NVIDIA’s G-Sync ULMB 2 aims to minimize motion blur in games | engaged

features G-Sync Ultra Low Motion Blur (ULMB) 2, the second generation technology designed to minimize motion blur in competitive games. Compared to ULMB, which it released in 2015, the company says the latest version offers almost twice the brightness, along with almost none – the strobe or double image effect that sometimes appears when blur reduction features are enabled.

Motion brightness is largely determined by the pixel response time of the monitor. To make things better, NVIDIA uses “full refresh rate backlight strobing”, which builds on the original ULMB’s backlight strobe technique. While the previous version of the technology improved motion clarity for many, the monitor backlight had to be turned off 75 percent of the time. This reduced the brightness of the screen.

ULMB 2 allows NVIDIA to adjust the screen refresh rate when the backlight is turned on and off. The goal is to turn on the backlight only when the pixels are at the correct color value for each frame. This reduces crosstalk, because you shouldn’t see any pixels when they transition to the correct color.

This approach with the slower pixel refresh rates of older monitors. ULMB 2 can operate at the full refresh rate of current displays. On a 360Hz screen, each backlit strobe happens every 2.7 milliseconds – a rate imperceptible to the human eye.

What this all boils down to is that NVIDIA can provide more brightness and an effective motion clarity of over 1000 Hz. If you’re using a 360Hz monitor with ULMB 2 on, NVIDIA says you’ll get an effective motion brightness of 1440Hz. The company claims that without ULMB 2 you’ll need a monitor capable of 1440Hz to get equivalent motion clarity. Considering we have 500 Hz monitors, 1440 Hz displays seem a bit far away for the mass market.

NVIDIA provided some short demos of ULMB 2 in action. In the video below you can see what a motorcycle chase looks like in slow motion at 360 frames per second with the feature both off and on.

ULMB 2 is now available as a free update for compatible 1440p, 360Hz G-Sync monitors. There are only two such displays on the market right now, NVIDIA says: the Acer Predator XB273U and the ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQN, both 27-inch monitors. The ASUS ROG Swift Pro PG248QP (a 25-inch 1080p, 540Hz display) and the 27-inch AOC AGON AG276QSG G-Sync monitor are also compatible and will be available soon.

NVIDIA announced ULMB 2 alongside some AI developments at Computex. The company is designed to help companies build generative AI models. It also showcased technology that allows players to use their microphones and with in-game characters.

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