusive, then you can turn off this feature. Here’s how you do it:

1. Go to settings.

2. Select the picture menu.

3. Click on picture mode settings and picture options.

4. Turn TrueMotion from smooth to off.