TV Refresh Rate Explained: 50Hz vs 60Hz vs 100Hz vs 120Hz in Australia

Short version: the refresh numbers on Australian spec sheets fall into two real tiers. 50Hz and 60Hz are the same entry tier. 100Hz and 120Hz are the same high tier. The reason you see 50 and 100 here where American reviews say 60 and 120 is that Australia runs on a 50Hz standard, not a difference in the panels. A good entry-tier set is fine for movies, streaming and broadcast TV. The one case where paying up for true 120Hz clearly pays off is gaming on a PS5, Xbox Series X or a recent gaming PC. Sport sits in the middle, where the TV's motion processing matters more than the number on the box. Here is how to read all four numbers, plus what each tier costs to track down right now.

Why you see 50, 60, 100 and 120 (the Australian bit)

This is the part that trips people up, so start here. Australia runs on 50Hz: 50Hz mains power and a 50Hz PAL broadcast heritage. Entry-level TVs sold here refresh in step with that standard, so their spec sheets quote 50Hz. In the US, the same tier of set is quoted at 60Hz, because North America runs on 60Hz. They are functionally the same base tier. If an American review praises a "60Hz" TV, the version on the shelf here is the one badged 50Hz.

Step up a tier and the same regional split repeats. Australian mid-range motion sets are quoted 100Hz, which is the local doubling of 50. The US quotes that tier as 120Hz, the doubling of 60. Again, the same high tier, named differently by region.

So the map is simple:

• 50Hz and 60Hz = the entry tier. Same base level, different regional label.
• 100Hz and 120Hz = the high tier. Same high level, different regional label.
• An Australian spec sheet usually reads 50 or 100, unless it is a gaming-grade panel quoted at a true 120Hz (or higher).

One thing to be clear about, because plenty of people get it wrong: 100Hz is a real native panel tier, not a fake or interpolated number. Native 100Hz panels genuinely refresh 100 times a second. It is the direct 50Hz-market equivalent of a 120Hz panel, nothing invented about it. The numbers you do need to be suspicious of are the marketing ones, covered further down.

What refresh rate actually is

Refresh rate is how many times a second the panel redraws the picture, measured in hertz (Hz). A 60Hz panel updates 60 times a second and can show up to 60 frames per second (fps). A 120Hz panel updates 120 times a second and can show up to 120fps. More refreshes let the TV display faster-moving material more cleanly.

The catch is the source. A panel can only show as many frames as the content actually feeds it. A 120Hz TV playing a 24fps film or a 50fps broadcast is not inventing extra frames out of nowhere. So a higher refresh rate only helps when something is genuinely sending more frames, which in practice means a games console or a gaming PC. Keep that in mind for every section below: the Hz on the box is a ceiling, and the source decides whether you ever reach it.

The fake numbers to ignore

Native refresh rate is the spec that counts. It is only ever 50, 60, 100, 120, 144, 165 or 180 on the TVs we track. The figures to ignore are the marketing ones brands print in big type: Motion Rate, TruMotion, Motionflow, Clarity Index, "effective 200", "MR 240" and so on. These are composite scores that blend the real panel refresh with backlight strobing and processing tricks, and they typically double or more the actual native Hz. A set boasting "Motion Rate 200" is very often a native 50 or 60Hz panel underneath.

Only the native panel refresh counts. TV Rex lists the true native refresh separately from the marketing number so you can see what you are really buying. For a full breakdown of how those inflated figures are built, see our guide to decoding fake Motion Rate numbers.

Movies and TV: barely changes anything

Film is shot at 24fps and has been for a century. Streaming and broadcast content runs at 24fps or the local 50fps standard. None of it contains 100 or 120 frames a second, so a high-tier panel cannot conjure extra ones. What it can do is show 24fps a touch more cleanly.

Here is why. 120 divides evenly by 24 (24 x 5 = 120), so a 120Hz panel holds each film frame for exactly five refreshes and gives an even cadence. A 60Hz panel cannot divide 24 evenly, so it uses a technique called 3:2 pulldown, showing one frame for three refreshes and the next for two. That uneven pattern creates a faint stutter in slow pans, known as judder. It is real, but on most content it is subtle and many people never notice it. (100Hz sits between the two: not a clean 24 multiple either, but the difference is minor.)

Do not confuse this with motion interpolation, the setting that makes films look like cheap video. That "soap opera effect" is a separate processing option you can switch on or off on any set, entry tier or high tier. For films, leave it off. For a movie-first buyer, the higher refresh tier is a small nice-to-have, not a reason to spend more.

Sport: the badge is not the story

Australian broadcast sport runs at the local 50fps standard, and most streamed sport tops out around 50 or 60fps. The source caps what any panel can show, so a high-tier TV is not putting more frames of the footy on screen than a good entry-tier one.

What actually makes fast sport look clean is the panel's motion clarity and the quality of the TV's motion processing, which cut the blur trailing behind quick movement. A high-tier panel with strong processing looks a touch smoother, but a solid entry-tier set handles a Saturday of sport perfectly well. Buy on the strength of the picture and the processing, not on the refresh number alone. If blur and lag are your worry, our explainer on response time versus input lag unpacks which spec does what.

Gaming: where true 120Hz earns its keep

Gaming is the one use where jumping to a true 120Hz panel is obvious and worth it. A PS5, an Xbox Series X or a modern gaming PC can output up to 120fps in supported games, and a native 120Hz TV shows every one of those frames. Motion is noticeably smoother and input lag drops, so the game feels more responsive under your thumbs. This is the source that finally delivers the extra frames the earlier sections kept caveating about.

To get the full picture at 4K and 120fps you need an HDMI 2.1 port on the TV, connected to a 2.1 source. The older HDMI 2.0 standard does not have the bandwidth for 4K at 120fps, so check the TV has at least one 2.1 input if this matters to you. A panel can advertise 120Hz and still lack a full 2.1 port, which means no 4K120 from your console.

Two related features usually ride along with a proper gaming set: VRR (variable refresh rate), which syncs the TV to the console's changing frame rate to stop screen tearing, and ALLM (auto low latency mode), which flips the TV into its fastest, lowest-lag picture the moment a game starts. If you are on an older console or you game casually, you will not see the benefit and should not pay for it.

PC gamers chasing frame rates above 120 will also see panels quoted at 144Hz, 165Hz and 180Hz. Those are aimed squarely at high-refresh PC play and add little for console gaming or normal viewing.

What each tier costs to track right now

Prices below are what the sets we track were listing at across real Australian retailers as of July 2026. Treat them as a snapshot and check the live listings before you buy, because they move.

• Entry tier (50Hz and 60Hz): 56 sets in our listings, starting from about $199. The 60Hz group runs from roughly $199 to $2,495 across 42 sets; the 50Hz group covers about $395 to $2,495 across 14 sets. If money is tight and you are not gaming, this is where it goes furthest.
• High tier (100Hz and 120Hz): 72 sets, with true high-refresh starting from around $995. The 120Hz group spans about $995 to $44,995 across 35 sets; native 100Hz sets run from roughly $1,395 across 37 sets.
• Gaming panels (144Hz and up): 41 sets from about $915, mostly PC-focused high-refresh monitors and TVs.

One catch with those ranges: they overlap. A dear entry-tier set can cost well over $2,000, which is more than a cheap true 120Hz panel at under $1,000. There is no clean price line where entry stops and high refresh starts. The useful takeaway is the floor: entry-tier refresh is where the cheapest sets live (from about $199), while genuine high-refresh (100 or 120) starts around $995 to $1,395 in the sets we track. High refresh is no longer a premium-only feature.

Worth knowing if you are eyeing a premium panel: among the 120Hz-and-up sets we track, the mix is 53 Mini-LED, 13 OLED, 5 LED and 5 QLED. Every OLED we track is high-tier native (100 or 120Hz), which reflects the wider market. Modern OLEDs are essentially all high-refresh, so if you buy one the high refresh comes as standard. Our guide to what OLED is covers how the panel itself affects motion.

The verdict

• You game on a PS5, Xbox Series X or a modern PC: get a native 120Hz TV with at least one HDMI 2.1 port, ideally with VRR and ALLM. This is the clear case for spending up, and in the sets we track it starts around $995 to $1,395.
• You mostly watch movies, streaming and broadcast TV: a good entry-tier set (50 or 60Hz here) is fine. You gain only a faint reduction in film judder from the high tier, so put the budget into panel quality and picture instead.
• You watch a lot of sport: treat the high tier as a nice-to-have, not a must. The TV's motion processing and clarity matter more than the refresh number, because the broadcast itself is only 50 or 60fps.

And whatever tier you land on, confirm the native refresh, not the Motion Rate on the box. For size and budget shortlists with live prices, browse the full set of TV buying guides.