RefreshRaten

RefreshRaten is a term used in digital display technology and user interface design to describe the effective cadence at which on-screen content is refreshed. It is not a formal standard, but a conceptual metric that combines hardware display refresh rate with the rate at which the content pipeline updates information. In practice, RefreshRaten helps designers reason about perceived smoothness and resource usage, especially in systems with asynchronous rendering, variable frame timing, or adaptive content.

Definition and measurement: RefreshRaten is typically expressed in hertz and can be thought of as the minimum of the display refresh rate and the content update rate, or as an average over a time window. A 120 Hz display with a content update rate of 60 Hz would have a RefreshRaten around 60 Hz, whereas a system with both updating at 120 Hz could approach 120 Hz.

Applications and implications: The concept informs how developers schedule redraws, animations, and input handling to minimize stutter and tearing, and to optimize battery life on mobile devices. It also appears in discussions of real-time rendering, motion design, and adaptive synchronization techniques.

Limitations: Because RefreshRaten is not a standardized metric, interpretations vary among platforms and vendors. It can be confused with related terms such as refresh rate, frame rate, and variable refresh rate. Accurate measurement requires synchronized timing across display hardware and software.

See also: Refresh rate, Frame rate, Variable refresh rate, Motion blur, Stuttering.