PSA: Concepts for optimal frame rates & refresh rates in SVP

DISCLAIMER: The following listed frame rates are merely examples and are not at all fully encompassing; this is particularly the case with fractional rates like 23.976fps which can be handled in a multitude of different ways depending on the situation.  Therefore, this is not an end-all explanation on everything there is to know about frame rates and refresh rates.  Please use your favorite internet search engine if you want to know more about the nitty-gritty ("drop frame" particularly comes to mind), and don't blame me if you end up with a headache.

This thread attempts to lay out the concept of optimal frame rates and refresh rates with SVP in a relatively simple manner, thereby giving you an understanding of what is ideal so that you may apply the logic to any and all frame rates you encounter in the wild.  In this case, better means more smoothness and fewer artifacts.

To actually take advantage of these frame rates and/or refresh rates, I highly recommend using MPC-HC's "automatic resolution changer", madVR's display modes functionality, or mpv's autospeedwin script; see the attached image at the end of this post for an example of a good configuration in MPC-HC for a 75Hz display (again, note that it does not take into account any fractional frame rates).

The "From FPS" and "To FPS" values in MPC-HC are merely the range of frame rates (before interpolation) that the according "Display Mode" should apply to; it does not actually change the source video's frame rate (that would require something like ReClock or the according similar functionality in mpv).

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____Best - x5/x6 source (GPU INTENSIVE!)____
24 --to-> 144fps @ 144Hz
25 --to-> 150fps @ 150Hz
30 --to-> 150fps @ 150Hz

____2nd Best - x4 source (may need to manually increase SVP's thread amount)____
24 --to-> 96fps @ 96Hz
25 --to-> 100fps @ 100Hz
30 --to-> 120fps @ 120Hz

____3rd Best - x3 source____
24 --to-> 72fps @ 72Hz
25 --to-> 75fps @ 75Hz
30 --to-> 90fps @ 90Hz

____4th Best - x2/x3 source @ half refresh rate____
24 --to-> 72fps @ 144Hz
25 --to-> 75fps @ 150Hz
30 --to-> 60fps @ 120Hz

____Smooth but feels slower - x2 source (least demanding on CPU & GPU)____
24 --to-> 48fps @ 48Hz
25 --to-> 50fps @ 50Hz
30 --to-> 60fps @ 60Hz

____Fast but not quite as smooth & more artifacts - fractional greater than x2____
24 --to-> 60fps @ 60Hz
25 --to-> 60fps @ 60Hz
30 --to-> 75fps @ 75Hz

____Not particularly smooth - x2/3/4 source @ fractional refresh rate____
24 --to-> 48fps @ 60Hz
25 --to-> 75fps @ 120Hz
30 --to-> 120fps @ 144Hz

____Bad -  fractional EVERYTHING (please don't do this!)____
24 --to-> 60fps @ 90Hz
25 --to-> 72fps @ 120Hz
30 --to-> 75fps @ 144Hz

____Pointless - greater than refresh rate (don't do this either, it's a waste of CPU/GPU!)____
24 --to-> 96fps @ 60Hz
25 --to-> 100fps @ 75Hz
30 --to-> 150fps @ 144Hz

On most displays, the "3rd best" and "4th best" for 24/25fps sources will look pretty much identical, but on some displays the "3rd best" will definitely be smoother and/or look visually clearer than "4th best" (particularly those that use black frame insertion or backlight strobing).

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If you are not able to access certain refresh rates, then you may want to make a custom resolution; this is not a requirement, but it can definitely give you better results.  Keep reading if you're interested in how to do this.

If you are a beginner, I recommend only reducing your refresh rate rather than increasing it.  More advanced users can use this test to see if their refresh rate overclock is resulting in skipped frames.  Be aware that many TVs do not properly support custom resolutions and/or refresh rates, and even TVs that seem to support them will sometimes result in frame skipping (even when simply reducing the refresh rate); in such cases you may actually want to speed up 24fps content to 25fps (with optional pitch correction) since even many North American TV support 50Hz without problem (this may require making a custom resolution at 50Hz however).

You can create custom resolutions directly in the graphics control panel for modern AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPU drivers, but there are still some cases where you may not be able to access this functionality - in which case try using "Custom Resolution Utility (CRU)", though with CRU you must restart your PC before you can select new resolutions.  When creating custom resolutions you typically want to use "LCD Reduced"/"CVT Reduced", though sometimes you may need to use "LCD Standard"/"CVT Standard".

If for whatever reason you end up with a blank screen and are unable to use your PC, then boot into the "Low Resolution / VGA / 640x480 mode" described on this page: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termsag/p … ptions.htm.  If for whatever reason that does not work, then reboot and access the same F8 menu again but this time select "Safe mode"; in safe mode you should be able to launch CRU and then remove any problematic resolutions.

Note that many mobile Intel GPUs have no way of creating custom resolutions at all (even with CRU).  This will be fixed in an upcoming driver update (LINK), but possibly only for modern Intel GPU hardware.  Therefore your best bet is to simply use the newest Intel GPU drivers possible at a given time and try for yourself if custom resolutions work by creating a simple test resolution like 800x600 @ 50Hz and see if you are able to select it after restarting your PC.