Micro-judder is an important piece to the motion puzzle when watching content that's shown in 24 fps and 25 fps. This test goes hand in hand with our Judder and Response Time Stutter tests, which are all important aspects of a TV's motion handling performance when watching movies and TV shows. If a TV performs poorly here, there's a subtle, yet distracting choppiness to motion that should look smooth, which affects immersion and goes against the content creator's intent.
Test results
Test Methodology Coverage
We added this test as part of our 2.1 test bench update. Before that, we had no equivalent test, so TVs that haven't been tested on 2.1 or later don't have these results. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work.
| Micro-Judder | 2.01 | 2.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-Judder-Free 24p | ❌ | ✅ |
| Micro-Judder-Free 25p | ❌ | ✅ |
| Micro-Judder-Free 24p via 60p | ❌ | ✅ |
| Micro-Judder-Free 25p via 60p | ❌ | ✅ |
| Micro-Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps | ❌ | ✅ |
| Micro-Judder-Free 25p via Native Apps | ❌ | ✅ |
When It Matters
Micro-judder can happen when watching low frame rate content filmed in 24 fps or 25 fps. Even though the vast majority of cinematic content shown in North America and other NTSC regions is filmed in 24 fps, there's still content from overseas that is filmed in the PAL standard 25 fps and shown in that frame rate worldwide on streaming services like Netflix, so we test both. Micro-judder is fairly easy to understand, as the subtle hiccups in motion that should otherwise be smooth are caused by dropped frames. These dropped frames typically occur during busy scenes with complex motion.
If you're watching a scene with lots of motion that challenges the TV, and the 12th frame in a sequence of 24 is dropped, that means the 11th frame in the sequence is actually displayed twice, before jumping to the 13th frame in the sequence. This causes a subtle, yet noticeable choppiness because the 12th frame is never actually displayed, so there's a very slight jump forward in the 24 fps sequence. If this happens once in a while, it's not something that will bother most people. However, if this is happening regularly, then these micro-judders can be quite distracting. By researching this specific aspect of motion handling, we've determined that micro-judder is typically a side effect of a TV's de-judder feature.
Our Tests
Our micro-judder test is pretty straightforward. We use two different video clips, one of which is in 24 fps, with the other being in 25 fps. We run three different tests with a TV's de-judder settings enabled with each video clip to see if a TV shows any signs of micro-judder, depending on the video signal it's receiving. Our setup for this test is pretty straightforward and doesn't require any special tools. On the TV side, we use our recommended settings and always enable a TV's de-judder setting when applicable, since micro-judder is directly correlated to how well these de-judder settings perform. For example, on LG TVs, we enable the 'Real Cinema' setting, which is LG's de-judder setting. However, some brands, like Samsung, automatically remove judder and don't have a dedicated de-judder setting to enable.
For the native apps tests, we download and install Plex through a TV's smart interface. For the 24p and 25p tests, we install Plex on our Apple TV 4k and enable the 'Match Frame Rate' feature, which ensures that the Apple TV is sending either a 24p or 25p signal to the TV. For our 24p and 25p via a 60p signal tests, we disable the 'Match Frame Rate' feature so that the Apple TV is sending the content in a 60p signal, which mimics how many older streaming devices and some modern cable boxes operate. If we spot any signs of micro-judder, we'll replay the clip numerous times to make sure that the micro-judder is consistent and isn't being caused by other factors like a poor internet connection. We then crop into the video for each test and combine the three shots into one video that allows our users to see the micro-judder for themselves. Micro-judder is pretty easy to spot, so we don't use any additional tools or testing methods other than our eyes.
Micro-Judder-Free 24p
This test looks at whether or not a TV exhibits micro-judder when receiving a 24p signal. This can come in the form of a Blu-ray player or an external streaming device that has a feature to match the signal it outputs to the frame rate of the content you're watching. We conduct this test using an Apple TV 4k with the 'Match Frame Rate' feature enabled while playing a clip off our Plex Media Server.
This is one of the easiest tests for a TV to pass, and out of the 10 models we tested as part of our initial batch, none failed this. Below is a video of our 24p test for the LG G5 OLED, and by looking at the first clip labelled 24p, you can see that the TV doesn't show any signs of micro-judder, so no frames in a 24 fps sequence have been dropped.
Micro-Judder-Free 25p
Our 25p test is identical to our 24p test, but we use a clip that was shot in 25 fps instead. 25 fps is a common frame rate used in European shows, so a lot of foreign content found on Netflix in North America is shown at this frame rate. This test is done using an Apple TV 4k with the 'Match Frame Rate' feature enabled while playing a clip off our Plex Media Server. Like our 24p test, this is an incredibly easy test for a TV to pass, and out of the 10 models we tested for micro-judder as part of our initial batch, none failed.
Below is a video of our 25p test for the LG G5 OLED, and by looking at the first clip labelled 25p, you can see that the TV doesn't show any signs of micro-judder, so no frames in a 25 fps sequence have been dropped.
Micro-Judder-Free 24p via 60p
This test is done to see if a TV has any micro-judder when watching content in 24 fps that's being sent to the TV via a 60p signal. We run this test using our Plex Media Server on an Apple TV 4k with the 'Match Frame Rate' feature disabled, but our results are valid for any external device that sends 24 fps content via a 60p signal, like older streaming devices. This is one of the tougher tests for micro-judder, and out of the 10 TVs we tested as part of our first batch, only half of them passed this test.
Below is a video of our 24p micro-judder tests that were performed on the Sony X90L/X90CL. If you take a look at the middle clip in the video, you can clearly see some choppiness present, which shows that the TV drops frames and suffers from some micro-judder. If you compare the fluidity of motion in the middle clip with the smooth motion found in the clips on the right and left sides of the video, this micro-judder is quite obvious.
Micro-Judder-Free 25p via 60p
This test is done to see if a TV has any micro-judder when watching content in 25 fps that's being sent to the TV via a 60p signal. We run this test the exact same way we do our 24p via 60p test, but with a 25 fps video. We use our Plex Media Server on an Apple TV 4k with the 'Match Frame Rate' feature disabled, but our results are valid for any external device that sends 25 fps content via a 60p signal, like older streaming devices. This is the toughest test for micro-judder, and out of the initial batch of 10 TVs we tested, only three of them passed.
Below is a video of our 25p micro-judder tests that were performed on the Sony X90L/X90CL. If you look at the middle clip in the video, you can see that the motion isn't smooth and has a subtle choppiness to it. This means that the TV drops frames and suffers from some micro-judder. If you compare the motion in the middle clip with the smoother motion seen in the other clips, this choppiness is even more apparent.
Micro-Judder-Free 24p via Native Apps
This test looks at micro-judder when watching 24p content via a TV's native applications. We conduct this test using the Plex Media Server application that can be downloaded through a TV's smart OS, but our results are applicable to all streaming services that have smart TV apps. Out of the 10 TVs we tested for micro-judder in our first batch, none failed this test, so you shouldn't have any issues with dropped frames when watching content through a TV's native apps.
Below is the video from our 24p micro-judder tests on the Sony X90L/X90CL. In the third clip, titled '24p via native app,' you can see that the TV doesn't show any signs of micro-judder when using the native apps, and motion looks smooth. This is especially apparent if you compare the motion in that clip to the motion in the '24p via 60p' clip, which shows obvious signs of micro-judder.
Micro-Judder-Free 25p via Native Apps
This test looks at micro-judder when watching 25p content via a TV's native applications and is done in the exact same manner as our 24p via native apps test. We conduct this test using the Plex Media Server application that can be downloaded through a TV's smart OS, but our results are applicable to all streaming services that have smart TV apps. Out of the 10 TVs we tested for micro-judder in our first batch, none failed this test, so you shouldn't have any issues with dropped frames when watching 25p content through a TV's native apps.
Below is the video from our 25p micro-judder tests on the Sony X90L/X90CL. If you look at the third clip, titled '25p via native app,' you can see that the TV doesn't show any signs of micro-judder when using the native apps, and motion looks smooth. This is especially visible if you compare the motion in that clip to the motion in the '25p via 60p' clip, which has noticeable micro-judder present.
How to Get the Best Results
Although micro-judder is directly tied to a TV's de-judder function, most people are still best off enabling a TV's de-judder setting. Regular judder is more noticeable and affects the way motion looks in all scenes, and not just scenes with complex motion. The most common 24p and 25p content that can cause micro-judder is sent in a 60p signal, so you're usually best off enabling settings such as the 'Match Frame Rate' setting found on an Apple TV, since your TV is getting a 24Hz and 25Hz signal with that setting turned on. However, these settings can sometimes add a few seconds to a TV and an external device's handshake, which can annoy some people. If you're willing to deal with the occasional minor delay when hitting play on a movie or TV show, enabling settings on your external device that match the outputted signal to the frame rate of the content you're watching will lessen the chance of dealing with micro-judder.
Conclusion
Micro-judder is caused by dropped frames in a 24 fps or 25 fps sequence, and mostly affects scenes with complex motion. When these frames are dropped, motion periodically has a bit of a choppiness to it that some viewers will find distracting. Although most TVs are free from micro-judder when using the TV's native apps or a modern streaming device that sends a 24p or 25p signal, a lot of models struggle when low frame rate content is being sent to a TV via a 60p signal. Micro-judder is connected to a TV's de-judder function, but we can't just look at micro-judder to evaluate a TV's motion performance when watching movies and TV shows. To get a full picture, we also need to look at important aspects like Judder and Response Time Stutter. Still, these occasional dropped frames are an important piece to the motion puzzle.