tn vs ips lcd panel in stock

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.

If you can, check out the monitor you’re interested in in-person before you buy it. You can perform some simple ghosting and motion blur tests by grabbing a window with the mouse and moving it rapidly around the screen. You can also test the brightness, watch some videos, and play with the onscreen display to get a feel for it.

When most people go shopping for a gaming monitor, their primary concerns are resolution and refresh rate. Those are certainly important considerations, but if you’ve ever had to put up with dull colors, murky blacks or terrible viewing angles, you’ll understand that panel types are important too.

TN, or Twisted Nematic panels, are the oldest variety of LCD panels, but they’re still quite common even today. They’re cheap to produce, and they have very low input lag, which makes them appealing for gamers. They also support refresh rates of up to 240Hz, another plus for fast-paced environments.

The problem with TN panels is that they have very poor color reproduction. While modern TN panels are far better than earlier models, it’s still relatively rare to find a TN panel with close to full sRGB reproduction. Even if they do have good color reproduction when you’re looking at them straight on, their viewing angles are limited, and they look washed out when viewed from the sides.

If you’re on a budget, enjoy playing competitive shooters or strategy games where reaction times matter, a TN panel could be fine for you. But if you want something that doubles as a media player, the average TN monitor might disappoint.

Fortunately, our GFT27CXB monitor is far from “average.” We engineered our TN panel to do what most TN panels simply cannot: deliver stunningly accurate colors. And with its 99% sRGB gamut, colors are rich and vibrant. And it’s fully customizable, with space to store up to 3 unique user profiles. So you get amazing color. But you also get full HD resolution with lightning-fast speeds up to 240hz refresh rate and 1ms response times.

IPS, or In-Plane Switching, monitors are almost the exact opposite of TN panels. They offer much wider viewing angles than TN panels as well as better black reproduction. The trade-off is that they’re more expensive. They have a history of slower refresh rates, too, although that has been changing lately. Today’s IPS panels can reach max. refresh rates as high as 200-240Hz.

There are some IPS monitors with very good refresh rates and response times, but they’re on the pricier side. You can expect to pay more than $500 for an IPS monitor with a 1ms response time. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly IPS monitor, then you’ll have to settle for response times of 4ms or slower. IPS panels are also prone to backlight issues. Color reproduction is better than on TN panels, even at extreme angles, but the backlight can sometimes be seen.

Our REAPER series monitor—starting with the RFI25CBA—has been designed to overcome this particular issue. It’s been engineered to reduce the amount of backlight bleed-through on its IPS panel. The monitor also features an MRPT Mode to produce extremely clear moving pictures with excellent color while significantly reducing backlight issues.

VA, or Vertical Alignment, panels are somewhere in between TN and IPS, offering the best of both worlds. This type of panel is common in TVs but is relatively uncommon for gaming monitors. TN panels offer very good contrast ratios, so you can expect vibrant colors and good color reproduction. They also offer good viewing angles, and while brightness may vary depending on the angle you’re looking at the screen from, they’re not susceptible to the backlight issues of IPS panels.

The downside of VA panels is that they have slower response times. As with IPS panels, newer models do have high refresh rates, but the slow response time means you may see ghosting or motion blur in fast-paced, competitive games. Fortunately, all VIOTEK monitors come with AdaptiveSync, which works with AMD® FreeSync® and NVIDIA® G-Sync™ technologies. AdaptiveSync eliminates image distortion (e.g., tearing, stuttering, ghosting and judder) and other glitches that can happen if the monitor’s refresh rate doesn’t match the frame rate of the computer’s GPU. The result is smoother action with clearer images.

There are benefits and downsides to each panel type, and there’s no one correct answer to the question of “which is best.” It depends on your budget, the type of games you enjoy playing, whether you prize response times over other features, and what else you do with the monitor.

If you’re a competitive gamer who wants the absolute best response time on a budget, TN panels will get the job done, but they may disappoint when you’re playing a heavily modded game of Skyrim and want to stop and enjoy the scenery. IPS panels can deliver a similar experience if you’re willing to spend a lot of money. But if you’re like most of us, you’d rather put that extra cash towards a slightly better GPU.

Looking for something with a little more power? The GNV32CBO or GFV24CB are two 1080p monitors. These offer super-fast 165Hz refresh rates for pro-motion with reduced input lag. They’re also VA panels, delivering great color reproduction, AMD FreeSync to reduce image ghosting, and other game-friendly features.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

First, to be clear, there is no “best” panel type out of these, as all have their respective advantages and disadvantages over the others. The information here pertains to general characteristics, as even panels of the same panel type will have some variance in characteristics (power consumption, backlight bleed, etc.) depending on the luck of the draw. Manufacturer tuning can also impact display output, affording some differentiating leverage to manufacturers sourcing from panel suppliers (which is effectively all of them).

Nostalgia or riddance aside, there are still some valid reasons to use a CRT monitor. When compared to LCD panels, CRT monitors can have higher contrast ratio, very low response time (which leads to non-blurred pictures even with fast movement on screen), and very little input lag, although LCD input lag can be largely negated. The downsides of CRTs are apparent, though: they’re large, heavy, consume more power, produce flicker, can produce audible, high frequency noise (although age plays into whether one can hear them or not), produce slightly distorted images, and produce harmful electromagnetic waves (in the form of x-rays), which requires that toxic materials such as lead and barium must be used as shielding to prevent detrimental health effects. CRT monitors are also notoriously hazardous to repair, given their large, active electrical coils that can measure upwards of 50,000 volts of electricity.

CRT displays are sometimes still used in medical, simulation, military, and government fields that have embedded the displays into control panels and machinery.

CRT monitors have largely gone out of production, and are rarely sold new (finding a used CRT is fairly easy), but their advantages temporarily lent themselves to some special uses. In regards to gaming, CRT monitors have historically been advantageous to use when gaming competitively due to very little motion blur and very little input lag. That being said, these advantages have faded with the progressive march of TN panels.

TN panels now have low motion blur (especially with lightboost or a similar technology), offer high refresh rates, low response times (1ms GTG in many cases), and are more than adequate even in the world’s most competitive games.

Ultimately, for the vast majority of users, the disadvantages of CRTs aren’t worth their limited gains, especially when TN panels meant for gaming more than adequately satisfy the needs of even competitive gamers.

TN panels have many benefits over the previously popular CRT monitors: lower weight, lower cost to produce, lower power consumption, they’re much thinner, offer clearer pictures, have no realistically achievable resolution limits, offer flexibility in size and shape, and the ability to eliminate flicker.

That being said, TN panels weren"t and still aren’t perfect, and compared to the previously popular CRT monitors, they’ve suffered from limited viewing angles, uneven backlighting, worse motion blur, higher input lag, dead/stuck pixels, and poor display in sunlight.

To be clear, many of these issues have been improved upon, but due to the underlying science of LCD TN panels, cannot be completely resolved. In fact, many of these issues -- like uneven backlighting, motion blur, input lag, and dead/stuck pixels -- are inherent issues across all LCD panel types. Poor viewing angles become a more pressing issue with larger displays, since the viewing angle when viewed straight on increases towards the outside of the monitor, thus causing more color distortion. TN panels do have the advantages of lower response times and higher refresh rates than other panel types/CRTs. TN panels are generally from 60Hz to 144Hz, offering substantially greater fluidity of gameplay with higher frequencies.

TN panels provide a good compromise between CRTs and other LCD panels as their traditionally low response rates, input lag, and high refresh rate make them comparable to CRTs for accuracy; TN panels also have the advantages of offering sharper pictures, widescreen output, lower weight, smaller physical dimensions, and higher resolutions compared to CRTs.

Still, compared to other LCD panels, TN panels suffer from poor viewing angles and worse color reproduction. Ultimately, for most gamers playing somewhat competitively to very competitively, TN panels are a good choice, but for those looking for a prettier and improved color experience, another panel type may be worth considering.

IPS (In-Plane Switching) was created to address the shortcomings of TN panels. IPS panels seek to solve TN panels’ issues of poor color reproduction and viewing angles. In this regard, IPS panels have largely succeed. Not only do they offer a higher contrast ratio (superior blacks), high color accuracy (which leads to IPS panels also generally looking less “washed out”), but IPS panels also have very little color shift when changing the viewing angles.

The tradeoff to this is that IPS panels have slower response times, higher production costs, higher power consumption, and lower possible refresh rates. IPS panels have traditionally been 60Hz, although, as with all monitors, they can be overclocked (results will vary). There have been improvements to IPS panels over the years, and slightly different revisions in the form of E-IPS and H-IPS, but ultimately the differences between these versions are inconsequential to gamers and those not involved in graphic design as a job.

Due to their worse response rates and lower possible refresh rates, IPS panels are generally considered to be worse for competitive gameplay and used more often when color is important, such as graphic design. For gamers who don’t play competitively and prefer breathtaking strolls in Skyrim instead of sweeping scrubs in CS:GO, an IPS panel should be a consideration for the next monitor.

PLS (Plane to Line Switching) are quite similar to IPS panels, so much so that they have the same advantages and disadvantages, with a couple extra minor advantages. PLS is produced by Samsung, who claims that compared to IPS panels, PLS panels have better viewing angles, a 10% increase in brightness, 15% decrease in production costs, increased image quality, and allow for flexible panels. Samsung’s PLS panels have been known to overclock well in monitors such as the QNIX 2710 in particular. Overall, PLS is basically Samsung’s version of IPS, as it is very similar in functionality (and even name). AHVA is also very similar to IPS and PLS, and differentiation between them is rare, although it should not be confused with the next panel type.

VA (Vertical Alignment) panels offer a solid medium between TN and IPS panels. VA was created to combine the advantages of IPS and TN panels, and largely did, although they did so with some compromise. That seems to be a theme in the world of monitors.

Compared to IPS panels, VA panels have the advantage of higher possible refresh rates. Although most are currently 60Hz, there are a few that are above 60Hz. VA has more advantages over TN panels than IPS, with better color reproduction, higher maximum brightness, and better viewing angles. VA panels do have the best contrast ratios of all panel types mentioned, but they also have the worst response times of the monitor technologies covered here. This causes blurring in fast-moving pictures and is disadvantageous to gaming.

For the use of gaming, VA is not the greatest option due to generally higher response time in comparison to other panel types; this slower response causes more motion blur, effectively eliminating its deployment for fast-moving titles. For a general work monitor, VA panels provide high contrast ratios, brightness, refresh rates, good color reproduction, and good viewing angles.

TN panels are another good choice for competitive gamers, as they support higher refresh rates, low response times, decent input lag, and high resolutions. Their bad viewing angles, color reproduction, and slight blurring compared to CRT monitors (due to higher response times) are all disadvantages, ones which cannot be easily fixed.

IPS panels solve the issues of TN panels, with better color reproduction and viewing angles, but do so at the cost of refresh rate and response time. IPS panels are especially useful for those not wanting to play too competitively, but want a beautiful/immersive visual experience. PLS and AHVA are similar enough to IPS to usually not be differentiated.

VA panels provide a good middle ground with better-than-IPS refresh rates and contrast levels, but have worse viewing angles and color production, although generally still better than TN. Response times are VA’s largest downfall, though, being slower than IPS and its variants and TN.

What’s best for you will depend on all of these items. For those wanting to play at a competitive level and who favor FPS or racing games, TN panels are best. Those wanting a more impressive and immersive experience may want an IPS (or similar variant, such as PLS), especially if working on artistic endeavors. Finally, those wanting a general monitor for work might con