tn vs ips lcd panel quotation

When searching for a liquid crystal display (LCD), consideration of the device’s display technology is essential. Screen technology companies such as Apple and Samsung search for the best possible display panels and panel technology in order to offer their customers the best image quality. In competitive gaming, gaming monitors must be able to provide great image quality but also fast refresh rates so that gamers can play at a fast pace.

Before diving into how exactly liquid crystals affect display features, it is necessary to understand their general role in an LCD monitor. LCD technology is not capable of illuminating itself, so it requires a backlight. The liquid crystals are responsible for transmitting the light from backlight to the computer monitor surface in a manner determined by the signals received. They do so by essentially moving the light differently through the layer’s molecular matrix when the liquid crystals are oriented or aligned in a certain manner, a process which is controlled by the LCD cell’s electrodes and their electric currents.

The methods of alignment, however, can vary between panel types, offering different features and benefits. Two common and popular liquid crystal alignment techniques are twisted nematic (TN) and in-plane switching(IPS).

TN panels offer the cheapest method of crystal alignment. They also are the most common of the alignment methods and have been used for quite a long time in the display industry, including in cathode ray tubes (CRTs) that preceded the LCD.

In TN displays, the electrodes are positioned on either side of the liquid crystal layer. When a current is sent between the back and front electrode, something called an electric field is created that shifts and manipulates the orientation of the molecular matrix.

If no electric field is applied to the specific cell, the crystals experience a 90 degree twist in the alignment. As light from the backlight passes through this twist, the light waves are polarized, allowing them to pass through the polarizer that sits on the surface of the TN monitor.

If an electric field is applied, it can either untwist the TN liquid crystal layer partially or in full, depending on the strength of the field. The structure of TN crystals will typically straighten out when this happens, and some, if not all, light waves will not be polarized properly to pass through to the surface.

Each LCD cell composes a pixel of the display, and in each pixel are subpixels. These subpixels use standard red green blue (sRGB) colors to create a variety of colors to make the pixel display the necessary color to play its role in the overall display. If beneath the subpixel the liquid crystal fully polarizes the light, that subpixel’s specific color would be very bright in the pixel as a whole. But if the light is not polarized at all, then that color will not show up. If partially polarized, only a limited amount of that color is used in the mixture of RGB colors in the final pixel.

A more complex method of alignment is IPS. IPS monitors, unlike the TN, place both electrodes on the same level, behind the liquid crystal layer. When the electric field is applied, this forces the liquid crystal molecules to align themselves parallel to the IPS device layers instead of perpendicularly like the TN molecules.

Opposite of the TN, when the electric field is applied, IPS technology will polarize the light to pass, whereas when the electric field is not applied, the light will not be polarized to pass. Because of the orientation of the crystals, IPS displays require brighter, more powerful backlights in order to produce the correct amount of brightness for the display.

An important consideration is viewing angles. The TN offers only a limited viewing angle, especially limited from vertical angle shifts, and so color reproduction at these angles will likely not look the same as from a straight-on viewing; the TN’s colors may invert at extreme angles. The IPS counters that and allows for greater and better viewing angles that consequently offer better color reproduction at these angles than the TN. There is one issue with extreme viewing angles for IPS devices: IPS glow. This occurs when the backlight shines through the display at very wide angles, but typically is not an issue unless a device is looked at from the side.

In terms of color, as mentioned, TN devices do not have very strong color reproduction compared to other alignment technologies. Without strong color reproduction, color banding can become visible, contrast ratio can suffer, and accurate colors may not be produced. Color gamut, or the range of colors that the device can reproduce and display, is another feature that most TN displays do not excel in. This means that the full sRGB spectrum is not accessible. IPS devices, on the other hand, have good quality black color reproductions, allowing the device to achieve a deeper, richer display, but it is still not the best option if a customer is in search of high contrast (discussed further in a couple more paragraphs).

While TNs may not have the best color quality, they allow for high refresh rates (how often a new image is updated per second), often around 240 Hz. They also have the lowest input lag (receiving of signals from external controllers) at about one millisecond. TN panels often attract gamers because of the need for minimal lag and fast refresh rates in a competitive or time-sensitive setting. In consideration of moving displays like in video game displays, it is also important for fast response times (how fast a pixel can change from one amount of lighting to another). The lower the response time (the higher the response rate), the less motion blur will be shown as the display changes to show motion. TNs also offer these low response times, but it is important to remember that a powerful graphics processing unit, commonly called a GPU, is still needed to push these displays to meet the fastest refresh and response rates.

Standard IPS devices have been known to have slower response time and refresh rates. This can often lead to not just motion blur but ghosting as well, meaning that an image does not refresh fast enough, and so the previous image will remain temporarily burned in the expected new image. In recent years, though, IPS technology has achieved higher refresh rates than in the past through the super-IPS, abbreviated s-IPS.

Oftentimes, refresh rates and frame rate of output devices (such as graphics cards) will not be synchronized, causing screen tearing when two different display images will be shown at once. This problem can be addressed through syncing technologies like Vsynch, Nvidia’s G-Sync, or FreeSync (a royalty-free adaptive synchronization technology developed by AMD).

Another common consideration of customers is the price of each display. TN, though it does not offer as high quality of a display, offers the lowest cost and best moving displays, making it useful if the intended use of the LCD monitor is simple and not too demanding. However, if you intend for something that calls for better color production or viewing angles, the IPS and other methods are viable choices, but at much higher costs. Even though IPS motion displays have reached the speed and rates of TNs, the price for such technology is much more expensive than the TN option.

There are other options besides the TN and IPS. One option is known as vertical alignment (VA) and it allows for the best color accuracy and color gamut. Compared to a typical IPS contrast ratio of 1000:1, VA panels can often have ratios of 3000:1 or even 6000:1. Besides improved contrast ratio, the VA is in between the TN and IPS. To compare the TN vs IPS vs VA, the VA does not have as great a viewing angle as IPS but not as poor as the TN. Its response times are slower than TN but faster than IPS (though at fast refresh rates, the VA displays often suffer from ghosting and motion blur). Due to the contrast ratio benefits, VA technologies are most often desirable for TVs.

And lastly, there is an option quite similar to IPS that is called plane to line switching (PLS). It is only produced by Samsung, who claims the PLS offers better brightness and contrast ratios than the IPS, uses less energy, and is cheaper to manufacture (but because it is only created by Samsung, it is hard to judge pricing). It also has potential in creating flexible displays.

Choosing a monitor has grown to be a more difficult task for the smart consumer. There are three dominating display panel technologies and a whole list of subsets of technical specifications to work through. The most common argument is between TN and IPS display panels. Both panel types are commonly found in today’s world, whether for office work or at a brick and mortar retail store.

As technology keeps on getting better, the difference between technology keeps getting smaller. However, TN and IPS still have some glaring differences. The most notable differences are the color contrast and viewing angles. TN has almost no viewing angle. Color clarity is lost when the user moves slightly to any side of the monitor other than directly in front of it.

IPS display panels have a much wider viewing angle that has no visual loss except at extreme angles that are unrealistic positions for computer users to be in. When TN and IPS monitors are placed side-by-side, the color contrast and clarity of the IPS panel shine brightly. IPS panels have an 8-bit color panel system that allows for a much wider color range than the 6-bit color panel used in TN technology.

Gamers will usually opt for a TN panel. Designers, artists, producers, and creatives that care about color contrast and image clarity will want to choose IPS displays. These are general recommendations and you may find that either technology will suit your purposes just fine.

Twisted Nematic, or TN, panels are among the most commonly-used monitor panels types around. TN is the monitor panel of choice for gamers. This is not because TN panels are known for visual clarity and increased definition, they aren’t.

It is because TN panels have better response times and refresh rates. This means gamers can take advantage of 144Hz or 240Hz monitors with smoother on-screen motion and less input lag. Responsiveness is critical to competitive gaming.

While it may seem like a millisecond difference in motion, it can be the difference between winning and losing in-game. Other processes that rely on quick refresh rates like stock trading may also benefit from a TN panel monitor.

TN panels are the oldest panel technology available in a monitor. This helps to lower the price of TN monitors on the market versus VA or IPS panels. As TN panels are older technology, they offer a faster refresh rate and response time. This is because the panels are producing less clarity and color vibrancy. There are high-end TN panels that offer wide color ranges, but even then TN panels can’t compare to the image quality of IPS panel colors.

In-Plane Switching (IPS) panels were made to portray better color reproduction and viewing angles. This results in excellent color contrast that doesn’t lose clarity because the viewer is at the wrong angle. IPS monitors are known for their color contrast, brightness, and image clarity.

IPS panel displays can also be purchased at high refresh rates over 240Hz. TN panels still hold a slight advantage over IPS panels in response time, but some high-quality IPS displays are able to match the refresh rate and response time of a good TN panel without sacrificing the color vibrancy found in IPS displays. As time moves forward, IPS may displace TN as the go-to choice for gamers.

IPS panels are also excellent for everyday use. They have excellent image clarity that can suffice for digital graphic design. As IPS describes a wide range of products, there are both gaming-specific IPS monitors as well as sRGB focused IPS displays for designers. As it stands, TN monitors are still more commonly available with 1 ms response times than IPS displays.

IPS displays are commonly used for laptops and 2-in-1 devices. The high brightness, color contrast, and wide viewing angle create a better experience on laptop devices.

In conclusion, the type of panel to be used is determined by the purpose of the monitor. In photography, graphics design, video and picture edits, where the displayed colors, as well as the viewing angle and contrast, are of great importance, the IPS should be considered. If the refresh rate, price and the reaction time is needed more than the other characteristics, the TN panel should be considered.

However, an IPS panel can have a higher reaction and refresh rate, but this will lead to an increase in the cost of production as well as the cost of acquiring it. It might also lead to a great increase in power consumption.

For our PresentationPoint users and digital signage in general, we can transform this recommendation as follows. For advertising and public information screens e.g. in hotels: use an IPS panel. In areas where the graphics qualities are not that important, use a TN panel. Think here about information screens in factories.

Consider you’re buying a new gaming monitor. Now, before you head out (or online), there are many things to consider. The resolution and refresh rates are just the tips of the ice-berg. When it comes to PC monitor display panels, you’ve got three options: IPS, TN and VA. If you are a gamer which panel is right for you? Do you need an IPS display, a TN panel, or a VA panel?

All three of these are different flavors of LCD monitors. They’re built using fundamentally similar technology–this isn’t the difference between LCD and OLED. All three have advantages and substantial weakness. This means that they are ideal for different use cases. You’ll want to know these as a gamer to identify what’s right for you.

TN is short for twisted nematic, referring to the LCD substrate that’s used in this type of display. TN panels are a very mature technology and are the cheapest kind of LCD display to produce. This means that you’ll get TN panels for a given screen size/resolution at a lower price than other options.

TN panels aren’t just cheap. They tend to have lower response times than other monitor panels. This makes them exceptionally well-suited for low-latency use cases like eSports gaming. As a result, many eSports-oriented high-refresh rate monitors utilize TN technology.

There are notable downsides, though. For starters, viewing angles are terrible. Even if you look at a TN panel from its exact center, you’ll experience picture quality degradation at the edges. Poor viewing angles mean that color is only accurately reproduced at the very center of the panel, from your perspective. Some TN panels have better viewing angles than others, but almost all are beaten by even budget VA and IPS sets in this respect.

Another thing? Color reproduction is poor on TN panels. Colors, in general, appear washed-out. But what’s most noticeable is the poor contrast levels. In poorly-illuminated scenes, black appears grey. All in all, we find TN panels hard to recommend anymore. If you want an eSports panel, but can’t afford a high-performance IPS, a TN panel might be right for you. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

IPS is short for in-plane switching. IPS displays were actually developed to address the shortcomings of TN panels. In IPS panels, the orientation of liquid crystal molecules is arranged and switched parallel to the substrate. This allows for accurate color reproduction across a much wider range of viewing angles.

IPS panels have clear advantages over TN panels. For starters, color reproduction is excellent. High-end IPS monitors that cover a significant amount of the sRGB gamut not only look great–they’re an excellent choice for professional photographers and graphic designers. Contrast is much-improved on IPS: while you don’t get the inky blacks of OLED, dark areas look reliably dark, while retaining detail. IPS panels tend to have a slower refresh rate than TN panels.

However, gaming-oriented IPS models are available with low response time and higher refresh rates. They just cost a lot more than comparable TN parts. IPS panels are our go-to recommendation. They offer great image quality, while also allowing for low-latency, high refresh rate gaming.

VA is short for vertical alignment. In these displays, LCD cells align vertically when no electricity is passing through. They align horizontally when it is, allowing light through. VA panels offer excellent image quality. Even budget VA monitors deliver contrast ratios in excess of 3000:1. This translates into rich colors, and detail preservation in dark scenes.

VA is ideal if media consumption is your primary use case: you get excellent image quality. The trade-off here is that VA panels tend to have the worst response times. Response times higher than 4ms are typical. On the worst offenders, input lag is actually somewhat notable. And while viewing angles are better than TN panels, VA panels often exhibit color shifting–with colors going off-hue at wide angles. Some VA panels also have a “ghosting” issue, especially when handling rapidly moving images.

This makes VA panels a questionable choice for eSports gaming. If you mainly play single-player titles, though, VA panels are a great choice. Price-wise, they tend to be cheaper than their IPS counterparts while offering great image quality.

If you’re an eSports gamer, you need a monitor with the lowest-possible response rate and a high refresh rate. Both IPS and TN panels enable this. At a premium budget, you should look at IPS panels, as they offer the best combination of picture quality and low latency. If you’re on a tighter budget, a TN panel can get the job done, although you’ll be compromising somewhat on the image.

Other than the display panel, you also need to look at some of the other specifications such as the color gamut, HDR support, contrast ratio, etc. You can read more about how to pick the right config here.

Again, IPS is the clear winner here. The vertical viewing angles are very similar to the horizontal ones on both IPS and VA panels. Unfortunately, this is one area where TN panels are usually much, much worse. TN monitors degrade rapidly from below, and colors actually inverse - resulting in a negative image that can be distracting. For this reason, if you decide to buy a TN monitor, look for one with an excellent height adjustment, or consider buying a VESA mounting arm, as you should mount TN monitors at eye level. Even when mounted properly, larger TN displays can appear non-uniform at the edges.

There"s usually not much difference between VA and IPS panels in terms of gray uniformity. It"s rare for monitors to have uniformity issues, and even on monitors that perform worse than average, it"s usually not noticeable with regular content. TN monitors tend to perform a bit worse than usual, though, and the top half of the screen is almost always darker than the rest, but that"s an artifact of the bad vertical viewing angles.

Black uniformity tends to vary significantly, even between individual units of the same model, and there"s no single panel type that performs the best. It"s rare for monitors to have good black uniformity, and almost every monitor we"ve tested has some noticeable cloudiness or backlight bleed. IPS and TN panels can look slightly worse due to their low contrast ratios, as the screen can take on more of a bluish tint when displaying dark scenes. Like with contrast, black uniformity issues usually aren"t very noticeable unless you"re looking at dark content and you"re in a dark room. If you only use your monitor in a bright environment, generally speaking, you don"t need to worry about black uniformity.

Historically, TN panels used to have the worst colors, as many of them were cheaper models that only supported 6-bit colors or used techniques like dithering (FRC) to approximate 8-bit colors. Most displays today, including TN models, are at least 8 bit, and many of them are even able to approximate 10-bit colors through dithering. New technologies, like LG"s Nano IPS and Samsung"s Quantum Dot, add an extra layer to the LCD stack and have significantly improved the color gamut of modern IPS and VA displays, leaving TN a bit behind. Between them, NANO IPS is slightly better, as it tends to offer better coverage of the Adobe RGB color space. Although the difference is minor, IPS panels still have a slight edge over VA and TN displays.

Although TN panels have caught up a bit in the SDR color space, they"re far behind when it comes to HDR, so if you"re looking for a good HDR color gamut, avoid TN panels. Between VA and IPS panels, the difference isn"t as significant; however, IPS panels still have a slight edge. The best VA panels top out at around 90% coverage of the DCI P3 color space used by most current HDR content. IPS panels go as high as 98% coverage of DCI P3, rivaling even some of the best TVs on the market. Due to the very high coverage of DCI P3 on both VA and IPS, the difference isn"t that noticeable, though, as most content won"t use the entire color space anyway.

Although not necessarily as noticeable to everyone as the differences in picture quality, there can also be a difference in motion handling between IPS, VA, and TN displays. TN panels historically offered the best gaming performance, as they had the highest refresh rates and extremely fast response times. Manufacturers have found ways to drastically improve the motion handling of VA and IPS panels, though, and the difference isn"t as pronounced.

LCD panel technology has changed drastically over the last few years, and the historical expectations for response time performance don"t necessarily hold anymore. For years, TN monitors had the fastest response times by far, but that"s started to change. New high refresh-rate IPS monitors can be just as fast.

VA panels are a bit of a strange situation. They typically have slightly slower response times overall compared to similar TN or IPS models. It"s especially noticeable in near-black scenes, where they tend to be significantly slower, resulting in dark trails behind fast-moving objects in dark scenes, commonly known as black smear. Some recent VA panels, such as the Samsung Odyssey G7 LC32G75T, get around it by overdriving the pixels. It results in much better dark scene performance but a more noticeable overshoot in brighter areas.

Within each of the three types of LCD we mentioned, other related panel types use the same basic idea but with slight differences. For example, two popular variants of IPS panels include ADS (technically known as ADSDS, or Advanced Super Dimension Switch) and PLS (Plane to Line Switching). It can be hard to tell these panels apart simply based on the subpixel structure, so we"ll usually group them all as IPS, and in the text, we"ll usually refer to them as IPS-like or IPS family. There are slight differences in colors, viewing angles, and contrast, but generally speaking, they"re all very similar.

There"s another display technology that"s growing in popularity: OLED. OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, is very different from the conventional LCD technology we"ve explored above. OLED panels are electro-emissive, which means each pixel emits its own light when it receives an electric signal, eliminating the need for a backlight. Since OLED panels can turn off individual pixels, they have deep, inky blacks with no blooming around bright objects. They also have excellent wide viewing angles, a near-instantaneous response time, and excellent gray uniformity.

OLED panels aren"t perfect, though. There"s a risk of permanent burn-in, especially when there are lots of static elements on screen, like the UI elements of a PC. There aren"t many OLED monitors available, either, but they"ve started to gain popularity as laptop screens and for high-end monitors, but they"re very expensive and hard to find. They"re also not very bright in some cases, especially when large bright areas are visible on screen. The technology is still maturing, and advances in OLED technology, like Samsung"s highly-anticipated QD-OLED technology, are promising.

As you can probably tell by now, no one panel type works best for everyone; it all depends on your exact usage. Although there used to be some significant differences between panel types, as technology has improved, these differences aren"t as noticeable. The two exceptions to this are viewing angles and contrast. If you"re in a dark room, a VA panel that can display deep blacks is probably the best choice. If you"re not in a dark room, you should focus on the other features of the monitor and choose based on the features that appeal to your exact usage. IPS panels are generally preferred for office use, and TN typically offers the best gaming experience, but recent advancements in VA and IPS technology are starting to change those generalizations. For the most part, the differences between each panel type are so minor now that it doesn"t need to be directly factored into your buying decision.

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.

All newer TN monitors will offer a rapid ~1ms response time (gray to gray pixel transition or ‘GtG’ for short), which eliminates ghosting/trailing behind fast-moving objects.

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.

TN monitors have the worst color reproduction and narrow viewing angles (170° horizontally, 160° vertically), which causes the image to shift in color, contrast and brightness when it’s looked at skewed angles.

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.

Whether you just want to project your laptop screen onto a bigger monitor, or you’re buying a new monitor for your desktop, the search for a monitor, like any other component, is riddled with tech jargon that is often difficult to understand. This article is designed to give buyers a quick guide about the differences between TN and IPS, the two main monitor types of today’s world.

Back in the not so distant past, CRT, or Cathode Ray Tube, was the standard monitor type. CRTs got information in an analog format along the cable. The cathode, or electron gun, sits at the back of the monitor’s tapered back and fires electrons corresponding to the signal received from the cable. Closer towards the screen is a set of anodes, that direct the electron to the RGB layer of the actual screen, via part of the signal from the cable. While these monitors were state of the art once upon a time, they don’t really have much of a place in today’s world with the invention of LCD screens, which have become the standard for today’s monitors.

LCD, Liquid Crystal Displays, don’t suffer from the same drawbacks as CRTs. For one, they use far less power. Also, CRTs tend to be harsher to stare at, and lack customization options in terms of brightness controls to the degree that modern monitors do. Additionally, LCDs are much more clear than CRTs, allowing for a more accurate image to be displayed. Modern LCD monitors work by having a two layer system of LED lights and LCD screen. The LED lights are referred to as a “backlight” and cause the image to be projected more clearly than the otherwise fairly dark LCD. The LCD layer, then, is in charge of color production, and the actual recreation of the image. LCD monitors are digital now, via such connections as HDMI or DisplayPort, and therefore can transmit data faster.

TN, or Twisted Nematic panels, use a ‘nematic’ kind of liquid crystal to rotate and pass light through, corresponding to the signal transmitted. The main advantage of TN panels is speed. TN panels take advantage of something called an “active 3D shutter” which in essence allows them to display up to twice as much information as other types of panels. Additionally, the response time of TN panels is much quicker than IPS, though it is possible to find faster IPS panels. The delay in response time for a TN panel is roughly 2ms (milliseconds) however they can go as low as 1ms. Another benefit of TN panels is that they are generally cheaper than their IPS equivalent. This fast response time, and cheap factor, make these monitors quite popular in the gaming community, as well as the general consumer market, as gamers will experience less delay time when rendering an image. Additionally, TN panels allow for a higher refresh rate, going as high as 144Hz – though once again, it is possible to get IPS monitors with similar specs, just for a more money.

The major downside of TN panels is that they lack 100% accurate color reproduction. If you’re browsing Facebook, it’s not very important. However, if you’re doing color sensitive work perhaps for a movie or a photo edit, then TN panels may not be the right monitor for you.

The main difference between IPS, In-plane Switching,  and TN panels, as touched on above, are price and color reproduction. IPS monitors are generally preferred by those in the professional rendering industry, as they more accurately portray colors of images. The downside, however, is that they are more expensive, though it is quite possible to find affordable IPS monitors for price ranges from $150 all the way up to thousands of dollars.

IPS monitors work by having a parallel instead of perpendicular array of pixels, which in addition to allowing for better color reproduction has the benefit of excellent viewing angles, while TN panels can often discolor if viewed from any relatively extreme angle. In essence, IPS panels were designed to address the flaws with TN panels, and therefore are preferred by many, from the average consumer to the professional editor.

Don’t let the benefits of IPS panels ruin your opinion of TN panels, though, for TN panels are still fantastic for certain situations. If you’re just sitting in one place in front of your computer, and absolutely perfect color reproduction isn’t really important to you, then TN is the way to go, especially if you’re trying to save a little on your monitor purchase.

To summarize, TN panels have a better response time, as well as a cheaper price tag, while IPS panels have better viewing angles and color reproduction for a little extra cash. Whatever your choice of type, there are a plethora of excellent monitors for sale across the internet, in an immense variety of sizes and resolutions.

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Buying a PC monitor involves a lot of jargon that you have to cut through before making your purchase. You"ve specs like response time and refresh rate to consider, color gamut, contrast ratio, and even the type of panel. When it comes to panel tech, two popular terms you"ll see are TN and IPS.

TN stands for Twisted Nematic and these are the most commonly used panels in PC monitors. Two of the biggest benefits of TN panels are lightning fast response times and a low cost.

Many gaming monitors, particularly those used in a competitive environment, will still be TN-based because the can achieve a 1ms response time that"s currently unreachable for IPS technology.

It also costs less for a TN monitor compared to an IPS. The viewing angles and colors aren"t as good, but if you"re sitting straight on and don"t depend on color accuracy, the cheaper asking price might be a worthy trade-off. You can still go all the way up to 4K resolution, and the latest and greatest panels have a ridiculously fast refresh rate up to 240Hz. IPS monitors aren"t that fast yet.

A quick summary(opens in new tab):IPS is typically more expensive, but produces much higher display quality, with better colors and much better viewing angles.

The viewing angles, in particular, are one of the top reasons you wouldn"t want a TN panel on your phone. IPS displays just generally look better over all. So if you"re anybody working in any sort of visual media or just want your home photos and videos to really pop, then you"ll definitely benefit from the richer colors.

There are high-quality IPS monitors available aimed at gamers, too, but generally speaking the response times are lower on IPS displays than on TN. On an IPS monitor typically you"ll be looking at 4ms and above, though you can still get both high resolution and G-Sync or FreeSync, along with fast refresh rates.

IPS monitors are also usually more expensive than their TN counterparts, but the value proposition is still fairly high when you compare the technical benefits against the increased cost.

It boils down to two main points: Your primary use and your budget. If you"re a gamer or someone on a tight budget, then a TN monitor will likely be your best bet. They"re easily the cheapest and offer both the lowest response time and highest refresh rates.

IPS monitors may well be more expensive but the quality is higher and the colors are much better, as are viewing angles. This is important to consider if you"re ever looking at your monitor anything other than dead straight on. They"re the best all-round choice, especially for creatives, and refresh rates are getting higher.

Most gaming displays use liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. Without going into a physics-filled lesson about LCD technology, suffice to say that LCD screens display images using electrical current to arrange molecules in various ways in front of a backlight. There are three different kinds of LCD panels: TN, IPS, and VA.

Each type of panel uses a slightly different LCD technology to display information and comes with its own pros and cons regarding gaming. Here is a quick breakdown of the difference between the three types of gaming monitor panels for those looking to pick up a new gaming monitor.

The first kind of LCD panel is the TN panel. TN stands for “Twisted Nematic.” This is the original version of LCD technology, first produced back in 1968. TN panels offer a very fast and reliable digital signal, even in the cheaper models. However, they have some drawbacks in the color reproduction area, and their view angle is very narrow. These panels are the cheapest option for gaming monitors.

The second kind of LCD panel is the IPS panel. IPS stands for “In-Plane Switching.” This technology was created in the ‘90s by Hitachi. These panels provide a wider viewing angle and superior colors to TN panels. However, they are also more expensive, require more power to run, and offer slower response times on the cheaper end.

The third kind of LCD panel is the VA panel. VA stands for “Vertical Alignment.” While this technology was first invented in 1971 by Schiekel and Fahrenschon, it rose to prominence in the late ‘90s around the same time as IPS technology. They offer similar advantages to IPS technology, but they have worse overall image quality and are more prone to ghosting.

Although they are the most affordable type of display, TN panels are great for gaming. They aren’t the prettiest monitors available, but they have a very fast response time, making them great for games that require quick reaction times. Even very affordable models of TN monitors feature response times between one millisecond and five milliseconds.

TN monitors do have some major drawbacks to take into account as well. The biggest issue with TN monitors is their poor color space. The colors actually look different depending on the angle that you use to look at a TN panel. Even when looking straight at TN monitors, the colors aren’t very accurate.

Since TN panels won’t produce the best possible image, your games probably won’t look quite as good as they would on an IPS or a VA monitor. You also should not do design or colorwork on a TN panel if you can avoid it.

The other big drawback to TN panels is their viewing angle. The viewing angle on TN panels is very narrow, so it only looks normal when looking directly at the panel. This can make it challenging to play local multiplayer games or watch a video with someone else while using a TN display.

TN panels are a good starting monitor for a gamer. They are affordable, feature fast response times, and offer the best gaming specs for the price. However, they also come with some major drawbacks.

IPS panels are also excellent for gaming. While IPS monitors are more expensive than TN monitors, they can produce gorgeous colors and provide a wider view angle.

IPS monitors feature consistent color reproduction that you can rely on. Many IPS panels feature full 10-bit color, and most of them feature high percentage sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamuts. DCI-P3 and sRGB are color standards that are used to measure how many colors a screen is capable of producing. High percentages on these standards mean that your monitor is capable of producing more accurate and vibrant colors.

Due to this high level of color accuracy, IPS panels are the go-to option for designers and artists. The superior colors and bit-depth also translate into superior gaming immersion, allowing you to take full advantage of any game’s graphics.

IPS monitors look much better from the side because an IPS screen’s liquid crystal polymer moves horizontally, resulting in less color distortion from the sides. IPS panels are capable of a superior viewing angle of 178 degrees. Of the three types of LCD panels, IPS has the widest viewing angle, making it the best for couch co-op or watching video content with friends.

The major drawback that is often brought up in conversations about IPS panels is their slower response times. However, this drawback only applies to lower-priced IPS panels. While it is true that IPS panels are slightly slower on average than TN models, higher-end IPS panels can feature lightning-fast, one-millisecond response rates. If you are willing to spend the extra money, you can purchase an IPS monitor just as fast as any TN monitor.

Overall, IPS panels are the best for gamers who value image quality in addition to performance. IPS panels cost more than an equivalently specced TN panel monitor, but only because IPS panels are superior to TN ones regarding visual fidelity.

VA panels exist somewhere between IPS and TN panels regarding advantages and price. They feature faster response times on average than IPS panels but lower response times on average than TN panels. VA panels have superior color to TN panels but worse color reproduction than IPS panels.

A big advantage of VA panels is that they are capable of very high refresh rates of 144Hz, 240Hz, or even 360Hz. While it is true that some more expensive IPS options can also achieve these refresh rates, VA panels do so at a fraction of the price. If you are looking for an affordable, high refresh rate monitor, a VA monitor might be a good middle ground to consider.

VA panels will be slightly worse at color reproduction than IPS monitors. The difference is not so great that you will notice it while gaming. However, the difference might be relevant for anyone looking to do design work on their monitor as well.

VA panels generally offer slower response times than TN panels. However, just like with the IPS panels, there are plenty of VA panels that can pull one-millisecond response times. So while TN reigns for budget options, IPS and VA panels are the superior options if you have the money for them.

Generally speaking, IPS and VA panels offer a very similar user experience, but VA monitors are often slightly cheaper than an equivalent IPS monitor. However, VA monitors do suffer from more motion blur and ghosting issues than IPS panels. So IPS remains the best option for anyone doing design or precision work.

For most gamers, a high-quality IPS monitor offers the most bang for their buck. It will provide beautiful colors, high frame rates, and experiences less ghosting issues than a VA panel. However, TN panels are a great option for anyone who is on a tight budget and willing to sacrifice color accuracy in exchange for faster response times.

TN and IPS are two technologies that are used to create liquid crystal displays or LCD. TN stands for Twisted Nematic while IPS stands for In-Plane Switching. These technologies handle the way the liquid crystals move differently, resulting in different performance. Probably the biggest difference between the two, in the buyer’s perspective, is the price. TN displays are muchcheaper compared to their equivalent IPS displays. Part of the reason of the higher price is the doubling of the number of transistors per pixel in IPS displays, which uses two transistors.

If price is not a factor in choosing the better display, then IPS displays would be the sure winner. IPS displays do not suffer from the color limitation problemthat TN displays have. To achieve better color reproduction, TN displays use dithering but it could affect the sharpness of the resulting image. IPS displays can recreate a wider variation of colors without the use of dithering and is generally the desired technology for people who extensively work with digital imaging and rendering.

Another aspect where they differ is the viewing angle. Viewing angle is a measurement of how far away you can be from directly in front of the display while still seeing a goodquality image. IPS displays have a very wide viewing angle and you can view the display from a very slanted angle but the image still retains its colors and you can still make out the figures on the screen. TN displays, when viewed at an angle, begin to suffer from loss of color. The image becomes washed out, as if you are viewing the image through thick smoke. Although this is generally treated as a negative aspect of TN displays, it can be beneficial in certain applications where privacy is preferred. It is much harder for people to sneak a peek on a TN display than on an IPS display.

Choosing between an IPS display and a TN display should be dependent on the intended use. If you are looking for a TV set, IPS is the better choice as it is importantfor a TV to have excellent color reproduction as well as a wide viewing angle. For a regular computermonitor, a TN display would probably suffice as you would be sitting right in front of it most of the time.

You may be surprised to know that not all LCD panels are created equal. That’s because there’s more than one type of LCD screen. While their differences are subtle, the type of panel technology significantly impacts its image quality and display performance.

In this post, we’ll compare the three types of LCD panel technologies – IPS vs. TN vs. VA – and the pros and cons of each. Knowing the differences is critical to help you find the best type that fits your needs.

The main difference between them is how they arrange and move the liquid crystal display (LCD) molecules in their panels. This, in turn, has a profound effect on image quality, refresh rate, and other performance factors.

A twisted nematic or TN monitor is the oldest and most common type of LCD still used today. It uses a nematic liquid crystal, meaning it has its molecules arranged in parallel, but not on a level plane. These can twist or untwist themselves when a voltage runs through them, hence the name. This twisting effect either allows or blocks light from passing through, turning screen pixels “on” or “off.”

In-panel switching (IPS) panels work similarly to TN monitors, except that the liquid crystal molecules are parallel to the glass panel of the screen. Instead of twisting like in TN monitors, these molecules rotate when a voltage is applied.

Vertical alignment (VA) displays arrange their LCD molecules vertically, perpendicular to the glass panel. When voltage is present, they tilt themselves instead of twisting or rotating.

Being the oldest LCD technology still in use today, TN monitors undoubtedly have their share of benefits, otherwise they wouldn’t have this much longevity! Comparing TN vs. IPS and VA, TN panels are the cheapest and fastest to manufacture. As a result, they are better for the more budget-conscious user. They’re also the most versatile LCD type and have no real-world limits on size, shape, resolution, and refresh rate.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a TN monitor in a reasonable price range that can display 24-bit (8 bits per channel) color at a wide color gamut, and contrast is limited. The second problem with TN monitors is that because the molecules are not oriented uniformly across the plane, it suffers from a narrow viewing angle. That is, anyone looking at the screen off-axis, such as from a 45-degree angle, will most likely find the image completely un-viewable.

Comparing IPS vs. TN, the former is a drastic improvement over the latter. IPS panels resolve some of the limitations and problems of TN monitors, specifically color accuracy and issues with viewing angles. However, IPS panels suffer from a phenomenon called “IPS glow,” where you can see the display’s backlight clearly if you view it from the side.

Another significant limitation of IPS panels, particularly for gamers, is that they have the lowest refresh rates of any LCD type. And while the color fidelity is fantastic with IPS vs. VA, the latter has superior contrast ratios over the IPS panels.

The biggest strength of VA panels lies in their excellent contrast ratio. Keep in mind that irrespective of the LCD technology used, a backlight is required; this is typically LED. The LCD’s ability to block this light will determine how well it can reproduce blacks, and it’s in this detail where VA excels. That is, blacks are dark and rich in a VA panel vs. IPS. They also lie somewhere in the middle regarding overall image quality, color reproduction, viewing angle, and refresh rate. Overall, VA is a good compromise between TN and IPS.

A drawback of VA vs. IPS and TN is it exhibits an relatively high response time. As such, VA displays are more prone to motion blur and ghosting if you’re viewing fast-moving visuals on a screen, such as when you’re playing a racing game.

It’s worth noting that there is no universal “right” choice for choosing a type of LCD panel. Which one you pick depends on your budget, your intended use, and your expected outcome.

A TN monitor is best if you’re looking for a low-cost, readily available display for tasks that don’t rely on contrast and color accuracy, such as sending emails or typing a document or spreadsheet. They are also the best choice for competitive gamers who want the best refresh rates and response times to give them an edge in online multiplayer games, despite a technically lower image quality.

With their superior color reproduction, IPS panels are best for graphic designers, film editors, photographers, and other visual design professionals. For them, image quality including contrast and color accuracy are more important than refresh rates. IPS panels are also fantastic for casual gamers who want the best visuals and don’t mind the compromise in refresh rate or response time.

Whichever LCD type you choose, make sure you get the right cable, a Premium High Speed HDMI® Cable, or an Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable to ensure delivery of all the HDMI 2.1 features. Doing this ensures that you’ll get the best experience on your screen.

This is how far off-centre you can view the screen without the quality of the image degrading significantly.A TN panel has generally poor viewing angles, if you’re not square-on to your monitor then the image and colours will dull. This isn’t too much of a problem for office work as we almost always have a monitor straight in front of us.IPS panels offer much better viewing angles, so you can have this monitor at an angle to you with almost no change in colour representation at all, but when viewed from some extreme angles blacks may exhibit a glow from the backlight, which can be distracting in darker images.

This is colour accuracy, think if you design a brochure on the screen and you send it to the printers and when you get it back the colours aren’t exactly the ones you specified. This is colour accuracy.Response time, or how quickly the monitor can change the pixels on the screen.IPS panels offer more vibrant and accurate colour representation than TN panels. This is due to their better precision in how the light is passed through the LCD crystals.A TN panel can’t match an IPS for colour accuracy but they do win in refresh rate, although some of the more expensive IPS panels can match a TN. You will see these in Gaming monitors, with a hefty price tag. When does response time matter? Anything with fast moving images (some games, watching sport etc).

The difference between the brightest whites and the darkest blacksTN panels loose out here again to IPS offering higher contrast ratios. Higher contrast we generally associate with better image quality, it’s not entirely accurate but it’s maybe the easiest to tell the difference on.

So which one for an office PC?If the user is doing any design based work where colours on the screen need to be as close to what may be printed as possible, or if the user will have multiple monitors off-centre and doesn’t want the image to degrade, or just wants a vibrant and generally great viewing experience, then an IPS panel in monitor will give you that.Otherwise a TN panel is perfectly acceptable for general office use and is better for your budget.