I'll give you my un-professional take on it. Zen-Fire (which I use) provides true tick data, meaning each tick is reported as it happens, each and every tick that was documented by the exchange, good and bad. Others, such as IB, give you a 'snapshot' of cumulative tick data (200ms worth I believe) meaning you get somewhat of an average. From what I understand, filtered tick data removes the 'noise', or what is perceived as erroneous tick data. Perception, however, is in the eye of the beholder. A swing trader may dismiss spikes or exteme tick data, but for the scalper, it is very important.