lcd panel ips vs va free sample

There’s an almost overwhelming amount of options in the display market: OLED, MicroLED, and TN panel types just to name a few. But if you’re looking for a gaming monitor or simply don’t want to drain your bank account on a display, IPS and VA are generally the best choices. In-plane switching (or IPS) is an LCD-based technology that is used in just about every kind of display, whereas Vertical Alignment (or VA) is a more niche LCD technology used in gaming monitors, gaming TVs, and wide displays.

Although IPS is much more popular than VA and is often seen as the more premium option, both panel types have strengths and weaknesses that you should consider before you buy.

IPS panels have traditionally been used for making displays that have high color accuracy and large coverage of wide color gamuts like DCI-P3 or Adobe sRGB. Not only do IPS displays usually look good, but they also look good from wider angles, so you don’t need to look exactly head on at an IPS monitor to get accurate colors.

Color accuracy and coverage can be good on VA displays (even at wide angles), but colors across VA displays aren’t always uniform. Depending on the viewing angle and the distance between the viewer and the display, the center of VA monitors often have more gamma than the edges of the screen, making colors less accurate.

Although IPS is generally better than VA when it comes to color accuracy and coverage, VA panels have perfectly fine color accuracy and coverage for the vast majority of users. Only professional photo and video editors could really be disappointed with a VA monitor that only covers 90% of the DCI-P3 color space, which is actually a very good amount of coverage for gamers and content consumers.

Contrast ratio is a metric that measures how dark the color black is depicted on a display, measured as a ratio of x:1. The higher x is, the better. Although IPS is very good with color accuracy in general, it really struggles with making the color black, and even the best IPS monitors and TVs can only show a very dark grey rather than true black. Most IPS monitors are rated at a 1000:1 contrast ratio, which isn’t terrible but isn’t great either. Some monitors can get up to around 2000:1 however.

Despite VA’s general color accuracy issues, it’s actually amazing at depicting black as truly black. Even the worst VA displays can easily muster a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and some can even achieve higher than 5000:1. In fact, VA is second only to OLED when it comes to contrast ratio, and OLED actually delivers perfect contrast ratios of ∞:1. Because of this, a VA display can look better than an IPS counterpart in darker scenes.

Some displays can boost contrast ratio by using local dimming and HDR. By using a more complex backlight with multiple LEDs that can be turned on or off, local dimming helps IPS and VA displays look even darker when it matters. On the other end of the spectrum, HDR boosts brightness for colors that need it. With these two factors combined, some displays can boost the contrast ratio significantly. However, these features aren’t going to make an IPS display’s contrast ratio as good as the average VA display’s, and poorly implemented local dimming can backfire by creating more visual problems than it solves.

Response time is the amount of time it takes to fully refresh the display and show a new image. This is an area where both IPS and VA struggle, but nowadays very good IPS displays have overcome traditional issues with response times, and VA displays have not shown the same amount of progress. There is no standard that display manufacturers adhere to when it comes to measuring response time, but according to BenQ, which makes both IPS and VA monitors and TVs, IPS has a response time of 1-2ms whereas VA can only achieve 4-5ms. The specific values here aren’t important because this is a best-case scenario. What’s really important is that VA is much slower.

Very high response times can result in very animated scenes looking blurry and smeared. This issue is called ghosting, and it’s particularly annoying for discerning gamers playing fast-paced games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Both IPS and VA displays have solutions and workarounds to avoid ghosting, the most important being overdrive. Overdrive that’s too aggressive can cause reverse ghosting, which is when the display tries to change a pixel’s color so quickly that it accidentally overshoots and ends up with the wrong color for a few frames. Ghosting and reverse ghosting both cause smearing, so if overdrive is too weak or too strong, the end result is similar: It looks bad.

Although the best IPS panels beat the best VA panels when it comes to response time, there are plenty of IPS displays that have very bad response times. It’s also worth noting that response time only needs to be equal to the refresh rate of the monitor for there to be no smearing. On a 60Hz display, for instance, it takes 16.66ms to show a new image, so a response time of 1ms doesn’t really do much. Response time matters much more at higher refresh rates, and even at 144Hz a response time of around 7ms is sufficient to avoid ghosting.

IPS is capable of significantly higher refresh rates than VA. IPS is capable of hitting 500Hz while VA caps out at 240Hz. However, the vast majority of VA displays are only capable of 144Hz or 165Hz; there are only a few VA monitors that can do 240Hz. For those wanting extremely high refresh rates, IPS is the clear winner.

Even if VA was capable of 360Hz however, it probably wouldn’t be very good because of its weakness in response times. A 360Hz display refreshes every 2.7ms, which is well below what VA is generally capable of.

While IPS displays are usually a safe recommendation for most people, sometimes there are very good reasons to buy VA monitors and TVs. VA has found its home in midrange gaming monitors, gaming TVs, and ultrawide displays, and many of the best gaming monitors use VA. If you’re shopping outside of these categories, however, you probably won’t have to worry about choosing between IPS and VA because VA is not very often used elsewhere.

If you do have the choice between VA and IPS, you’re going to have to evaluate what you prefer in a display, and you should definitely read some monitor reviews just to make sure if VA or IPS is going to deliver what you want in your next display purchase. After all, even an IPS display can have bad color accuracy or bad response time, so don’t assume IPS means quality and that VA means budget.

Many TVs use LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels that are lit by LED backlights. There are two popular types of LCD panels: In-Plane Switching (IPS) and Vertical Alignment (VA), and there are two main differences between each type. A VA panel usually has a high contrast ratio and narrow viewing angles. However, an IPS panel has low contrast and wide viewing angles. These are the main differences between each, and for the most part, panel type doesn"t affect other aspects of picture quality, like peak brightness, color gamut, or color accuracy.

For the purposes of this article, we"re going to compare two LED-backlit LCD TVs: the Sony X800H, which has an IPS panel, and the Hisense H9G, which has a VA panel. Due to their different panel types, there are three noticeable differences in picture quality: viewing angles, contrast, and black uniformity, so we"re going to look at each one.

Viewing angle refers to the angle at which you can watch the TV without seeing a noticeable drop in picture quality. IPS TVs are the clear winner here, as the image remains accurate when viewing from the side - you can see the differences in the videos above. This is their main advantage over VA panels. Most VA panel TVs have a noticeable loss in image accuracy when viewing from the side. The narrow viewing angle of VA-type TVs is also problematic when the TV is used as a PC monitor from up close since the edges of the display look washed out.

VA panels are far superior to IPS panels when it comes to this, so if you tend to watch movies in the dark, you likely want to get a TV with a VA panel. Most TVs use VA panels due to this main advantage, and high-end models may have a local dimming feature that further enhances black levels. On the other hand, IPS panels normally have low contrast, so blacks look closer to gray, but you may not notice the difference in contrast in bright environments.

Our black uniformity tests determine how well a TV displays a dark scene with a bright image in the center. Ideally, you want to see a completely black screen with the center cross being the only part that"s lit up, and this is important for people watching movies. No LED TV has perfect uniformity, and unlike viewing angles and contrast, the panel type doesn"t completely determine its black uniformity. However, most VA panels that we"ve tested have good black uniformity, while most IPS panels have sub-par black uniformity. This doesn"t mean that every VA panel TV has good uniformity, as this can change between units, and you can also improve uniformity using the local dimming feature.

LCDs function by having liquid crystals in little groups to form the pixels. These crystals react and change position when charged with electricity and, depending on their position, they allow a certain color of light to pass through.

IPS displays have their crystals aligned horizontally at all times. When charged, they turn to allow light through. VA displays have their crystals aligned vertically. When charged, they move to a horizontal position, allowing light through. When current isn"t sent through them, however, their vertical alignment blocks light far more efficiently, creating better blacks and giving better contrast.

There"s also another type of IPS panel, called Plane-to-Line Switching (PLS), which can be seen with the Sony X800H. This panel type was designed by Samsung and technically performs the same as an IPS panel. When you compare the pixels visually, IPS panels look like chevrons, VA looks like very straight rectangles, and PLS looks like round-edged capsules. You can learn more about pixels here.

The way the pixels are laid out can also affect text clarity. Many IPS panels, like the ones on the Sony X800H or the LG SK9000, use RGB sub-pixel layouts, while many VA panels have a BGR layout, like on the Hisense H9G. The sub-pixel layout doesn"t directly affect picture quality unless you"re using it as a PC monitor. Some applications may expect an RGB layout, so if you have a BGR sub-pixel layout, text may not look clear. You may need to increase the text scaling to read it properly, but this issue isn"t common with an RGB layout. You can learn more about it here.

TV manufacturers have come up with ways to improve LED TVs to increase picture quality. There are competing technologies, like OLED, which also present their own unique characteristics.

Unlike LED TVs, OLEDs don"t use a backlight and instead have self-emitting pixels. This allows the pixels to individually turn on and off, resulting in perfect blacks. This means that they also have perfect black uniformity as there"s no blooming around bright objects like on some LED TVs. They also have wide viewing angles, sometimes even wider than some IPS panels, so OLEDs are a good choice for wide seating arrangements.

However, the one major downside to OLEDs compared to LEDs is their risk of permanent burn-in. This could be problematic if you constantly watch content with static elements, like the news, or if you use it as a PC monitor. We don"t expect it to be an issue for people who watch varied content, but if you"re truly worried about it, LED TVs appear to be immune to burn-in.

Samsung released quantum dot TVs in 2015, which they later labeled as QLED in 2017. These TVs include a quantum dot layer between the LED backlights and the LCD panel to achieve a wider color gamut. Other companies like Vizio and TCL also use this quantum dot technology on their TVs. Adding this extra quantum dot layer doesn"t change the characteristics of the panel type; the VA panel on the TCL 6 Series/S635 2020 QLED still has a high contrast ratio and narrow viewing angles. Although most QLED TVs use VA panels, you can easily use an IPS panel as well.

Manufacturers have tried different techniques to improve the viewing angles on VA panels over the years, aiming to produce a perfect LCD panel with both wide viewing angles and high contrast. While they have yet to achieve that goal, a few TVs have hit the market that try to combine the best of both panel types. The first TVs with this viewing angle technology came out in 2018, and only a few high-end models like the Samsung Q90/Q90T QLED and the Sony X950H had this technology in 2020. These TVs are a bit unique, delivering noticeably better viewing angles than their pure VA counterparts, but still worse than true IPS panels. This comes at the expense of a lower contrast ratio, as these TVs have worse native contrast than most VA panels, but they"re still better than IPS panels. Combined with their local dimming features, they still produce deep blacks.

Between IPS and VA panels, neither technology is inherently superior to the other as they both serve different purposes. In general, IPS TVs have wide viewing angles suitable for when you want to watch the big game or your favorite show in a large seating arrangement. They"re also beneficial for use as a PC monitor since the edges remain accurate if you sit up close. However, VA panels are a better choice for watching content in dark rooms, as their improved contrast allows them to display deep blacks. Choosing between the two is a series of trade-offs and qualities, so choosing the best TV for your needs depends on your usage.

Even after the introduction of newer display technologies, LCDs still remain relevant even today.LCD displays are used for multiple purposes (TV, Monitor, Mobile Phones, Laptops, Automobiles, etc.) and one single configuration cannot satisfy all the purposes. So, LCD displays come with two different panels – VA (Vertical Alignment) and IPS (In-Plane Switching) to satisfy the different viewing needs of consumers.

A VA panel offers a superior contrast ratio but a narrow viewing angle. Contrarily, an IPS panel offers a wide viewing angle but a low contrast ratio.

As mentioned earlier, displays with VA Panels provide a great contrast ratio. You can find VA panels that typically come with contrast ratios of 3000:1 or 6000:1. A comparable IPS panel will only have a contrast ratio of 1000:1.

VA panels have narrow viewing angles. You will only be able to have an immersive experience when you sit straight opposite the display. The wider angles will not provide you the same experience.

In this, the liquid crystals are arranged parallel to the glass substrate instead of the perpendicular alignment. Furthermore, the structure of crystals and the placement of electrodes differ from the one used in VA panels. The electrodes occupy more space that results in lower contrast and brightness of the screen.

With the IPS panels, you can view the TV / monitor from a wide-angle and still get an impressive picture quality. Unlike VA panels, you will notice very little difference in color reproduction when you sit at a wide-angle from the display.

But when it comes to black uniformity, the IPS panels are sub-par. These panels do a poor job in displaying a bright image in the center of a completely black screen.

One more major drawback with the IPS panels is that they exhibit a distinct phenomenon called ‘IPS Glow’. You will notice some light patches on the corners of the screen. This happens when excessive light is passed through the screen.

Initially, IPS panels are mainly used in TVs due to their wide viewing angles, as we can watch TV in our living room from anywhere. But due to their better quality, color accuracy and response time, LCD panels gradually occupied the high-end computer monitor and laptop screens

IPS:These panels have the highest color range. You will be able to enjoy a realistic gaming experience. Besides, they have better viewing angles. So, you won’t notice any drop in picture quality even when you are not sitting in front of your TV / monitor.

VA:Even though the color range is not as great as the IPS panel, it does a pretty good job in showing the color variations. But the viewing angle is narrow. So, you have to sit straight opposite the TV / monitor.

VA panel compensates for its decent color range with an impressive contrast ratio. You will be able to see great detailing in the difference between light and dark colors.

IPS:IPS panels have one of the highest refresh rates. While you easily find an IPS panel with a refresh rate of 144Hz, some of the latest ones come with a refresh rate of 360Hz. If you are a serious online-gamer, digital artist, or video editor, then you have to go with the highest refresh rate within your budget.

VA:VA panels have lower refresh rates than IPS panels. Most VA panels come with a refresh rate of 120Hz. If you want to have a higher refresh rate, then you have to be willing to spend extra. VA panels have a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz.

IPS:IPS panels generally come with a response time of 4 milliseconds. This would suffice for watching TV or playing most games. But, if you are playing racing games or first-person shooting games, you need to have a response time of less than 2 milliseconds.

VA:VA panels generally have a slower response time than IPS panels with 5 milliseconds. So, there is a higher chance for you to experience motion blur. But, some of the VA panels that come with an expensive price tag have faster response times.

IPS:When it comes to the viewing angle, IPS panels far outweigh the VA panels. They have wider viewing angles. You will experience no drop in picture quality even if you sit and watch the TV from an extreme angle.

VA:The VA panels have a very narrow viewing angle. You have to sit as close to the straight axis of the TV to enjoy the picture quality. If you sit wider, there will be a significant loss in the picture quality.

IPS:IPS panels do a decent job in the contrast ratio segment but they are nowhere close to that of VA panels. An IPS panel offers a contrast ratio of 1000:1. When you watch a black color environment in an IPS panel, the black color will be slightly greyed out.

VA:VA panels offer a superior contrast ratio of 6000:1 that is very impressive. It has the capacity to show dark environments as darker. So, you will enjoy the picture detailing shown by the VA panels.

IPS:IPS panels are not really great at displaying the uniform black color throughout the screen. Due to the low contrast ratio, the black color will appear slightly greyed out.

VA:VA panels have a good black uniformity. But it also depends on the TV model you go with. Not all TV models with a VA panel have good black uniformity. But it is safe to say that in general, VA panels have better black uniformity than an IPS panel.

To put it short, the main difference between the panels lies in the alignment of the liquid crystals. The alignment results in the differences in the performance and picture quality of the panels.

The VA panels are ideal for office/study use, high-end PC games, and online games. If you are looking for a panel for mixed usage, the VA panel should still suffice your needs.

Whether to pick a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel or IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel depends on your intent. These two panels have two primary differences. VA offers a high contrast ratio with limited viewing angles, while IPS comes with a lower contrast but wider viewing angles.

Both these panels have their highs and letdowns. The most straightforward way to determine your pick is by deciding which attributes are the most important for you.

If your display serves diverse functions like competitive gaming (see this affordable Dell review), office work (see best monitors for trading here), photo and video editing (see the touch screen monitors review), programming, etc., it might be a bit challenging to decide. Fortunately, I will take you through what to expect from them, having tested various VA and IPS panels myself. Also, you can go through our earlier posts on various monitor types such as "best monitor with speakers" post, or "best monitor for CAD" article. Now, dive in!

Key TakeawaysYour purpose will determine whether you choose an IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel or a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel. There are two main distinctions between these two panels

Image quality is a broad topic that encompasses multiple details. I will focus on the colors that IPS and VA panels have, how the two panels contrast light and dark areas, and the viewing angle of the two panels.

I love IPS panels because they have one of the highest color gamut performances, much higher than VA panels. For this reason, IPS panels display a game"s graphics better than VA panels. These screens represent the graphics of your games more realistically and 40 inch 4K monitors are now top of the range.

An IPS gaming monitor provides wide viewing angles that offer sharp pictures even when sitting a bit far from your screen (see our Acer XR382CQK review). As I enjoy multiplayer games with pals, sitting away from the screen while getting a great picture quality is something I consider crucial in winning demanding titles.

What I enjoy more when using VA gaming monitors is the intensity of their contrast ratio. I love how defined the difference between dark and light areas is and how this may aid in the quick identification of situations that may jeopardize your winning chances.

What I least like about IPS displays is that they typically have a lower refresh rate than 75Hz. Being unable to play the most action-packed games with a higher frame rate is a bummer to most enthusiasts.

VA monitors may not offer you a TN panel"s performance as well. And while I may not like the average refresh rates of IPS monitors, VA panels are a bit more restrictive when it comes to supported games.

While low response times are common in IPS panels, most IPS gaming monitors have about four milliseconds. This level is not much of a problem for most games. However, I"m not too fond of it when playing racing and fast shooter games because of ghosting.

A VA panel is slightly slower than an IPS panel. Therefore, you will notice slightly more motion blur when playing your games. Like IPS panels, some options offer you a one-millisecond response time for image sharpness.

If you need a monitor with an amazing contrast ratio, look into VA panels. And with the provision of VA monitors with a slower response time, you can find screens that offer a good gaming experience in most games.

Different Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel types have their advantages and disadvantages, and selecting an IPS vs VA TV depends on what use you have in mind. So, which of these panels should you use for movies?

IPS TVs have a better viewing angle than their VA counterpart. Their image accuracy remains fairly high even when I"m watching my movies from the side.

VA panels have better contrast ratios between the two panels. I like their deep blacks when watching movies in the dark. If you geek over late-night shows, go for VA as it provides more definition.

IPS TVs generally have lower contrast. When using them, I tend to see blacks displayed as gray because of IPS glow. However, the difference is hardly noticeable in brightly lit conditions.

Unlike contrast and the viewing angle, the panel type doesn"t exclusively dictate a screen"s black uniformity. Regardless, most of the VA panels I use have better black uniformity between the two panels.

This doesn"t immediately paint VA panel TVs as the winner, and you may find a better-displaying IPS. Besides, you can enhance the screen"s uniformity using the dimming function.

Displays with great color accuracy and extensive coverage of wide color gamuts like DCI-P3 or Adobe sRGB are typically made using IPS panels. You don"t necessarily need to gaze directly at an IPS monitor in order to see realistic colors because IPS displays typically appear beautiful from wider angles as well.

Although color accuracy and coverage on VA displays (even at broad angles) can be outstanding, colors aren"t always consistent. The center of VA monitors frequently has greater gamma than the screen"s edges, reducing the accuracy of colors depending on the viewer"s perspective and the distance from the display.

VA panels have completely adequate color accuracy and coverage for the great majority of users, despite the fact that IPS is typically superior to VA in these areas. A VA monitor that only covers 90% of the DCI-P3 color space is actually a very good amount of coverage for games and content consumers, with the exception of professional picture and video editors.

LCD panels function using liquid crystals which, when charged with electricity, react and change location. Based on the position, the crystals display a particular color.

When IPS displays get charged, their crystals let light through by aligning horizontally. Without current, this vertical alignment (click here for best vertical monitors) efficiently bars light and offers deeper blacks.

PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching) is a type of IPS used on Samsung monitors (check out also Benq monitors) which perform similarly but with round-edged pixels. On the other hand, VA pixels appear like straight rectangles.

IPS panels have an RGB sub-pixel arrangement, whereas numerous VA panels feature a BGR layout. The sub-pixel layout doesn"t outrightly affect image quality, provided it"s not a PC monitor.

Some applications require an RGB arrangement. When I use a BRG VA panel in such cases, I see some slight blurriness on the text. However, adjusting my text scaling eases readability. Overall, RGB layouts don"t have this issue as much as BRG.

The majority of IPS panels offer viewing angles up to 178 degrees horizontally and vertically. Accordingly, if you"re viewing content off-center, you won"t notice much color shifting or a noticeable decrease in picture quality until you get to the very edges of the viewing angles.

Even though VA panels have improved significantly over the years in terms of viewing angles, they still fall short of IPS panels in some respects. When viewing content off-center, VA panels are often a little weaker in terms of color/contrast shifts. This is probably less of an issue for gamers, who are more likely to be seated directly in front of the monitor and not move around the monitor"s ideal viewing angle.

You"ll notice that manufacturers are trying out multiple techniques to enhance VA viewing angles while achieving a high contrast. Although this goal is a work in progress, several TVs are now available that try to encompass both these crucial attributes.

The first sets to feature a broad viewing angle got announced in 2018. Several pricey models also came out with this technology in 2020, for instance, the Sony X950H and the Samsung Q90/Q90T QLED (see our Quantum Dot vs IPS post).

While I love their recognizable improvement in viewing angles over pure VA TVs, they are still yet to achieve the level of performance you get with a pure IPS panel.

As they solve one problem, the upgraded VA panels present you with another issue. Options like the Sony X950H have noticeably lower contrast ratios than typical VA panels.

Nevertheless, I appreciate their native contrast still being higher than regular IPS panels. With their dimming feature, I still can get a deep black convenient for night movies.

Neither panel technology is inherently better because they have different functions. IPS displays are suitable for watching big games or a show across a wide sitting arrangement.

Selecting between the two panels means you"ll give up particular features. Depending on your movie needs, I believe you can decide which panel suits you.

You probably now know the most suitable panel to get, given the different specifications. As in most instances, the higher your budget (see the best budget picks), the better the panel. Here is a simple guide on the ideal panel depending on your usage:

Editing footage and pictures:IPS monitors are more favorable given their better color reproduction. Some VA panels offer wide color ranges, though they typically have motion blur

You should choose between different panel types according to what you’ll mostly be using the monitor for — gaming, color-critical work, or watching movies and other everyday activities.

VA panels have the highest contrast ratio, but it usually comes at a cost of slower response time, so they’re excellent for watching movies, but not suitable for competitive gaming. TN panels are cheap and have fast response times, but have inferior image quality and viewing angles.

IPS panels offer the most consistent colors and a quick pixel response time speed as well as the widest viewing angles, but they don’t have as high contrast ratio as VA panels, and they are usually more expensive.

When paired with a high refresh rate, TN panel gaming monitors provide a buttery-smooth gaming experience at an affordable price, which is why they are usually the first choice of many professional FPS gamers.

The viewing angles aren’t an issue as long as you’re sitting in front of the monitor, apart from some gamma/saturation shifts, so if you’ve got a limited budget and care more about performance than pretty colors, a TN panel monitor is for you.

IPS panels provide themost accurate and consistent colors as well as wide 178° viewing angles, meaning that you can look at the screen from basically any angle without the image shifting in color and contrast.

Nowadays, most IPS monitors have just as fast pixel response time speed as TN panels (~1ms), though there are still some slower IPS variants with 4 to 5ms.

If you’re watching particularly dark content in a dark room, you will be able to notice light ‘glowing’ around the corners of the screen. This is an expected side effect caused by the excess light passing through the panel.

It’s rather tolerable as it’s only mildly bothersome in certain scenarios i.e., watching dark scenes of a movie/game in a dim-lit room with high brightness setting. In some rare cases, mainly due to poor quality control, IPS glow can be distracting, in which case you should RMA the monitor.

Now, another thing to keep in mind is that IPS panels don’t have as high contrast as VA panels. A standard IPS monitor has a static contrast ratio of around 1,000:1, whereas a VA alternative has around 3,000:1, or even higher.

In 2022, LG Display developed the first IPS Black panel, which increase the static contrast ratio to around 2,000:1! The Dell U2723QE is one of the first monitors released with this technology.

LG is also bringing back the A-TW polarizer on some of their models, such as the upcoming LG 32GQ950. This will help reduce IPS glow at a cost of introducing a minor purple glow at extreme angles.

In the past, IPS monitors were more expensive than TN models with the same specs. Nowadays, some IPS monitors are only slightly (if at all) more costly than their TN counterparts.

Keep in mind that there are several variations of IPS panels depending on the manufacturer, and you will also find them named differently. These are the most current versions you should know:

While IPS and TN panels usually have a contrast ratio of around 1,000:1, most VA panels have a contrast ratio between 2,500:1 and 3,000:1, with more expensive models offering even higher contrast.

Even though their specified response time speed may be the same as that of an average IPS display (4-5ms), they actually have a lot slower black to white pixel transition.

Samsung’s latest VA panels used in the Odyssey G7 and G9 curved gaming monitors are actually just as fast as some IPS models with 1ms GtG response time!

In fact, there are VA panels that have just as good or better colors than certain IPS monitors, but the colors on those VA displays won’t be as consistent as that of the IPS technology.

In other words, a certain shade of red, for instance, might not look the same at the top of the image and at the center of a VA panel monitor due to gamma shifts.

Generally, these slight uniformity issues aren’t really noticeable or bothersome in everyday use, but they are crucial for color-critical work, which is the main reason designers opt for IPS monitors.

Thanks to their high contrast and lack of IPS glow, VA panel displays are particularly great for watching movies in a dark room where details in shadows of the picture really stand out, which is why most LED TVs use VA panels, not IPS.

Lastly, although VA panels have specified 178° viewing angles just like IPS, some minor shifts in contrast and brightness are present at certain angles, but nothing extreme.

That’s it! Hopefully, we’ve helped you pick the perfect panel type for you, but there are many other things to consider when buying a new monitor such as screen size, resolution and refresh rate.

All in all, even if you’re a competitive gamer and don’t care much about image quality, a modern IPS monitor is the way to go as you get just as fast response times as that of old TN displays, but a better image quality and viewing angles too.

For color-critical work, we highly recommend IPS monitors, but you can also use VA displays for basic content creation where color accuracy isn’t crucial.

So, why would anyone ever buy a TN panel? For starters, they’re cheap. They don’t cost a lot to produce, so they’re often used in the most budget-friendly options. If you don’t value color reproduction or need excellent viewing angles, a TN panel might be fine for your office or study.

TN panels also have the lowest input lag—typically around one millisecond. They can also handle high refresh rates of up to 240 Hz. This makes them an attractive option for competitive multiplayer games—especially eSports, where every split-second counts.

IPS technology was developed to improve upon the limitations of TN panels—most notably, the poor color reproduction and limited viewing angles. As a result, IPS panels are much better than TNs in both of these areas.

In particular, IPS panels have vastly superior viewing angles than TNs. This means you can view IPS panels from extreme angles and still get accurate color reproduction. Unlike TNs, you’ll notice very little shift in color when you view one from a less-than-ideal perspective.

IPS panels are also known for their relatively good black reproduction, which helps eliminate the “washed out” look you get with TN panels. However, IPS panels fall short of the excellent contrast ratios you’ll find on VAs.

While high refresh rates were typically reserved for TNs, more manufacturers are producing IPS panels with refresh rates of 240 Hz. For example, the 27-inch 1080p ASUS VG279QM uses an IPS panel and supports 280 Hz.

Previously, TNs exhibited less input lag than any other panel, but IPS technology has finally caught up. In June 2019, LG announced its new Nano IPS UltraGear monitors with a response time of one millisecond.

Despite the gap being closed, you’ll still pay more for an IPS panel with such a low response time than you would for a TN with similar specs. If you’re on a budget, expect a response time of around four milliseconds for a good IPS monitor.

One last thing to be aware of with IPS panels is a phenomenon called “IPS glow.” It’s when you see the display’s backlight shining through it at more extreme viewing angles. It’s not a huge problem unless you view the panel from the side, but it’s something to keep in mind.

VA panels are something of a compromise between TN and IPS. They offer the best contrast ratios, which is why TV manufacturers use them extensively. While an IPS monitor typically has a contrast ratio of 1000:1, it’s not unusual to see 3000:1 or 6000:1 in a comparable VA panel.

In terms of viewing angles, VAs can’t quite match the performance of IPS panels. Screen brightness, in particular, can vary based on the angle from which you’re viewing, but you won’t get the “IPS glow.”

VAs have slower response times than TNs and the newer Nano IPS panels with their one-millisecond response rates. You can find VA monitors with high refresh rates (240 Hz), but the latency can result in more ghosting and motion blur. For this reason, competitive gamers should avoid VA.

Compared to TNs, VA panels do offer much better color reproduction and typically hit the full sRGB spectrum, even on lower-end models. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, Samsung’s Quantum Dot SVA panels can hit 125 percent sRGB coverage.

For these reasons, VA panels are seen as the jack of all trades. They’re ideal for general use, but they either match or fall short in most other areas except contrast ratio. VAs are good for gamers who enjoy single-player or casual experiences.

When compared to CRT monitors, all LCD panels suffer from some form of latency issue. This was a real problem when TN panels first appeared, and it’s plagued IPS and VA monitors for years. But technology has moved on, and while many of these issues have been improved, they haven’t been eliminated entirely.

Uneven backlighting is another issue you’ll find on all panel types. Often this comes down to overall build quality—cheaper models slack on quality control to save on production costs. So, if you’re looking for a cheap monitor, be prepared for some uneven backlighting. However, you’ll mostly only notice it on solid or very dark backgrounds.

LCD panels are also susceptible to dead or stuck pixels. Different manufacturers and jurisdictions have different policies and consumer laws covering dead pixels. If you’re a perfectionist, check the manufacturer’s dead-pixel policy before you buy. Some will replace a monitor with a single dead pixel for free, while others require a minimum number.

Office or study use: Your budget should be your primary concern here. VA is the do-it-all panel, with superior viewing angles to TN, but either would do the trick. You can save some money because you don’t need high refresh rates or ultra-low latency. They’re still nice, though. You’ll see a noticeable difference in smoothness just when moving the Windows cursor on a monitor with a 144 versus 60 Hz refresh rate.

Photo and video editors/Digital artists: IPS panels are still generally favored for their ability to display a wide gamut of colors. It’s not unusual to find VA panels that also cover a wide gamut (125 percent sRGB, and over 90 percent DCI-P3), but they tend to exhibit more motion blur during fast-paced action than IPS panels. If you’re serious about color accuracy, you’ll need to properly calibrate your monitor.

Programmers who mount monitors vertically: You might think TN panels are great for programmers, but that’s not necessarily the case. TN panels have particularly bad viewing angles on the vertical axis. If you mount your monitor in portrait mode (as many programmers and mobile developers do), you’ll get the worst possible viewing angles from a TN panel. For the best possible viewing angles in this scenario, invest in an IPS display.

Competitive online gamers: There’s no question TN panels are still favored in the eSports world. Even the cheapest models have fast response times and support for high refresh rates. For 1080p gaming, a 24-inch will do just fine, or you could opt for a 1440p, 27-inch model without breaking the bank. You might want to go for an IPS panel as more low-latency models hit the market, but expect to pay more.

Non-competitive, high-end PC gamers: For a rich, immersive image that pops, a VA panel will provide a higher contrast ratio than IPS or TN. For deep blacks and a sharp, contrasting image, VA is the winner. If you’re okay with sacrificing some contrast, you can go the IPS route. However, we’d recommend avoiding TN altogether unless you play competitively.

Best all-rounder: VA is the winner here, but IPS is better in all areas except contrast ratio. If you can sacrifice contrast, an IPS panel will provide fairly low latency, decent blacks, and satisfactory color coverage.

When choosing a new computer monitor, the type of panel used by the display is a key piece of information that reveals a lot about how the monitor will behave and perform. By far the most common types of display panels are TN, IPS and VA.

Monitor LCD panels are made up of many layers, including a backlight, polarizing filters and the liquid crystal layer. It"s this liquid crystal layer that determines the intensity of light let through from the backlight, and in what colors, whether red, green or blue. To control this intensity, a voltage is applied to the liquid crystals, which physically moves the crystals from one position to another. How these crystals are arranged and how they move when voltage is applied, is the fundamental difference between TN, VA and IPS.

Our original explainer about display technology and the difference between TN vs. VA vs. IPS was published almost three years ago, and while most of that information remains accurate to this day, we"ve seen the introduction of much faster IPS displays as well as a revolutionary updates to VA panels, particularly from Samsung Odyssey gaming monitors. We"ve also since tested over 100 monitors, so we have a lot more insights to share about performance.

TN is the oldest of the LCD technologies and it stands for twisted nematic. This refers to the twisted nematic effect, which is an effect that allows liquid crystal molecules to be controlled with voltage. While the actual workings of a TN-effect LCD are a little more complicated, essentially the TN-effect is used to change the alignment of liquid crystals when a voltage is applied. When there is no voltage, so the crystal is "off," the liquid crystal molecules are twisted 90 degrees and in combination with polarization layers, allow light to pass through. Then when a voltage is applied, these crystals are essentially untwisted, blocking light.

VA, stands for vertical alignment. As the name suggests, this technology uses vertically aligned liquid crystals which tilt when a voltage is applied to let light pass through. This is the key difference between IPS and VA: with VA, the crystals are perpendicular to the substrates, while with IPS they are parallel.

IPS stands for in-plane switching and, like all LCDs, it too uses voltage to control the alignment of liquid crystals. However unlike with TN, IPS LCDs use a different crystal orientation, one where the crystals are parallel to the glass substrates, hence the term "in plane". Rather than "twisting" the crystals to modify the amount of light let through, IPS crystals are essentially rotated, which has a range of benefits.

There are various subvariants to these technologies which can tweak things further, and you"ll also see different brand names depending on the panel manufacturer. For example, AU Optronics use "AHVA" to refer to an IPS-type panel, not a VA panel. Samsung use PLS, while brands like LG simply use "IPS". Then on the VA side we have AU Optronics "AMVA" and Samsung"s "SVA" among others.

So in summary, TN panels twist, IPS panels use a parallel alignment and rotate, while VA panels use a vertical alignment and tilt. Now let"s get into some of the performance characteristics and explore how each of the technologies differ and in general, which technology is better in any given category.

The most immediately obvious difference when viewing a TN, IPS or VA panel for the first time is in viewing angles. This is one area that hasn"t significantly changed since the introduction of these technologies.

TN panels have the weakest viewing angles, with significant shift to color and contrast in both the horizontal and especially vertical directions. Typically viewing angles are rated as 170/160 but realistically you"ll get pretty bad shifts when viewing anywhere except for dead center. Higher-end TNs tend to be somewhat better but overall this is a big weakness for TNs and can impact the experience for productivity where any shifts to color impact accuracy for things like photo editing.

VA and IPS panels are significantly better for viewing angles, with IPS panels generally giving the best overall experience. Here you"ll commonly see 178/178 ratings for viewing angles, and while there can still be some shift to colors and brightness viewing at off-center angles, this will be far less noticeable than on a TN panel. Of all the IPS panels we"ve reviewed over the years, I"d describe the majority of them as having excellent viewing angles, a non-issue for modern IPS displays.

VAs are also good but not as good as IPS and can have a greater degree of contrast shifting than IPS. But the thing that impacts VA viewing angles more than this is the fact that many VA monitors today are curved, and any introduction of a curve reduces viewing angles. That"s something to keep in mind when choosing between IPS and VA

Because the liquid crystal layer is separate to the backlight layer, there is no technical reason why TN, IPS or VA monitors should differ in terms of brightness. Across the 100 displays we"ve tested using our latest test suite, the average SDR brightness for IPS panels was 385 nits, versus 367 nits for TN and 346 nits for VA - so really there"s not much of a difference.

Contrast ratio, on the other hand, is where another major difference occurs. TN panels have the worst contrast ratios, with the twisting technique not particularly great at producing deep blacks. In the best cases you"ll see contrast ratios around 1000:1, but typically after calibration these numbers are lower, in the 700:1 to 900:1 range. Of the monitors we"ve tested, the average TN has a contrast ratio of 872:1, which is poor so if you want rich, beautiful blacks - well maybe just buy an OLED but if you"re buying LCD, don"t get a TN.

IPS is the next step up, though generally IPS contrast ratios aren"t that different from TN. In the worst cases - in particular LG"s current line-up of Nano IPS panels - you won"t see contrast performance any different from a typical TN, with a ratio below 1000:1. However outside of those worst cases, it"s much more common to see contrast at or above 1000:1, with some best case examples pushing up to 1500:1 which is about the ceiling I"ve seen for IPS. Of the IPS panels we"ve tested, an average contrast ratio of 1037:1 was recorded, 19% higher than the average contrast of a TN.

If you really want an LCD to produce deep blacks though, you"ll have to go with a VA panel. The design of these panels is much more conducive to great contrast ratios, which typically start at 2000:1, higher than even the best IPS alternatives.

We"ve measured ratios up to 5000:1 for VAs, and some TVs can push this even higher. The range of typical contrast ratios is also quite a bit larger than with the other two technologies, but when manufacturers list a 3000:1 ratio for their VA monitor they"re usually correct - on average we measured a 2898:1 contrast ratio for VAs. With that in mind you can see VAs are usually 2.5 to 3 times better at producing blacks than IPS or TN, great for night scenes.

We often get asked whether these differences in contrast ratios actually matter. Almost all monitors use some sort of matte anti-glare coating, which can reduce the effective contrast ratio in brighter viewing environments. So if you"re using your monitor during the day, or under artificial lights, the difference between TNs, IPSs and VAs in contrast ratio is going to be less noticeable. But if you typically use your monitor in a dimmer environment, like gaming with the lights off or having a cheeky late night incognito browser session, you"ll much more easily spot the massive superiority VAs have in this area.

It"s also worth mentioning that while IPS panels tend to be a middle ground for contrast they do suffer from a phenomenon called "IPS glow," which is an apparent white glow when viewing dark imagery at an angle. The best panels exhibit minimal glow but it"s still an issue across all displays of this type, and can vary between individual units.

Before when discussing TN vs. VA vs. IPS, we spent some time talking about the differences between TNs, VAs and IPS in terms of bit depth -- or the difference between 6-bit, 8-bit and 10-bit panels. But we feel this is less relevant these days when the vast majority of displays are native 8-bit panels, with the exception of a few low-end panels that are 6-bit, and a few professional grade high-end panels that are 10-bit.

It remains the case that most displays advertised as "10-bit" or having "1 billion colors" are not true 10-bit panels, instead achieving this through FRC or dithering, and the type of LCD panel technology makes little difference.

There also isn"t a significant difference these days between LCD types when it comes to coverage of "standard" color spaces like sRGB or Rec. 709, which is used by default in Windows and is widely used for video content.

Even TN panels, which historically have had the "worst" color quality, these days will cover over 95% of the sRGB color space at a minimum for any monitor worth buying. The exceptions to this are entry-level junk some OEMs like to punish their low-end laptop buyers with; it"s rare for a desktop monitor to go below 90% sRGB coverage and certainly you shouldn"t buy it if it does.

As for native true 10-bit, typically you"ll need to look for an IPS panel, which make up the majority of native 10-bit panels. Some VA panels can do it, but they are rare. Most displays you purchase that claim to be 10-bit, are actually 8-bit+FRC, with only high-end professional-grade monitors offering a native 10-bit experience.

The main differences between TN, IPS and VA for color quality these days comes in coverage of wider gamut, such as DCI-P3, Adobe RGB or Rec. 2020. DCI-P3 and the larger Rec. 2020 are important for HDR videos and gaming, while Adobe RGB is common for work with wide gamut images.

As far as gaming monitors are concerned, which is the majority of monitors we test, it"s uncommon for TN panels to exceed the sRGB color space and produce a wide color gamut. We"ve seen it on occasion, with DCI-P3 coverage topping out around 92% in the best cases, but the majority of TN displays are standard gamut which is fine for SDR content.

The next best panel type for color gamut is VA. Some entry-level VAs will start at only sRGB coverage, but today"s wide gamut VA monitors typically cover between 85 and 90% DCI-P3, or up to around 66% of Rec. 2020. They don"t generally have adequate Adobe RGB coverage (below 85%), making them most suited to a basic wide gamut experience for videos or games. We"ve also yet to test a VA monitor with a really wide color gamut, like 98% DCI-P3, despite the highest end models of today using Quantum Dot enhancement films. Still, VA is decently mid-range for gamut coverage.

If you want the widest color gamut, you"ll need to get an IPS monitor. While basic IPS panels will be limited to sRGB only, the best wide gamut IPS displays offered these days can achieve much higher gamuts than TN or IPS.

We"ve measured up to 97% DCI-P3 and over 99% Adobe RGB in the same panel - usually a high-end model from AU Optronics - which leads to excellent Rec. 2020 coverage above 80%. This tends to make IPS the most, or at times only suitable technology for color critical wide gamut work like video or photo editing, and it"s the tech I"d choose for that task.

Time to talk about speed. Whereas before there was a pretty clear cut distinction between the technologies: TN was the fastest, IPS sat in the middle, and VA was the slowest. In 2021, that is no longer the case, and there"s a lot less separating each technology.

Historically, the highest refresh rate displays on the market were almost all TN models, but that"s not true anymore. Currently there are TN, IPS and VA monitors capable of 240Hz speeds, or sometimes in excess of 240Hz, including at resolutions like 1440p.

The highest refresh rate displays on the market today are capable of 1080p 360Hz speeds, and use an IPS panel from AU Optronics, not a TN. There is lower demand for TN panels than other panel types these days, so a lot of development effort on high refresh models has gone into IPS instead. This makes IPS the highest refresh technology for now, with all three technologies being available at 1440p 240Hz.

Response times have also improved substantially for IPS and VA monitors, especially for high-end panels. There is no longer a clear distinction between TN and the rest of today"s contenders, thanks to big speed gains headed by LG"s Nano IPS and Samsung"s new-gen VA.

The fastest TN panels that we"ve measured using our current, strict test methodology are able to hit the 4ms mark on average with a cumulative deviation of around 400. Cumulative deviation tells us how close a monitor"s response times get to the ideal instant response, and also show the balance between response times and overshoot. The HP Omen X 27 is definitely a fast monitor with its 1440p 240Hz spec. However, the Samsung Odyssey G7 and G9 are actually slightly faster, with response times between 3.4 and 4.0 ms and cumulative deviation below 400.

This puts the best VA monitors of today slightly ahead of the best TN monitors that we"ve tested, which we definitely couldn"t have said a few years ago. With these new panels, Samsung have also fixed the unsightly dark level smearing issue that plagued last-generation VA panels, giving the latest VA panels an overall experience similar to the best LCDs have to offer.

Meanwhile over at the IPS camp, the best IPS panels are slightly slower than VA and TN, but still highly competitive with the best of today. The fastest we"ve seen is a response time average of 4.5ms, with cumulative deviation around 460. That"s less than 20% off the best from other technologies, giving us a pretty small difference in 2021 between the three LCD panel types in a best vs best comparison.

With that said, this discussion of response times only applies to high end monitors. Currently in the mid-range and entry-level markets, the performance differences between TN, IPS and VA are more traditional. TN monitors can still be quite fast, with performance in the 4ms range even with basic 1080p 144Hz panels. Basically if you buy a TN in any market segment, you know it will be fast.

The next step down is IPS in lower price segments, with performance varying a bit depending on the exact model. The reason for this is that mid-range and entry-level IPS monitors tend to use more last-generation panels, which aren"t as fast as the best of today. Still, performance between 6 and 9ms on average is pretty common, and cumulative deviation is still quite competitive, especially in the value-oriented IPS market. Not as fast as TN, but still generally good for motion clarity.

Budget-oriented VA panels are, unfortunately, nowhere near as fast as the best panels of today used in Samsung"s Odyssey G7 and G9 series. It"s much more common to get a 9ms to 13ms average response time here, which puts the best budget VA panels behind an average budget IPS in performance. You"ll also get dark level smearing, which is seen as a dark trail following moving objects, which you don"t get with the other two LCD technologies.

Backlight strobing or black frame insertion is also a popular feature these days for some, particularly those after a high performance gaming monitor for esports. Generally speaking, the performance of backlight strobing is dictated by response time performance, so you can get good results with all three monitor types depending on the implementation, especially with high-end panels.

However these days the most focus tends to go into TN-based esports-oriented monitors when it comes to backlight strobing, so monitors like the BenQ XL2546K can be highly attractive offerings and preferred over the best IPS or VA monitors in this feature. We"ve also seen really good implementations with IPS and VA monitors, but TN is known to be the best.

Summarizing each of the three main LCD technologies is much harder today than in previous years, as there"s been a lot of focus on improving IPS and VA panels. This has led to much better gaming monitors for all, and many more displays to analyze and keep us busy which is always a good thing.

If we had to summarize the LCD ecosystem today... TN panels are a dying breed and their main strengths have been countered in recent years. TN panels are still very fast and great for competitive gaming, but aren"t as much of an outright speed leader anymore, especially at the high end. The main advantage to buying a TN is their affordability and consistency of speed even with entry-level panels, but this comes with weaknesses like viewing angles, contrast ratio and gamut coverage, which makes them unsuitable for a lot of stuff and probably not what you"d want to choose these days.

VA panels are a real mixed bag. At the high end, VAs are very competitive with excellent motion performance, no dark level smearing, decent contrast ratios and good colors. They have to some degree replaced IPS as the middle-ground technology that offers a bit of everything. However in the lower-end of the market, VAs retain the great contrast ratios they are known for, but suffer in motion performance due to the use of last-generation panels and end up quite slow. That"s offset by affordable prices which makes them a decent budget buy in some monitors.

IPS panels have received the most attention and continue to improve each year. IPS monitors are typically the most balanced choice, with strengths in many areas including motion performance, gamut coverage and viewing angles. These strengths tend to apply consistently in all market segments, whether high-end or entry-level, and that can make IPS a great bang for buck option.

Due to the prevalence of flat panels with great uniformity and very wide gamuts, IPS is also the most suitable technology for gaming and content creation on the same display, though contrast ratios are still well behind what VA panels can achieve.

But really there"s no right answer to which monitor technology is best. You might want excellent black levels and great speed, in which case a high-end VA is best for you. Or you might want Adobe RGB coverage, in which case you"ll need to go IPS. There"s no overall winner in the LCD space right now, it"s all about which individual qualities matter most to you.

Because OLED TVs are newer and generally more expensive, the average buyer is looking at LED/LCD TVs right now. And although there are several features and specifications to consider while shopping—the brand name, HDR compatibility, and refresh rate, just to name a few—there’s one important hardware spec that isn’t widely advertised: LCD panel type.

LED/LCD TVs are so called because of the two things that make up their displays: an LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlight and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel for that backlight to shine through. LED backlights vary between a variety of implementations, but modern LCDs generally come in one of two panel technologies: IPS (In-Plane Switching) and VA (Vertical Alignment).

Unlike other hardware specifications (which are usually listed on the side of a TV box or on the manufacturer’s website), information about a TV’s LCD panel type is a bit more inside baseball. But panel type has a far greater impact on a TV’s performance than you might expect—it affects contrast, color, and viewing angle as well.

Individual pixels in an LCD display are made up of liquid crystals activated by voltage. How the display arranges its crystals is part of what sets IPS panels apart from VA panels.

IPS (In-Plane Switching) panels are a common display type for both the best computer monitors and TVs. Without getting too far down the rabbit hole, let’s talk a little about how IPS panels distinguish themselves from other types.

Every non-OLED TV on the market today is an LCD TV powered by LED lighting. Individual pixels in an LCD display are made up of liquid crystals activated by voltage—this is what produces color. An IPS panel aligns its crystals horizontally, parallel to the glass substrate.

IPS technology was developed in part to improve the color and wide viewing angle performance of a display. There"s also a range of variations under the IPS umbrella, including ADS, S-IPS, H-IPS, e-IPS, P-IPS, and PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching). But, while they all differ marginally from one another in operation, their core functionality (as compared to VA panels) is the same.

VA (Vertical Alignment) panels represent another common display type, used for both computer monitors and TVs, but especially for the latter where they greatly outnumber their IPS counterparts. Most LED/LCD TVs you"ll find on the market use a VA panel. While IPS panels align their liquid crystals horizontally, VA panels align them—you guessed it—vertically. They run perpendicular to the glass substrate rather than parallel to it. When met with voltage, the crystals tilt, letting light through and producing color.

This positioning changes how the liquid crystals behave. Without any voltage, the liquid crystals in a VA panel do not tilt, which is a better outcome if your goal is to block light and create image depth. Like with IPS, VA panels also come in a few varieties: PVA, S-PVA, and MVA, though again, their core functionality (as compared to IPS panels) is the same.

TN (Twisted Nematic) is an older LCD display type. They"re still relatively common display types for computer monitors—thanks to their lightning fast response times and excellent handling of motion blur. TN panels aren"t typically used in TV production anymore, though.

The cornerstone of picture quality, contrast ratio refers to the range between a display’s darkest black levels and brightest highlights. Because VA-style panels excel at producing deep, dark black levels, this is arguably their biggest strength. VA panels almost always feature deeper black levels than their IPS counterparts, and this goes a long way in creating a detail-rich picture. An IPS panel can mitigate this by serving up an exceptionally bright image to offset relatively shallow black levels.

A TV’s total viewing angle describes how much a viewer can move away from an ideal, head-on viewing position before the contrast and color of the picture begins to deteriorate. Due to the positioning of their liquid crystals, IPS panels excel in this department; they typically offer significantly more viewing flexibility than TVs with VA-style panels. In other words, IPS panels are more reliable for group vie