There has been a shift of high refresh rate monitors from being primarily marketed to gamers to a broader customer base. Apple, Samsung, and many other companies have begun transitioning from LCD monitors to high refresh rate displays in tablets and smartphones.
Why are they doing so? Is it worth buying for customers for regular day-to-day use, especially for the photo, video, or graphics editing?
Do you also intend to purchase a 60Hz monitor for your office computer or home setup to be used for editing photos and videos?
Let’s find out: Is 60Hz enough for editing? Both Photo editing and video editing.
Is 60Hz Monitor Enough for Video Editing?
There are usually multiple refresh rates available on modern monitors, such as 60Hz, 75Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz. The functionality of increasing the refresh rate is that it improves the viewing experience by smoothing the transition between frames so that from the perspective of the eye, it looks as though it is moving more fluidly.
The important thing to remember is that a high refresh rate can’t affect the number of frames you can see at any given moment, but it gives you more information at any given time.
Since most videos are filmed at relatively low frame rates, editing videos with a high frame rate won’t have any impact on your experience.
For the most part, you can ignore the refresh rate of your monitor as long as the video editing project you are working on corresponds to or is greater than the refresh rate of your monitor. In fact, don’t worry in any case if the display supports 60Hz.
It is sufficient to use 60Hz for any video editing job that you need to do. You will only benefit from a high refresh rate monitor when you are playing back the results during your editing process.
However, when editing videos, it is essential to have color accuracy. As you are editing, the monitor acts as your eyes.
In this regard, you might not be able to distinguish between blacks and very gray depending on the type of display you have.
Therefore, choosing the right monitor is one of the most critical factors in a successful editing setup. When selecting a monitor for your video editing work, you should pay attention to features like the refresh rate, the response time, and the contrast ratio.
Is 60Hz Monitor Enough for Photo Editing?
Generally speaking, the higher the refresh rate of a monitor, the better it will be able to handle motion. If you are working on graphic design or photo editing, you may not think you need a higher refresh rate. However, it can provide a great experience in navigation.
The change will make it easier for you to move windows and images around the screen much more smoothly, which will, in turn, make your eyes feel better.
As long as the screen does not have any motion, the refresh rate will not change. So, the refresh rate of a monitor for photo editing is not so much of an issue if you don’t care about navigation benefits.
Conclusions
Overall, 60Hz is enough for video and photo editing. However, if a video is recorded on more than 60Hz and you are going to edit that video on a 60Hz display, you will not be able to watch and observe more than 60Hz.
Further, you should consider some other factors, for example, color space, resolution, brightness, response time for a smooth experience, aspect ratio, and many other minor aspects for an overall better photo and video editing experience.