During CES 2024, Nvidia announced a new G-SYNC technology called Pulsar that aims to address motion blur when using a variable refresh rate. The first monitor to support G-SYNC Pulsar will be launched later this year.

Pulsar combines two technologies to combine the benefits of VRR and Ultra Low Motion Blur, like this Nvidia writes. These two technologies do not work well together yet. The ULMB system uses strobe to effectively flash the screen backlight when a new image is displayed, without lighting the transition from frame to frame. This greatly reduces motion blur, but this cannot be properly adjusted to a variable refresh rate.

With G-SYNC Pulsar, monitors can apply Adaptive Overdrive to remedy this issue. Using this technology, pixel color transitions are adjusted by an algorithm for both the location of the pixel on the screen and the current refresh rate. This should ensure “readability is maintained and blur is reduced across a range of refresh rates and across the entire screen”.

Additionally, Pulsar uses what Nvidia calls “pulse modulation.” Flashing can cause flashing as a side effect, which is unpleasant for some. By dynamically adjusting the strobe for brightness and duration, Nvidia wants images to be comfortable on the eyes while reducing flicker.

According to Nvidia, this technology can achieve “effective motion clarity” up to 1000 Hz. For now, G-Sync Pulsar only works on select displays that support it, of which the company only mentioned the recently announced ASUS ROG Swift PG27, which is scheduled to launch in the second half of this year.

At CES, Nvidia also announced that G-SYNC, without any support for Pulsar at the moment, will be available via the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service.