lcd panel types linus tech free sample

4K TVs are just starting to become commonplace in households worldwide, while those who want to go fancy can go all the way up to 8K resolution for a few extra hundred dollars. However, tech companies are already thinking about the next best thing after that. And it"s widely thought that the next step is 16K resolution.

No actual consumer 16K screens are actually being sold at the time of writing the article, but it"s not like the concept hasn"t been explored. 16K resolutions can be run on computers using multi-monitor setups—popular YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips actually attempted to run games at 16K resolution in a video by running a multi-monitor setup comprised of 16 4K monitors. It can also be done by using four 8K monitors.

As for actual16K screens, though, prototypes have been shown off. For example, Innolux showed a 100-inch 16K display at Touch Taiwan Display 2018, while Sony showed off a humongous 783-inch unit at NAB 2019.

In the case of 8K, the very first commercially-available 8K TV was released in 2015. Granted, back then, it cost an eye-watering $133,000, and prices have dropped steeply since. Still, if screen makers have been playing around with the concept of 16K for years now (16K prototypes have been shown as early as 2018), what"s stopping one of them from starting to commercialize it, given we"re well into 2022?

The short answer is that someone will eventually do it (after all, the tech isin development), but there isn"t much of a rush to put it on the market because it probably won"t be a game-changer for most people.

With that being said, unless you"re planning to buy a super-large TV that"s the size of your entire wall, you likely won"t notice a big difference with 16K. These types of ultra-large screens are the ones that will truly benefit from having a 16K resolution or something above that. It could come in handy for a screen that"s replacing a projector in a movie theater, for a digital billboard, or for a screen to place in a large office.

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.

I prefer the Roku interface and pedestal mount of the TCL above, but all people are not me! Many folks (myself included) are in love with the latest mid-tier option from Hisense (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It"s super bright, has similar Mini-LED tech, and features an awesome Google TV interface that makes it perfect for Chrome users and Android owners.

Ascended Extra: Both Riley (of NCIX Netliked fame) and Anthony (one of Linus Media Groups" employees) appear more in front of the camera in 2019 than they did previously. For the former, it was due to being brought onto LMG to host a semi-daily news show TechLinked, while the latter gained popularity after appearing in the background of the more technically complex projects Linus does, normally server, Mac Pro, or Linux related.

Awesome, but Impractical:Linus Tech Tips:Some of Linus" projects are the epitome of this trope, such as attempting to replace a space heater with a gaming PC

Berserk Button: Since he used to paint houses for while, bad paint jobs done on houses is a pretty noticeable one for Linus as evident by how "passionate" he got in ""The Paint Rant""

Canada, Eh?:Linus Media Group is based out of Surrey, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. While it"s downplayed for the most part, since Linus" audience is predominately American, some Canadianisms do slip out, such as Linus pronouncing the letter "Z" as "Zed" when referring to Intel motherboards with a "Zxxx" chipset, or component manufacturer NZXT.

Sometimes, presenters have to explicitly differentiate between US dollars and Canadian monetary unitsnotevariously also referred to as "Canadian rupees", "Canadian rubles," and "Canadian pesos" in certain videos, such as Scrapyard Wars challenges, when addressing GPU and RAM price increases since 2017, and whenever Linus and company buy products to test from a particular brand or store (e.g., Walmart, Amazon, Monoprice, AliExpress, Wish, etc).

Crossover: LTT have done crossovers with other tech YouTubers, such as Bitwit, JayzTwoCents, and iJustine. Gavin Free of The Slow Mo Guys even popped up as a guest cameraman.

Curse Cut Short: In the "Why is EVERYONE Buying This..." mini-series, Linus will say before the Cold Open ends some variation of "why the... is everyone buying this", with the supposed curse word(s) being replaced with a computer"s text-to-speech voice saying "Advertiser Friendly Content".

Cutting the Knot: Happens multiple times in the Tech Support Challenge live stream featuring Jayz Two Cents and Gamers Nexus" Steve. Both are expected to diagnose and fix numerous defects with a pre-prepared PC, including disconnected or poorly-wired components in the case and deliberate severe performance issues caused by changes in the BIOS. Steve gets around half of it by simply dismantling the computer and reassembling it on a test bench from scratch, then resetting the entire BIOS back to factory settings.

Linus: Inside here is an XBOX Series X. Totally normal except for the fact that is has 40 gigabytes of RAM, extra buttons on the front, an OLED display, and it looks absolutely nothing like the XBOX on the shelf at Best Buy.

Anthony: All of the above shouldn"t fail you. But, if you work with tech, you"ll know how often failsafes will fail. "Should" is basically the only thing you can count on.

Greek Chorus: Most TechLinked videos will have one member of LTT as the host, while a second member off-camera interjects with snark, puns, and commentary. (Riley often plays this role if he"s not the host.)

The Klutz:Linus is known to drop expensive tech (most notoriously an Intel Xeon Platinum 8180, a $10,000 cream-of-the-crop workstation CPU), to the point of it becoming a Running Gag and a defining feature of his public and professional persona.

Nostalgia Filter: A mini-series of videos titled "Then vs. Now" deconstructs this trope, as newer technologies offer more convenience in everyday tasks such as listening to music.

Ever since Linus accidentally broke his cameraman Andy"s bed by jumping on it, the Intel Extreme Tech Upgrade videos will never let him forget about the bed.

Linus" screwups attempting to install Steam on Pop!_OS became this for the Linux distro. Many act as if every single attempt to install Steam on it resulted in the desktop getting deleted.

Special Guest:Louis Rossmann, a tech YouTuber known for his Mac repair videos as well as his right to repair advocacy, joins Linus in attempting to reassemble the broken iMac Pro

Strange Minds Think Alike: When Linus and co. visit FreeGeek Vancouver he is digging through some old cables and comes across a bunch of PSU couplers to run two power supplies off the same motherboard, and mentions that Austin could have used them during Scrapyard Wars where he was running a PC with two power supplies. Linus calls over a FG staffer to show them to him, and the staffer says unprompted that Austin could have used them during Scrapyard Wars.

Stunned Silence: When Linus helped Gavin Free build a custom server for Gavin"s own channel, he asked him how long would the server last him until it reached capacity. When he estimated that it would be about 3 months, Linus"s reaction is simply a wide-eyed stare followed by a whispered "Oh my God".

Tranquil Fury: It"s very rare for Linus to actually be angry on-camera when doing a review of a product sent to him, but he does have his moments:In his Intel Core i9 10980XE Review

Linus: "[A higher-up at Intel] then laid down the law and went ahead with this plan to launch first by a matter of hours. Why? So that the launch day reviews, which tend to get referenced by buyers over the entire product lifecycle, Couldn"t. Contain. Direct comparisons, to something you are afraid was going to be better. You are a weasel, and you are a chicken. You seek to misrepresent the strengths of your product to consumers; Weasel. And you seek to duck away from a fight, rather than take the criticism that you know you deserve; Chicken. I hope you get fired, because there are people with more integrity serving lunch in your cafeteria, and maybe they could use a raise. They certainly wouldn"t have handled this any worse than you did."

The "Holy $h!t" series is built on this, with expensive or otherwise incredible technology being the point of the series.Possibly epitomized by the 16k gaming miniseries, wherein Linus and the team put together what would be the internet"s very first successful attempt at 16k resolution gaming. Though most of the hardware involved were provided by partnering sponsors, the total tally came to sixteen top-of-the-line 4k monitors, a custom made desk and monitor mounting rack with an included computer case, which itself was loaded down with four Nvidia Quadro P5000 graphics cards, 128 gigs of ram, and a professional sync card used to keep all the monitors aligned with the proper image without tearing the image.

Vitriolic Best Buds: The phone case company dbrand is this with Linus - while they sponsor videos on the channel frequently, and have collaborated with LTT on products previously, they also take every available opportunity to troll Linus and his viewership in the process. Some of their stunts include offering "SHORTLINUS" as a discount code, registering "notlttstore.com" as a link to their website, advertising a Linus face phone sticker as the "shit tier" sticker, and paying the channel to specifically advertise that a limited-time collab product is no longer available.

What a Piece of Junk: Linus is no stranger to building sleeper PCs that utilize old cases but are packed with high-performance hardware and cooling options. There are three builds nicknamed "Hubert"

Writing Around Trademarks: After NCIX went under, Linus tried to buy assets pertiaining to the NCIX Tech Tips channel. When that failed, he instead hired Riley Murdoch to host a new channel; TechLinked, to get around the deals falling through. Techlinked is a carbon copy of Netlinked Daily, a show that Riley hosted on NCIX Tech Tips.

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