* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    Safety concerns in Deep Ellum create apprehension as the entertainment district gains visitors – CBS News

    Safety Concerns Surge Amid Deep Ellum’s Booming Popularity and Growing Crowds

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

    Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

    Crypto’s true revolution is about humanity, not technology – Cointelegraph

    Crypto’s Real Revolution: Transforming Humanity Beyond Technology

    $1 Billion Problem: New Technology Could Save Your Daily Cup of Coffee – SciTechDaily

    The $1 Billion Challenge: How New Technology Could Rescue Your Daily Cup of Coffee

    Canada’s construction industry gets serious about investing in technology as pressure mounts to do more with less – Yahoo Finance

    Canada’s Construction Industry Accelerates Tech Investments to Overcome Growing Challenges and Boost Efficiency

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Get the lead out: Putting new at-home lead testing technology to the test | Denver7 Investigates – Denver7

    Putting the Latest At-Home Lead Testing Technology to the Ultimate Test

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    Safety concerns in Deep Ellum create apprehension as the entertainment district gains visitors – CBS News

    Safety Concerns Surge Amid Deep Ellum’s Booming Popularity and Growing Crowds

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

    Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

    Crypto’s true revolution is about humanity, not technology – Cointelegraph

    Crypto’s Real Revolution: Transforming Humanity Beyond Technology

    $1 Billion Problem: New Technology Could Save Your Daily Cup of Coffee – SciTechDaily

    The $1 Billion Challenge: How New Technology Could Rescue Your Daily Cup of Coffee

    Canada’s construction industry gets serious about investing in technology as pressure mounts to do more with less – Yahoo Finance

    Canada’s Construction Industry Accelerates Tech Investments to Overcome Growing Challenges and Boost Efficiency

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Workforce Technology Eases Staffing Shortages in Rural Health Care – AJMC

    Get the lead out: Putting new at-home lead testing technology to the test | Denver7 Investigates – Denver7

    Putting the Latest At-Home Lead Testing Technology to the Ultimate Test

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

LCD monitor panels explained: TN vs. IPS vs. VA

June 19, 2024
in Technology
LCD monitor panels explained: TN vs. IPS vs. VA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

While computer monitors seem to be more or less the same once you get past the size and the ports, that’s not really true. Even the most common type, the humble LCD, has a lot of sub-types. And while the differences between them are subtle, they can vary greatly in how they perform and how you use them. 

The simple idea of a monitor hasn’t changed a lot since we all moved from cathode ray tubes (CRT) — the big, old-fashioned gray boxes that some of you are too young to remember seeing in real life — to relatively tiny liquid crystal displays (LCD). LCDs have been around for decades, first being paired with simple computer displays way back in the 1970s.

The physics of how they work are fascinating, complex, and frankly too much to cover in an article you probably Googled just to figure out something on a spec sheet. I’m going do my best to bottom-line the most common variants, and why you should know and care about them. I’ll be linking to the relevant Wikipedia articles if you want to do some deep dives on the actual physics behind these displays.

There are three major types of LCD panels used in computer monitors, including the screens built into laptops. These are twisted nematic field effect (TN), in-plane switching (IPS), and vertical alignment (VA).

Further reading: The best monitors

TN monitors 

Twisted nematic LCDs are the oldest type of LCD still in use, with technology iterated since the original digital watch designs decades ago. The name comes from the fact that the molecules of liquid crystal that become electrified are literally twisted by 90 degrees between two glass plates. 

Light shines through the liquid crystals and polarization filters, activating the pixel on the screen. Red, blue, and green pixels are combined in a sub-pixel array, and combined at variable brightness to create the desired pixel color.

TN liquid crystal illustration

In a TN panel, the liquid crystal molecules are twisted by 90 degrees in their off state (left) between substrates. 

TN liquid crystal illustration

In a TN panel, the liquid crystal molecules are twisted by 90 degrees in their off state (left) between substrates. 

Wikimedia Commons

TN liquid crystal illustration

In a TN panel, the liquid crystal molecules are twisted by 90 degrees in their off state (left) between substrates. 

Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons

As an older and simpler technology, TN panels are generally reserved for budget monitors these days. TN panels are some of the cheapest on the market (if you can even find them), with poorer color accuracy, lower brightness, and slower refresh rates than the alternatives. Most dramatically, TN panels have notably poor viewing angles — move to either side of a TN screen, and the color will begin to distort.

Dell TN LCD monitor

This budget Dell monitor uses a TN panel, but it’s smaller, slower, and darker than most alternatives. 

Dell TN LCD monitor

This budget Dell monitor uses a TN panel, but it’s smaller, slower, and darker than most alternatives. 

Dell

Dell TN LCD monitor

This budget Dell monitor uses a TN panel, but it’s smaller, slower, and darker than most alternatives. 

Dell

Dell

TN panels aren’t bad, per se, and they’re definite improvements on using a CRT. They also have surprisingly fast response times (the time between when the electrical signals for the image are sent to the monitor and when the image is displayed). But unless you’re deliberately looking for a bargain with an older monitor, you really shouldn’t be considering it for a new purchase. 

IPS monitors 

IPS stands for in-plane switching, referring to the fact that the molecules of liquid crystal are aligned parallel to the glass on either side, even when powered on. Once again, the reasons for this (and why it’s better than the crystal being twisted) are extremely complex. 

But the benefit for consumers is that IPS monitors have fantastic color reproduction, allowing at least some of them to be incredibly accurate to true-life color. Some high-quality IPS monitors can cover 100 percent of the Digital Camera Initiative color space (DCI-P3). 

Dells Ultrasharp-skärmarDell’s Ultrasharp line usually uses IPS panels for high color accuracy.
Dells Ultrasharp-skärmarDell’s Ultrasharp line usually uses IPS panels for high color accuracy.

Dell

Dells Ultrasharp-skärmarDell’s Ultrasharp line usually uses IPS panels for high color accuracy.

Dell

Dell

That means that if you’re working with graphics that will appear on anything professional, including a website, photograph, television broadcast, or signage, you want an IPS-LCD monitor instead of any of the alternatives. Since I do a lot of work in Photoshop for this job, I use IPS-LCD monitors at my desk. With IPS and VA monitors side by side, I can spot the latter’s lack of white balance even at a glance. 

Further reading: The best gaming monitors

Here’s a photo of a close-up color grid taken by a Reddit user showing the color and brightness of IPS versus VA and TN in a relative visualization. Colors are brighter and more consistent on IPS with better viewing angles, which should be clear no matter what screen you’re actually looking at right now.

The downsides to IPS screens are that they’re the most expensive LCDs to make, pricier than both TN and VA, and they’re not as fast as VA in terms of refresh rates (expressed in hertz, starting at 60hz). So IPS isn’t great for gaming or anything dealing with high-speed animations, at least most of the time. It also has relatively slow response times, meaning a relatively slow rate between clicking your mouse and seeing the result on the screen.

This response time is still extremely fast in relative human terms — 5 to 10 milliseconds for typical panels — but it’s far slower than other LCD panel types, which can make a big difference for gamers. There are exceptions to this — see below. 

VA monitors 

If you find a monitor for less than a couple of hundred dollars, odds are excellent that you’re looking at a VA screen. These vertical alignment panels (with liquid crystals perpendicularly aligned to the substrate) are inexpensive and bright, so they’re great for most basic uses. 

Acer K242HYL monitor

VA panels are often used in budget and mid-range monitors. 

Acer K242HYL monitor

VA panels are often used in budget and mid-range monitors. 

Matt Smith/Foundry

Acer K242HYL monitor

VA panels are often used in budget and mid-range monitors. 

Matt Smith/Foundry

Matt Smith/Foundry

In addition to being bright, they’re also fast, which makes them ideal for gamers who want high refresh rates (expressed in hertz, the number of times the screen redraws its image per second). 120Hz or 144Hz is far more common with a VA monitor, with up to 175Hz being fairly easy to find even at lower prices. This makes them especially good for gaming.

MSI gaming laptop with gaming monitorHigh-refresh VA panels are also popular for gaming monitors and laptops.
MSI gaming laptop with gaming monitorHigh-refresh VA panels are also popular for gaming monitors and laptops.

MSI

MSI gaming laptop with gaming monitorHigh-refresh VA panels are also popular for gaming monitors and laptops.

MSI

MSI

While better than TN panels in terms of both brightness and viewing angle, and far faster than IPS panels, VA panels still aren’t as good as IPS for color accuracy or consistency. That’s a relative degree, of course — for most applications the colors are fine, especially if you like high saturation. But VA panels generally aren’t good enough for professional photo editing or video production. 

The best of both worlds — fast IPS 

What if you need the color accuracy of an IPS monitor, but you still want to do some gaming with higher refresh rates? Well you can — if you’re willing to spend a little more. Over the last few years monitor manufacturers have improved the refresh rates of IPS monitors, making them on par with budget and mid-range VA monitors. 

These “fast IPS” screens offer much higher refresh rates than standard IPS, and some are among the fastest on the market. They’re also available in large sizes popular with gamers. But you will be paying a premium for a high-quality, high-speed panel, and that speed probably won’t be as fast as a VA design in the same price range. Anyone who needs “esports”-caliber speed probably won’t be satisfied. 

Alienware AW2524HFThis Alienware monitor has an IPS panel with a 500Hz refresh rate…but it’s also $650 for a 25-inch display.
Alienware AW2524HFThis Alienware monitor has an IPS panel with a 500Hz refresh rate…but it’s also $650 for a 25-inch display.

Matt Smith

Alienware AW2524HFThis Alienware monitor has an IPS panel with a 500Hz refresh rate…but it’s also $650 for a 25-inch display.

Matt Smith

Matt Smith

For my uses — a desktop setup that needs constant photo work in the day and the occasional high-speed game at night — a fast IPS screen is ideal. 

Other types of monitor panels 

There are many variations of the tech above that get into finer technical degrees, but there are a few others you might want to know about too. 

OLED 

“Organic Light-Emitting Diode” panels are considered some of the best on the market at the moment — possibly the best for some applications. OLED screens are already widespread on phones and wearables, and they’re gaining traction in high-end TVs and tablets, too. 

Viewsonic VX1655-4K-OLED OLED panels are extremely vibrant and have great contrast, but come at a high price.
Viewsonic VX1655-4K-OLED OLED panels are extremely vibrant and have great contrast, but come at a high price.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Viewsonic VX1655-4K-OLED OLED panels are extremely vibrant and have great contrast, but come at a high price.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Matthew Smith / Foundry

OLEDs use a simpler structure than conventional LCDs, with a diode that emits light directly (instead of being backlit with a separate component) and doesn’t need a liquid crystal layer. The biggest advantage there is that when an OLED pixel is off, it’s completely off, with no backlight illuminating it even partially. 

This gives OLED panels incredible contrast with “perfect” black levels, in addition to vibrant and accurate colors. They can also be made very speedy, with 240Hz being common. 

So why not go with OLED all the way? Because despite being mechanically simple, large OLED displays are still very expensive, being produced in small numbers at monitor sizes. Prices are dropping, but at the time of writing an OLED monitor will still be double or triple the price of a similarly equipped LCD panel of any kind. Because of the sub-pixel layout on OLEDs, they’re also not great for reading text for extended periods of time.

Quantum Dot LEDs 

This tech is sometimes shortened to QLED (not to be confused with OLED, though some companies might like you to!). Quantum dot screens are fundamentally similar to standard LCD panels, but they use incredibly tiny light-emitting particles as a backlight instead of the old cathode tubes or an array of LEDs. 

This allows for much smaller lighting zones for an LCD panel, resulting in better contrast and brightness. The contrast of a high-quality quantum dot LED screen can get close to that of a “perfect” contrast OLED panel, but with more brightness and (sometimes) far lower cost.  

MiniLED and MicroLED

Both of these technologies are essentially the same, with smaller and smaller light-emitting diodes replacing older and clunkier backlighting methods. Again, the advantage is that with a larger array of smaller LEDs being used to light up the picture, the brightness and contrast can be more finely and accurately controlled. 

TCL mini-led illustration

MiniLED and microLED panels use smaller, more closely-spaced backlights to create more precise zones of brightness and contrast. 

TCL mini-led illustration

MiniLED and microLED panels use smaller, more closely-spaced backlights to create more precise zones of brightness and contrast. 

TCL

TCL mini-led illustration

MiniLED and microLED panels use smaller, more closely-spaced backlights to create more precise zones of brightness and contrast. 

TCL

TCL

MiniLED and MicroLED monitors are both variations of conventional LCD technology, offering a better picture while still not being quite as eye-popping as OLED. Again, you’ll generally find them at much lower prices. 

eInk and ePaper 

These monitors are extremely rare, expensive, and often only available in black and white. They’re also small compared to LCDs, and slow, with refresh rates at a fraction of even the slowest conventional screens. 

So why would anyone want one? Because they’re easy on the eyes. And that’s not a euphemism, it’s literally true. With no backlight, and high contrast on a paper-like background, eInk and ePaper displays can let you read small text for hours in comfort. This is what makes eReaders like the Kindle so popular. 

Boox Mira epaper monitor

eInk and ePaper monitors are wonderful for reading, but not much else, and they’re extremely expensive. 

Boox Mira epaper monitor

eInk and ePaper monitors are wonderful for reading, but not much else, and they’re extremely expensive. 

Boox

Boox Mira epaper monitor

eInk and ePaper monitors are wonderful for reading, but not much else, and they’re extremely expensive. 

Boox

Boox

Even the ones with an integrated light are front-lit (like really old phones or the original Game Boy), so the light is bouncing off the surface of the screen and isn’t shining directly into your eyes. 

But at a price even higher than OLEDs, and with super-slow speeds that can make even browsing the web a bit of a chore, eInk displays are only useful if you’re reading text for hours at a time. They simply aren’t practical for a primary monitor in an all-around capacity. 

Which monitor should you buy?

If all that stuff is making your head spin, or you don’t want to read any more spec sheets, you should check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best computer monitors. It’s constantly updated with the best and latest picks for gaming monitors, work monitors, monitors on a budget, ultrawide and large-format monitors, and more.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : PCWorld – https://www.pcworld.com/article/2348502/explaining-lcd-monitor-types-tn-vs-ips-vs-va.html

Tags: monitorPanelstechnology
Previous Post

Germany vs. Hungary live score: Euro 2024 updates, result as Musiala puts Nagelsmann’s side ahead

Next Post

Supercharged home Wi-Fi with mesh networking: What you need to know

When Technology Meets Ecology: Charting a Bold Path for Our Planet’s Future

June 21, 2025
‘Jaws’ at 50: Scientists Are Still Studying the Mysteries of Sharks – The New York Times

Jaws at 50: Exploring the Timeless Mysteries of Sharks

June 21, 2025
A Cracked Piece of Metal Self-Healed in Experiment That Stunned Scientists – ScienceAlert

Self-Healing Metal: The Revolutionary Experiment That Amazed Scientists

June 21, 2025
How leading Bollywood actresses are adopting one transformative lifestyle shift – Times of India

How Leading Bollywood Actresses Are Fearlessly Embracing a Bold New Lifestyle Transformation

June 21, 2025
Muskego mom breaks world record in planking – WISN

Muskego mom breaks world record in planking – WISN

June 21, 2025
Russian Minister Warns of Recession as Officials Spar on Economy – Bloomberg

Russian Minister Issues Recession Warning Amid Heated Economic Debate

June 21, 2025
Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

June 21, 2025
Breakfast key to meeting daily fiber needs amid American ‘health crisis’ – Fox News

How Breakfast Can Help You Crush Your Daily Fiber Goals During America’s Health Crisis

June 21, 2025
A Senator Who Was on a Hit List Fears the Fueling of Political Violence – The New York Times

Senator on Hit List Sounds Alarm Over Escalating Political Violence

June 21, 2025
Should You Buy Micron Technology Stock Before June 25? – The Motley Fool

Is Now the Perfect Moment to Invest in Micron Technology Before June 25?

June 21, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (696)
  • Economy (710)
  • Entertainment (21,611)
  • General (15,499)
  • Health (9,751)
  • Lifestyle (715)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (713)
  • Politics (717)
  • Science (15,930)
  • Sports (21,206)
  • Technology (15,695)
  • World (690)

Recent News

When Technology Meets Ecology: Charting a Bold Path for Our Planet’s Future

June 21, 2025
‘Jaws’ at 50: Scientists Are Still Studying the Mysteries of Sharks – The New York Times

Jaws at 50: Exploring the Timeless Mysteries of Sharks

June 21, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version