ips and lcd display difference manufacturer
Liquid crystal display (LCD) technology is one of the most widely used screen technologies. It’s instantly recognizable because of its iconic flat-panel display.
In fact, within LCD, there are several technologies each with its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to rendering images and video effectively.
If you’re wondering what makes IPS different and if it is the right display choice for your viewing desires, this article will compare IPS and LCD technologies with an explanation of how both work and the features they bring to your experience.
IPS was developed to overcome critical limitations of legacy LCD technologies, like twisted nematic field effect (TN) matrix and vertical alignment (VA).
IPS can achieve a much wider viewing angle than the older LCD technologies. It can achieve a viewing angle of up to 178 degrees in horizontal and vertical directions, making it an ideal LCD for wide-screen television viewing.
IPS screens can achieve rates that range from 60 Hz to as much as 390 Hz. This keeps IPS as a contender technology for gaming screens even though its response rate is not as fast as more modern screen technologies like OLED.
The linear response, higher bit depth, improved contrast, and image consistency give IPS screens exemplary color accuracy. They also have little to no color shift, which often affects VA displays.
An IPS screen can be confidently used for graphic and video design work if the resolution is suitable. It renders 256 colors faithfully, but its backlit screen creates a low native contrast ratio.
IPS retains its commercial appeal because of the sheer range of screens that are available, ranging from 23.8 inches right through to 85-inch options.
The versatility of IPS screen technology enables it to be used for a range of applications and devices, including televisions, smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets.
Like other LCDs, overheating of the screen can cause blackening defects. Manufacturers have developed liquid crystal formulations with a higher critical temperature to prevent this.
Gravity defects can affect any type of LCD screen. This is where the cohesive power of the liquid crystal in the screen is low, causing it to flow down to the bottom of the screen with a yellowing defect.
With this type of LCD screen, the liquid crystals are in a plane that lies parallel to its glass substrate. Voltage is applied through opposing electrodes on the glass substrate to activate the crystals in a unified plane. Each pixel in an IPS screen requires two transistors to achieve this switching.
Katsumi Kondo of Hitachi was a significant developer of IPS technology and, by 1992, Hitachi developers had established the principles of in-plane switching, later releasing the first IPS screen.
IPS technology has continued to be used for screens that include laptops, tablets, and even smartwatches. Its viewing angles, refresh rates, and color accuracy makes it a suitable screen for gaming and design applications.
Liquid crystal display is a display technology that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals to render images in conjunction with a polarizer and backlight.
LCD was the first flat-panel display technology and has diversified over the last century to create screens suitable for a wide range of applications.
Twisted nematic (TN) LCD consists of liquid crystals that rotate (twist) to allow the passage of light when voltage is applied. Adjustments to the level of voltage lead to changes in light polarization and can be used to display an image.
Without the application of voltage, the crystals remain in this position and the screen is dark. When voltage is applied, the crystals shift to a tilted position allowing light to pass through and an image to become visible. VA can achieve greater contrast than IPS, but it is still hampered by an extremely narrow viewing angle.
The concept of liquid crystal is more than 120 years old, with the nature and properties of these crystals first described by the Austrian chemist, Friedrich Reinitzer, in 1888.
By the 1960s, the electro-optic properties of liquid crystals were known and, later in the decade, the concept of TN LCD was advanced with the development of screens for watches and other displays during the 1970s.
IPS monitors are the most advanced LCD technologies. They are still commercially viable with leading manufacturers like LG and Samsung selling IPS televisions with exemplary image quality.
Because IPS screens are a relatively older technology, it is possible to get a high-quality screen for prices that are much lower than the newer LED technologies. Older, TN LCD screens simply do not have the responsiveness, image quality, or color accuracy to render modern content effectively. They have become legacy technologies that are not being produced anymore.
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When it comes to choosing the right panel type of your LCD monitor, the options are seemingly endless. We’ve discussed the differences between AMOLED and LCD displays as well as the different types of touchscreen monitors that are commonly used for various devices and their benefits. Now it’s time to learn about the different features and specifications of PLS and IPS panels so you can decide which one is the most suitable choice for your specific personal or professional applications.
PLS stands for plane to line switching. Also referred to as Super PLS Panel, this technology boasts superior technological advancements such as a multitude of brightness setting options, crystal-clear image quality, and adjustable viewing angles without breaking the bank.
IPS stands for in-plane switching. It’s one of the most commonly used monitors for LCD displays and it consists of two glass panels that hold a layer of liquid crystals in between them. The liquid crystals become animated and perform predetermined actions such as moving in a specific direction or displaying certain colours when they’re charged with an electric current. These actions result in the high-quality images that appear on your television, laptop, or smartphone screen.
Both LCD monitor panel types have their advantages and disadvantages for various types of applications. Finding out how they work will help you determine which one is the best choice for your needs.
As mentioned, IPS LCD monitors contain hundreds of liquid crystals that are situated between two glass sheets in a parallel formation. As electric currents run through the liquid crystals when the screen is turned on, they become animated and move in different directions and backlighting passes through them. This is what produces the crystal-clear and instantaneous images you see on the screen. The excellent viewing angles are the result of the horizontal movements of the liquid crystals inside the panel.
PLS panels for LCD monitors have been on the market for over a decade and have proven to be a worthy adversary for their IPS predecessors. Although the technology is the same for the most part, IPS does offer some minor improvements. The main difference is that IPS panels offer more optimized liquid molecular alignment, which makes for a slightly better viewing experience. Hence, PLS screens offer 15% more brightness than IPS panel types.
From an aesthetic and logistical standpoint, PLS panel types are also thinner than IPS due to the fact that the glass sheets that hold the liquid crystals in place are positioned much lower in the screen configuration.
When it comes to comparing and contrasting the differences between IPS and PLS LCD monitor panel types, the competition is pretty stiff. Both monitors are fairly similar with the exception that PLS is meant to be an improvement on the previous technology. Here are the key factors that should be considered when deciding which one is the best monitor panel for LCD industrial displays.
PLS monitors offer superior viewing angles when compared to IPS displays. Unlike IPS displays, PLS monitors don’t have any noticeable colour distortions and they have significantly lower production costs.
Colour contrast and brightness is a central concern when purchasing a new commercial or industrial display. Whether you’re a gamer or graphic designer, your best option in this regard is to stick to IPS displays. They offer far more consistent image quality, colour contrast, and brightness that’s perfect for applications that rely heavily on high-quality image production.
Unfortunately, PLS and IPS monitors both have a fairly slow response time (the amount of time it takes for liquid crystals to shift from one colour or shade to another). For this reason, neither one is the ideal choice for gaming purposes, but they’re both suitable for graphic design projects that focus more on colour distribution and accuracy than response time.
PLS panel types have been proven to have superior colour distribution and accuracy compared to IPS panel types. PLS displays have a far more expansive colour gamut that’s ideal for users who require the most natural-looking images and colour options.
Backlight bleed occurs when the lights from the back of the screen leak through the edges, which results in uneven lighting or glow. This is a fairly common shortcoming of IPS screens when the brightness is adjusted to a particularly high level and can make for a poor viewing experience. PLS panel types don’t have this problem and offer even lighting regardless of the brightness settings.
The answer is inconclusive. Both IPS and PLS monitor types certainly have their advantages. Although PLS is slightly better in terms of backlighting and faster response times, the margins for improvement are fairly tight. It really just depends on what your preferences are as well as the applications that the monitors are being used for.
Nauticomp Inc.is one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of sophisticated state-of-the-art LCD displays and monitors in North America. Contact us to learn about our various products or to place an order.
In market, LCD means passive matrix LCDs which increase TN (Twisted Nematic), STN (Super Twisted Nematic), or FSTN (Film Compensated STN) LCD Displays. It is a kind of earliest and lowest cost display technology.
LCD screens are still found in the market of low cost watches, calculators, clocks, utility meters etc. because of its advantages of low cost, fast response time (speed), wide temperature range, low power consumption, sunlight readable with transflective or reflective polarizers etc. Most of them are monochrome LCD display and belong to passive-matrix LCDs.
TFT LCDs have capacitors and transistors. These are the two elements that play a key part in ensuring that the TFT display monitor functions by using a very small amount of energy without running out of operation.
Normally, we say TFT LCD panels or TFT screens, we mean they are TN (Twisted Nematic) Type TFT displays or TN panels, or TN screen technology. TFT is active-matrix LCDs, it is a kind of LCD technologies.
TFT has wider viewing angles, better contrast ratio than TN displays. TFT display technologies have been widely used for computer monitors, laptops, medical monitors, industrial monitors, ATM, point of sales etc.
Actually, IPS technology is a kind of TFT display with thin film transistors for individual pixels. But IPS displays have superior high contrast, wide viewing angle, color reproduction, image quality etc. IPS screens have been found in high-end applications, like Apple iPhones, iPads, Samsung mobile phones, more expensive LCD monitors etc.
Both TFT LCD displays and IPS LCD displays are active matrix displays, neither of them can produce color, there is a layer of RGB (red, green, blue) color filter in each LCD pixels to make LCD showing colors. If you use a magnifier to see your monitor, you will see RGB color. With switch on/off and different level of brightness RGB, we can get many colors.
Neither of them can’t release color themselves, they have relied on extra light source in order to display. LED backlights are usually be together with them in the display modules as the light sources. Besides, both TFT screens and IPS screens are transmissive, it will need more power or more expensive than passive matrix LCD screens to be seen under sunlight. IPS screens transmittance is lower than TFT screens, more power is needed for IPS LCD display.
Display technologies are advancing every day. All the major tech giants like Apple, Samsung, One Plus use one among these technologies for building the displays of their Apple phones or Galaxy Notes. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. So which one is better? Is it the AMOLED favored mostly by Samsung? Or is it the IPS LCD favored by Apple for their iPhones? Let us take a detailed look at the features of AMOLED vs IPS display technologies.
AMOLED stands for Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode is a type of display used mainly in mobile phones. You might have seen the AMOLED display mentioned in the specifications for smart devices, especially mobile phones. They are also used in smartwatches, laptops, and even televisions. Let’s see what the terms in AMOLED mean.
The Active Matrix technology came about as an improvement on the existing passive matrix technology that used passive components like wires which were arranged vertically and horizontally to control each pixel. The color and brightness of the pixels and thereby the picture can be altered by varying the electrical charge at the given joint of vertical and horizontal wires. The newer Active Matrix uses active electrical components like transistors and capacitors to carry out the same purpose. Instead of varying current at the intersection of wires to control the pixels, this latest technology uses a grid or matrix of thin-film transistors commonly referred to as TFTs and capacitors.
You might be familiar with the giant LED bulbs used at parties or even as indicators on televisions showing the on/off state. These same LED lights are used in AMOLEDs, but of course in the smallest size possible. The LEDs used are in the primary shades namely Red, Blue, and Green, and are grouped in triangle-shaped pixelated forms.
The Organic Light Emitting Diode is commonly referred to as OLED. It is pronounced as “oh-led”. OLED is a type of display in which each LED lights up one at a time. When you light them up together in different intensities, you will get more colors in the spectrum. So all LEDs switched on at the same time give you white color and similarly switching off all the LEDs together gives black color. An OLED display is comprised of a substrate, an anode, a conductive layer, an emissive layer, a cathode, and the cover. The substrate is either plastic or glass that supports the display panel.
Compared to the LCD and LED displays, the diodes in the OLED display produce light individually meaning they do not need a backlight like their predecessors. OLEDs use lesser electricity and are thinner compared to LEDs. They are also bendable and may even be curved. However, they are much more expensive than LED displays. Hence in the earlier days, it was majorly used for displays for
Now the technologies mentioned above combine to give the AMOLED displays. Here an OLED display is driven with an active matrix control scheme. The TFTs (thin-film transistors) turn on/off each pixel one at a time. The other scheme where the OLEDs are controlled by a passive matrix requires each grid ( rows and lines) to be controlled together. The advanced AMOLED displays allow for higher resolution display with a much bigger physical size.
AMOLEDs have deep black lights. The blacks are darker than LEDs and LCDs because parts of the screen can be switched off altogether. AMOLEDs are also thinner and lighter than LCDs. This feature especially stands out in a dark theater room where OLED displays give a higher contrast ratio compared to LCDs making for an excellent visual experience. This feature of OLED which can work with no backlight makes it better than LCDs whether or not they have an LED backlight.
Since they use Active Matrix technology over the passive matrix version, AMOLEDs have a faster response time. They are up to a millisecond faster and extract less power from your mobile phone’s battery. Extended battery life means major advantages in the portability department. This adding to its high display features leads to them being extensively used. They are preferred over the other versions by major companies like Samsung. Speaking of power, the amount consumed by an OLED display varies according to the brightness and color of the picture displayed.
AMOLEDs have impressive contrast ratios. The contrast ratio is the ratio of the luminance of white color to the black color of a display unit. The high contrast of AMOLEDs is because when the LEDs are off, it gives complete black and since no backlight is used in LEDs, we get deep blacks.
One of the disadvantages the AMOLED had over LCD was the blurriness caused in sunlight which is a result of its lowered peak-brightness values. This issue was corrected in the advanced Super AMOLEDs. In the Super AMOLEDs, the size of gaps between the various layers of the screen namely the cathode layer, anode layer, organic active layer, TFT layer is made narrower than before.
Another problem associated with the AMOLEDs is that the organic materials used in the emissive layer and the conductive layer suffer degradation. This happens comparatively in a short amount of time. As a result, various display problems arise including image persistence, burn-in, etc which are essentially screen burn type problems and color shifts where some colors fade quicker than others. Burn-in is essentially the pixel quality becoming trash after a while because of the degradation of the organic molecules.
Most flagship models of major companies like Samsung, Apple, and One Plus use either super AMOLED or IPS panel premium LCDs. So what exactly is an IPS display? and how does it feature against like the likes of super AMOLEDs?
First, let us understand the basics of a standard LCD. Simply put, when you apply current to some crystals, they may or may not let through the light which comes from a backlight that covers the whole display. In addition to this, there are polarization and color filters present in LCDs which finally give the primary colors Red, Blue, and Green.
Before we get into detailed explanations, you have to keep in mind that for the final end-product that ends up on the market, the quality of the display does not solely depend on whether it is IPS or AMOLED. The companies usually put their tweaks on top of the existing technology before making them available in the market. AMOLEDs are a newer technology than IPS LCD and improve on it in some areas while still lagging in others.
The IPS LCD stands for In-Plane Switching Liquid Crystal Displays. It emerged onto the scene as an improvement on the existing and vulnerable Thin Film Transistor LCD technology commonly referred to as the TFT. Samsung was the leading manufacturer to employ Super AMOLEDs. The IPS display is mainly being used in Apple iPhones. Apple beginning with the iPhone X is switching to AMOLED displays with contrast ratios of 1000000 to 1
As said before, an IPS display is an improved version of the regular TFT LCDs. Here, the difference comes in the way the anode and the cathode are arranged. They are planted as strip electrodes on one of the two glass substrates.
The IPS display scores big time when it comes to offering better viewing angles compared to the other LCD technologies like Twisted Nematic LCD (TN) and Vertical Alignment LCD (VA). The IPS display can be viewed without any color degradation or blurriness at flimsy shallow angles compared to TN and VA displays.
The consistency of colors and clarity of pictures at wider viewing angles is the major advantage of an LCD. IPS displays have higher resolution. They also can display a wide range of colors. These features also make the IPS displays costlier than TN and VA LCDs. Normally IPS monitors allow up to 178 degrees of viewing angles. These displays almost guarantee absolute color accuracy.
For other LCD models, the color and the brightness of an image vary when viewed from different angles. Compared with them, IPS displays are more suited for someone working as a visual/graphic artist. As a regular television, all LCD models are mostly considered equally good. This is because the viewers would mostly be sitting right in front of the screen where these differences between the models do not matter.
IPS displays are capable of displaying a wider spectrum of colors. Considering no monitors can display the entire color spectrum visible to the human eye, IPS LCD panels are the closest things to a perfect display monitor far better than TN and VA LCDs
Image retention is a problem often associated with LCDs. This happens because of the crystal which gets into a particular position for the light to go through stays in that same spot without falling back into its original position. This leads to some parts of the image being left on the screen. This is, however, a temporary problem. The crystal will eventually twist back into the position when the current is applied to it again. When it comes to color accuracy, the previous generation of LCDs was no match for the AMOLED. They had the highest color accuracy among mobile phones. But recent versions of the LCDs have fared much better versus their counterparts.
Large-sized IPS monitors are not affordable for the average customer. They should be avoided since they offer nothing impressive over other LCDs considering the price range. However, if you are a visual artist or a photographer, IPS displays provide the best color accuracy in the market. It would be more beneficial to you compared to an ordinary TN display unit.
AMOLEDs and IPS LCDs are two sides of the same coin in a sense. They both got their advantages and disadvantages. Their disadvantages are mostly overshadowed by the many tweaks installed by the parent companies to ensure customer satisfaction. From high power consumption to ugly blacks, the flaws are minimized in every newer version.
IPS (in-plane switching) is a screen technology for liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). In IPS, a layer of liquid crystals is sandwiched between two glass surfaces. The liquid crystal molecules are aligned parallel to those surfaces in predetermined directions (in-plane). The molecules are reoriented by an applied electric field, whilst remaining essentially parallel to the surfaces to produce an image. It was designed to solve the strong viewing angle dependence and low-quality color reproduction of the twisted nematic field effect (TN) matrix LCDs prevalent in the late 1980s.
The TN method was the only viable technology for active matrix TFT LCDs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Early panels showed grayscale inversion from up to down,Vertical Alignment (VA)—that could resolve these weaknesses and were applied to large computer monitor panels.
After thorough analysis, details of advantageous molecular arrangements were filed in Germany by Guenter Baur et al. and patented in various countries including the US on 9 January 1990.Fraunhofer Society in Freiburg, where the inventors worked, assigned these patents to Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
Shortly thereafter, Hitachi of Japan filed patents to improve this technology. A leader in this field was Katsumi Kondo, who worked at the Hitachi Research Center.thin-film transistor array as a matrix and to avoid undesirable stray fields in between pixels.Super IPS). NEC and Hitachi became early manufacturers of active-matrix addressed LCDs based on the IPS technology. This is a milestone for implementing large-screen LCDs having acceptable visual performance for flat-panel computer monitors and television screens. In 1996, Samsung developed the optical patterning technique that enables multi-domain LCD. Multi-domain and in-plane switching subsequently remain the dominant LCD designs through 2006.
IPS technology is widely used in panels for TVs, tablet computers, and smartphones. In particular, most IBM products was marketed as CCFL backlighting, and all Apple Inc. products marketed with the label backlighting since 2010.
Most panels also support true 8-bit-per-channel colour. These improvements came at the cost of a lower response time, initially about 50 ms. IPS panels were also extremely expensive.
IPS has since been superseded by S-IPS (Super-IPS, Hitachi Ltd. in 1998), which has all the benefits of IPS technology with the addition of improved pixel refresh timing.
In this case, both linear polarizing filters P and A have their axes of transmission in the same direction. To obtain the 90 degree twisted nematic structure of the LC layer between the two glass plates without an applied electric field (OFF state), the inner surfaces of the glass plates are treated to align the bordering LC molecules at a right angle. This molecular structure is practically the same as in TN LCDs. However, the arrangement of the electrodes e1 and e2 is different. Because they are in the same plane and on a single glass plate, they generate an electric field essentially parallel to this plate. The diagram is not to scale: the LC layer is only a few micrometers thick and so is very small compared with the distance between the electrodes.
The LC molecules have a positive dielectric anisotropy and align themselves with their long axis parallel to an applied electrical field. In the OFF state (shown on the left), entering light L1 becomes linearly polarized by polarizer P. The twisted nematic LC layer rotates the polarization axis of the passing light by 90 degrees, so that ideally no light passes through polarizer A. In the ON state, a sufficient voltage is applied between electrodes and a corresponding electrical field E is generated that realigns the LC molecules as shown on the right of the diagram. Here, light L2 can pass through polarizer A.
In practice, other schemes of implementation exist with a different structure of the LC molecules – for example without any twist in the OFF state. As both electrodes are on the same substrate, they take more space than TN matrix electrodes. This also reduces contrast and brightness.
Unlike TN LCDs, IPS panels do not lighten or show tailing when touched. This is important for touch-screen devices, such as smartphones and tablet computer.s
Toward the end of 2010 Samsung Electronics introduced Super PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching) with the intent of providing an alternative to the popular IPS technology which is primarily manufactured by LG Display. It is an "IPS-type" panel technology, and is very similar in performance features, specs and characteristics to LG Display"s offering. Samsung adopted PLS panels instead of AMOLED panels, because in the past AMOLED panels had difficulties in realizing full HD resolution on mobile devices. PLS technology was Samsung"s wide-viewing angle LCD technology, similar to LG Display"s IPS technology.
In 2012 AU Optronics began investment in their own IPS-type technology, dubbed AHVA. This should not be confused with their long standing AMVA technology (which is a VA-type technology). Performance and specs remained very similar to LG Display"s IPS and Samsung"s PLS offerings. The first 144 Hz compatible IPS-type panels were produced in late 2014 (used first in early 2015) by AUO, beating Samsung and LG Display to providing high refresh rate IPS-type panels.
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"TFT Technology: Enhancing the viewing angle". Riverdi (TFT Module Manufacturer). Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016. However, [twisted nematic] suffers from the phenomenon called gray scale inversion. This means that the display has one viewing side in which the image colors suddenly change after exceeding the specified viewing angle. (see image Inversion Effect) External link in |quote= (help)
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Many TVs use LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels that are lit by LED backlights. There are two popular types of LCD panels: In-Plane Switching (IPS) and Vertical Alignment (VA), and there are two main differences between each type. A VA panel usually has a high contrast ratio and narrow viewing angles. However, an IPS panel has low contrast and wide viewing angles. These are the main differences between each, and for the most part, panel type doesn"t affect other aspects of picture quality, like peak brightness, color gamut, or color accuracy.
For the purposes of this article, we"re going to compare two LED-backlit LCD TVs: the Sony X800H, which has an IPS panel, and the Hisense H9G, which has a VA panel. Due to their different panel types, there are three noticeable differences in picture quality: viewing angles, contrast, and black uniformity, so we"re going to look at each one.
Viewing angle refers to the angle at which you can watch the TV without seeing a noticeable drop in picture quality. IPS TVs are the clear winner here, as the image remains accurate when viewing from the side - you can see the differences in the videos above. This is their main advantage over VA panels. Most VA panel TVs have a noticeable loss in image accuracy when viewing from the side. The narrow viewing angle of VA-type TVs is also problematic when the TV is used as a PC monitor from up close since the edges of the display look washed out.
Contrast ratio is one of the most important factors when it comes to picture quality. It determines how well a TV displays blacks, so one with a good contrast displays deep blacks when viewed in the dark. However, if your TV has a low contrast ratio, you"ll notice that blacks look gray when viewed in the dark.
VA panels are far superior to IPS panels when it comes to this, so if you tend to watch movies in the dark, you likely want to get a TV with a VA panel. Most TVs use VA panels due to this main advantage, and high-end models may have a local dimming feature that further enhances black levels. On the other hand, IPS panels normally have low contrast, so blacks look closer to gray, but you may not notice the difference in contrast in bright environments.
In the photo above, the Hisense has a much better contrast ratio; both photos are set at the same brightness, but the Hisense appears brighter because there"s a bigger contrast between its deepest black and brightest white.
Our black uniformity tests determine how well a TV displays a dark scene with a bright image in the center. Ideally, you want to see a completely black screen with the center cross being the only part that"s lit up, and this is important for people watching movies. No LED TV has perfect uniformity, and unlike viewing angles and contrast, the panel type doesn"t completely determine its black uniformity. However, most VA panels that we"ve tested have good black uniformity, while most IPS panels have sub-par black uniformity. This doesn"t mean that every VA panel TV has good uniformity, as this can change between units, and you can also improve uniformity using the local dimming feature.
As you can see in the pictures above, the Sony has uniformity issues with backlight bleed and clouding throughout. The entire screen also looks blue due to the low contrast ratio. The Hisense"s screen is much more uniform, and although you can see some backlight bleed along the edges, it disappears if you enable local dimming, as seen in this photo.
LCDs function by having liquid crystals in little groups to form the pixels. These crystals react and change position when charged with electricity and, depending on their position, they allow a certain color of light to pass through.
IPS displays have their crystals aligned horizontally at all times. When charged, they turn to allow light through. VA displays have their crystals aligned vertically. When charged, they move to a horizontal position, allowing light through. When current isn"t sent through them, however, their vertical alignment blocks light far more efficiently, creating better blacks and giving better contrast.
There"s also another type of IPS panel, called Plane-to-Line Switching (PLS), which can be seen with the Sony X800H. This panel type was designed by Samsung and technically performs the same as an IPS panel. When you compare the pixels visually, IPS panels look like chevrons, VA looks like very straight rectangles, and PLS looks like round-edged capsules. You can learn more about pixels here.
The way the pixels are laid out can also affect text clarity. Many IPS panels, like the ones on the Sony X800H or the LG SK9000, use RGB sub-pixel layouts, while many VA panels have a BGR layout, like on the Hisense H9G. The sub-pixel layout doesn"t directly affect picture quality unless you"re using it as a PC monitor. Some applications may expect an RGB layout, so if you have a BGR sub-pixel layout, text may not look clear. You may need to increase the text scaling to read it properly, but this issue isn"t common with an RGB layout. You can learn more about it here.
Unlike LED TVs, OLEDs don"t use a backlight and instead have self-emitting pixels. This allows the pixels to individually turn on and off, resulting in perfect blacks. This means that they also have perfect black uniformity as there"s no blooming around bright objects like on some LED TVs. They also have wide viewing angles, sometimes even wider than some IPS panels, so OLEDs are a good choice for wide seating arrangements.
Samsung released quantum dot TVs in 2015, which they later labeled as QLED in 2017. These TVs include a quantum dot layer between the LED backlights and the LCD panel to achieve a wider color gamut. Other companies like Vizio and TCL also use this quantum dot technology on their TVs. Adding this extra quantum dot layer doesn"t change the characteristics of the panel type; the VA panel on the TCL 6 Series/S635 2020 QLED still has a high contrast ratio and narrow viewing angles. Although most QLED TVs use VA panels, you can easily use an IPS panel as well.
Manufacturers have tried different techniques to improve the viewing angles on VA panels over the years, aiming to produce a perfect LCD panel with both wide viewing angles and high contrast. While they have yet to achieve that goal, a few TVs have hit the market that try to combine the best of both panel types. The first TVs with this viewing angle technology came out in 2018, and only a few high-end models like the Samsung Q90/Q90T QLED and the Sony X950H had this technology in 2020. These TVs are a bit unique, delivering noticeably better viewing angles than their pure VA counterparts, but still worse than true IPS panels. This comes at the expense of a lower contrast ratio, as these TVs have worse native contrast than most VA panels, but they"re still better than IPS panels. Combined with their local dimming features, they still produce deep blacks.
Below you can see the viewing angle videos for the Samsung Q90T and the Sony X950H. The image remains accurate at fairly wide angles on each TV, but the Samsung does a better job overall at making sure the image is still fairly accurate when viewing from the side.
Between IPS and VA panels, neither technology is inherently superior to the other as they both serve different purposes. In general, IPS TVs have wide viewing angles suitable for when you want to watch the big game or your favorite show in a large seating arrangement. They"re also beneficial for use as a PC monitor since the edges remain accurate if you sit up close. However, VA panels are a better choice for watching content in dark rooms, as their improved contrast allows them to display deep blacks. Choosing between the two is a series of trade-offs and qualities, so choosing the best TV for your needs depends on your usage.
The number of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels available is vast but they can be separated into several different categories, based either on technology, construction method, or even individual brand.
Common applications can be for entertainment purposes, like watching videos and playing games, or doing technical creative work like picture editing where color accuracy is paramount.
After determining the application for your display you can start to identify which features need to take priority over others. Then you will be able to narrow your search and select the panel best suited for your use.
You get the highest performance at the lost cost. TN displays have evolved to the point where they have an incredibly fast response time, meaning they are great for entertainment purposes.
Regarding viewing angle, the TN display suffers particularly in the vertical direction; when watching a movie you must be sitting directly in front of the display to get the best picture.
Most TN displays can represent only 70% of NTSC, Adobe RGB and sRGB color gamuts, in some cases as little as 10 to 30% with the poorest quality displays.
When it comes to choosing a display for a creative application it is important to consider only a high-quality TN display as the color gamut will be higher.
The viewing angle in specific IPS screens has improved to the point where crystal-clear viewing is possible at 178 of the 180 degrees available to a user.
Contrast and blacks have also considerably improved. IPS panels do not lighten or show tailing light when touched, which can happen on TN panels; this is important for touch-screen devices such as smartphones and tablets.
However, as with all new technology, it is not perfect. The response times of IPS panels still falls behind those of TN technology. The cost of an IPS panel is also higher than that of a TN panel.
Display technology has been evolving for more than a century and continues to drive innovations in the electronic device market. IPS technology was developed in the 90s to solve color and viewing angle issues.
IPS display panels deliver the best colors and viewing angles compared to other popular display planes, including VA (vertical alignment) and TN (twisted nematic).
LCDs (liquid crystal displays). IPS changes the behavior of an LCD’s liquid crystals to produce a sharper, more accurate picture. This technique allows IPS displays to deliver a higher quality viewing experience than other screen types like TN or VA.
IPS acts on the liquid crystals inside an LCD, so when voltage is applied, the crystals rotate parallel (or in-plane), allowing light to pass through them easily. By reducing the amount of interference in the light being produced by the display, the final image on the screen will be much clearer.
One of the leading advantages that IPS offer is its ability to deliver wide angles while preserving colors and contrast. This means you can view an IPS screen from nearly any angle and get an accurate representation of the image on-screen.
IPS display screens and monitors offer the best quality in different environments (direct sunlight, low light, indoors, or outdoors) compared to TNs or VAs.
IPS LCDs require about 15% more power than a standard TN LCD. OLED displays require much less power than IPS types due to the fact that they don’t require a backlight. The LCD IPS technology is not the ideal solution if you need an energy-efficient display. You’re better off choosing an OLED or TN TFT for a low-power solution.
Because of the newer and more advanced technology found in IPS displays, they’re more expensive to manufacture. For a more cost-effective solution, a TN LCD would be a better choice.
IPS displays provide a huge boost to viewing angles and color reproduction, but they don’t have the same contrast capabilities as some other competing display types. OLED displays are able to deliver true black by shutting off their active pixels completely, resulting in much higher contrast than IPS displays. If you’re looking for maximum contrast in your display, you’re better off with an OLED display.
Because of in-plane switching’s ability to boost viewing angles and retain color accuracy, it allows LCDs to compete with the high contrast images found on OLED displays.
If you don’t require the highest refresh rates and don’t mind slightly higher power consumption, then an IPS display will greatly benefit your project.
The world of smartphones has been busy for the past few months. There have been numerous revolutionary launches with groundbreaking innovations that have the capacity to change the course of the smartphone industry. But the most important attribute of a smartphone is the display, which has been the focus for all prominent players in the mobile phone industry this year.
Samsung came up with its unique 18:5:9 AMOLED display for the Galaxy S8. LG picked up its old trusted IPS LCD unit for the G6’s display. These display units have been familiar to the usual Indian smartphone buyer. Honor, on the other hand, has just unveiled the new Honor 8 Pro for the Indian market that ships with an LTPS LCD display. This has led to wonder how exactly is this technology different from the existing ones and what benefits does it give Honor to craft its flagship smartphone with. Well, let’s find out.
The LCD technology brought in the era of thin displays to screens, making the smartphone possible in the current world. LCD displays are power efficient and work on the principle of blocking light. The liquid crystal in the display unit uses some kind of a backlight, generally a LED backlight or a reflector, to make the picture visible to the viewer. There are two kinds of LCD units – passive matrix LCD that requires more power and the superior active matrix LCD unit, known to people as Thin Film Transistor (TFT) that draws less power.
The early LCD technology couldn’t maintain the colour for wide angle viewing, which led to the development of the In-Plane Switching (IPS) LCD panel. IPS panel arranges and switches the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules of standard LCD display between the glass substrates. This helps it to enhance viewing angles and improve colour reproduction as well. IPS LCD technology is responsible for accelerating the growth of the smartphone market and is the go-to display technology for prominent manufacturers.
The standard LCD display uses amorphous Silicon as the liquid for the display unit as it can be assembled into complex high-current driver circuits. This though restricts the display resolution and adds to overall device temperatures. Therefore, development of the technology led to replacing the amorphous Silicon with Polycrystalline Silicon, which boosted the screen resolution and maintains low temperatures. The larger and more uniform grains of polysilicon allow faster electron movement, resulting in higher resolution and higher refresh rates. It also was found to be cheaper to manufacture due to lower cost of certain key substrates. Therefore, the Low-Temperature PolySilicon (LTPS) LCD screen helps provide larger pixel densities, lower power consumption that standard LCD and controlled temperature ranges.
The AMOLED display technology is in a completely different league. It doesn’t bother with any liquid mechanism or complex grid structures. The panel uses an array of tiny LEDs placed on TFT modules. These LEDs have an organic construction that directly emits light and minimises its loss by eradicating certain filters. Since LEDs are physically different units, they can be asked to switch on and off as per the requirement of the display to form a picture. This is known as the Active Matrix system. Hence, an Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display can produce deeper blacks by switching off individual LED pixels, resulting in high contrast pictures.
The honest answer is that it depends on the requirement of the user. If you want accurate colours from your display while wanting it to retain its vibrancy for a longer period of time, then any of the two LCD screens are the ideal choice. LTPS LCD display can provide higher picture resolution but deteriorates faster than standard IPS LCD display over time.
An AMOLED display will provide high contrast pictures any time but it too has the tendency to deteriorate faster than LCD panels. Therefore, if you are after greater picture quality, choose LTPS LCD or else settle for AMOLED for a vivid contrast picture experience.
If you’ve ever begun searching for a new computer screen, chances are you’ve probably come across the term IPS. It’s at this point that you may be asking yourself, what is an IPS monitor? And how do I know if an IPS monitor is right for me?
So, why is this important? A monitor’s panel technology is important because it affects what the monitor can do and for which uses it is best suited. Each of the monitor panel types listed above offer their own distinctive benefits and drawbacks.
Choosing which type of monitor panel type to buy will depend largely on your intended usage and personal preference. After all, gamers, graphic designers, and office workers all have different requirements. Specific types of displays are best suited for different usage scenarios.
The reason for this is because none of the different monitor panel types as they are today can be classified as “outstanding” for all of the attributes mentioned above.
Below we’ll take a look at how IPS, TN, and VA monitors affect screen performance and do some handy summaries of strengths, weaknesses, and best-case uses for each type of panel technology.
IPS monitors or “In-Plane Switching” monitors, leverage liquid crystals aligned in parallel to produce rich colors. IPS panels are defined by the shifting patterns of their liquid crystals. These monitors were designed to overcome the limitations of TN panels. The liquid crystal’s ability to shift horizontally creates better viewing angles.
IPS monitors continue to be the display technology of choice for users that want color accuracy and consistency. IPS monitors are really great when it comes to color performance and super-wide viewing angles. The expansive viewing angles provided by IPS monitors help to deliver outstanding color when being viewed from different angles. One major differentiator between IPS monitors and TN monitors is that colors on an IPS monitor won’t shift when being viewed at an angle as drastically as they do on a TN monitor.
IPS monitor variations include S-IPS, H-IPS, e-IPS and P-IPS, and PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching), the latter being the latest iteration. Since these variations are all quite similar, they are all collectively referred to as “IPS-type” panels. They all claim to deliver the major benefits associated with IPS monitors – great color and ultra-wide viewing angles.
When it comes to color accuracy, IPS monitors surpass the performance of TN and VA monitors with ease. While latest-gen VA technologies offer comparative performance specs, pro users still claim that IPS monitors reign supreme in this regard.
Another important characteristic of IPS monitors is that they are able to support professional color space technologies, such as Adobe RGB. This is due to the fact that IPS monitors are able to offer more displayable colors, which help improve color accuracy.
In the past, response time and contrast were the initial weakness of IPS technology. Nowadays, however, IPS monitor response times have advanced to the point where they are even capable of satisfying gamers, thus resulting in a rising popularity in IPS monitors for gaming.
With regard to gaming, some criticisms IPS monitors include more visible motion blur coming as a result of slower response times, however the impact of motion blur will vary from user to user. In fact, mixed opinions about the “drawbacks” of IPS monitor for gaming can be found all across the web. Take this excerpt from one gaming technology writer for example: “As for pixel response, opinions vary. I personally think IPS panels are quick enough for almost all gaming. If your gaming life is absolutely and exclusively about hair-trigger shooters, OK, you’ll want the fastest response, lowest latency LCD monitor. And that means TN. For the rest of us, and certainly for those who place even a modicum of importance on the visual spectacle of games, I reckon IPS is clearly the best panel technology.” Read the full article here.
IPS monitors deliver ultra-wide 178-degree vertical and horizontal viewing angles. Graphic designers, CAD engineers, pro photographers, and video editors will benefit from using an IPS monitor. Many value the color benefits of IPS monitors and tech advances have improved IPS panel speed, contrast, and resolution. IPS monitors are more attractive than ever for general desktop work as well as many types of gaming. They’re even versatile enough to be used in different monitor styles, so if you’ve ever compared an ultrawide vs. dual monitor setup or considered the benefits of curved vs. flat monitors, chances are you’ve already come into contact with an IPS panel.
TN monitors, or “Twisted Nematic” monitors, are the oldest LCD panel types around. TN panels cost less than their IPS and VA counterparts and are a popular mainstream display technology for desktop and laptop displays.
Despite their lower perceived value, TN-based displays are the panel type preferred by competitive gamers. The reason for this is because TN panels can achieve a rapid response time and the fastest refresh rates on the market (like this 240Hz eSports monitor). To this effect, TN monitors are able to reduce blurring and screen tearing in fast-paced games when compared to an IPS or VA panel.
On the flip side, however, TN panel technology tends to be ill-suited for applications that benefit from wider viewing angles, higher contrast ratios, and better color accuracy. That being said, LED technology has helped shift the perspective and today’s LED-backlit TN models offer higher brightness along with better blacks and higher contrast ratios.
Today’s maximum possible viewing angles are 178 degrees both horizontally and vertically (178º/178º), yet TN panels are limited to viewing angles of approximately 170 degrees horizontal and 160 degrees vertical (170º /160º).
In fact, TN monitor can sometimes be easily identified by the color distortion and contrast shifting that’s visible at the edges of the screen. As screen sizes increase, this issue becomes even more apparent as reduced color performance can even begin to be seen when viewing the screen from a dead-center position.
For general-purpose use, these shifts in color and contrast are often irrelevant and fade from conscious perception. However, this color variability makes TN monitors a poor choice for color-critical work like graphic design and photo editing. Graphic designers and other color-conscious users should also avoid TN displays due to their more limited range of color display compared to the other technologies.
TN monitors are the least expensive panel technology, making them ideal for cost-conscious businesses and consumers. In addition, TN monitors enjoy unmatched popularity with competitive gamers and other users who seek rapid graphics display.
Vertical alignment (VA) panel technology was developed to improve upon the drawbacks of TN. Current VA-based monitors offer muchhigher contrast, better color reproduction, and wider viewing angles than TN panels. Variations you may see include P-MVA, S-MVA, and AMVA (Advanced MVA).
These high-end VA-type monitors rival IPS monitors as the best panel technology for professional-level color-critical applications. One of the standout features of VA technology is that it is particularly good at blocking light from the backlight when it’s not needed. This enables VA panels to display deeper blacks and static contrast ratios of up to several times higher than the other LCD technologies. The benefit of this is that VA monitors with high contrast ratios can deliver intense blacks and richer colors.
Contrast ratio is the measured difference between the darkest blacks and the brightest whites a monitor can produce. This measurement provides information about the amount of grayscale detail a monitor will deliver. The higher the contrast ratio, the more visible detail.
These monitors also provide more visible details in shadows and highlights, making them ideal for enjoying videos and movies. They’re also a good fit for games focused on rich imagery (RPG games for example) rather than rapid speed (such as FPS games).
MVA and other recent VA technologies offer the highest static contrast ratios of any panel technology. This allows for an outstanding visual experience for movie enthusiasts and other users seeking depth of detail. Higher-end, feature-rich MVA displays offer the consistent, authentic color representation needed by graphic designers and other pro users.
There is another type of panel technology that differs from the monitor types discussed above and that is OLED or “Organic Light Emitting Diode” technology. OLEDs differ from LCDs because they use positively/negatively charged ions to light up every pixel individually, while LCDs use a backlight, which can create an unwanted glow. OLEDs avoid screen glow (and create darker blacks) by not using a backlight. One of the drawbacks of OLED technology is that it is usually pricier than any of the other types of technology explained.
When it comes to choosing the right LCD panel technology, there is no single right answer. Each of the three primary technologies offers distinct strengths and weaknesses. Looking at different features and specs helps you identify which monitor best fits your needs.
With the lowest cost and fastest response times, TN monitors are great for general use and gaming. VA monitor offers a step up for general use. Maxed-out viewing angles and high contrast ratios make VA monitors great for watching movies and image-intensive gaming.
IPS monitors offer the greatest range of color-related features and remain the gold standard for photo editing and color-critical pro uses. Greater availability and lower prices make IPS monitors a great fit for anyone who values outstanding image quality.
LCD or “Liquid Crystal Display” is a type of monitor panel that embraces thin layers of liquid crystals sandwiched between two layers of filters and electrodes.
While CRT monitors used to fire electrons against glass surfaces, LCD monitors operate using backlights and liquid crystals. The LCD panel is a flat sheet of material that contains layers of filters, glass, electrodes, liquid crystals, and a backlight. Polarized light (meaning only half of it shines through) is directed towards a rectangular grid of liquid crystals and beamed through.
Liquid Crystals (LCs) are used because of their unique ability to maintain a parallel shape. Acting as both a solid and liquid, LCs are able to react quickly to changes in light patterns. The optical properties of LCs are activated by electric current, which is used to switch liquid crystals between phases. In turn, each pixel generates an RGB (red, green, blue) color based on the phase it’s in.
Note: When searching for monitors you can be sure to come across the term “LED Panel” at some point or another. An LED panel is an LCD screen with an LED – (Light Emitting Diode) – backlight. LEDs provide a brighter light source while using much less energy. They also have the ability to produce white color, in addition to traditional RGB color, and are the panel type used in HDR monitors.
Early LCD panels used passive-matrix technology and were criticized for blurry imagery. The reason for this is because quick image changes require liquid crystals to change phase quickly and passive matrix technology was limited in terms of how quickly liquid crystals could change phase.
As a result, active-matrix technology was invented and transistors (TFTs) began being used to help liquid crystals retain their charge and change phase more quickly.
Thanks to active-matrix technology, LCD monitor panels were able to change images very quickly and the technology began being used by newer LCD panels.
Ultimately, budget and feature preferences will determine the best fit for each user. Among the available monitors of each panel type there will also be a range of price points and feature sets. Additionally, overall quality may vary among manufacturers due to factors related to a display’s components, manufacturing, and design.
If you’re interested in learning more about IPS monitors, you can take a look at some of these professional monitors to see if they would be the right fit for you.
Alternatively, if you’re into gaming and are in the market for TN panel these gaming monitor options may be along the lines of what you’re looking for.
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OLED vs. IPS LCD is a topic that comes up whenever consumers upgrade to a newer TV or a smartphone. Should you buy a TV that uses an IPS LCD display or should you pick up a TV with an OLED screen? Well, the answer isn’t so straightforward because they both have their advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will explain how these screen technologies work and which one you should opt for while buying a TV.
IPS LCD (In-Plane Switching Liquid Crystal Display) and OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) are the two most commonly used screen technologies. Older technologies, such as TN (Twisted Nematic) and PLS (Plane-to-Line Switching) displays, have almost disappeared (except in the world of PC monitors and budget laptops) because IPS LCD and OLED are clearly better in almost all aspects. Other technologies such as Mini-LED, MicroLED, and QNED technologies are extremely new and they won’t become mainstream for a few years.
So, when you are finally deciding which TV to buy, the real battle is between OLED and IPS LCD. So where do these stand? Which is better for you? Which one should you pick for your new home theatre? Read on for more information on the OLED vs IPS LCD battle.
IPS LCD displays are perhaps the most common display type days, especially in TVs and laptops. Laptops, entry-level and mid-range smartphones, and most TVs use LCD displays. So, how do IPS displays work? IPS displays use an array of LCD pixels that shift colour as required. However, they don’t emit light on their own. That’s the reason they need a backlight made up of LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes). The backlight can be arranged in various layouts: towards the edges, spread across the whole display, or separated into different sections.
IPS screens display the black colour by changing the alignment of LCDs so that pixels block the transmission of light, but some light still gets through. That’s the reason IPS LCD displays can’t display true deep black colour. Instead, they display dark grey and there is some ‘backlight bleed’.
To reduce the backlight bleed, a feature called Local Dimming is used. The feature requires the backlight to be compartmentalized into different matrices, and only those sections are turned on which need to display non-black colours. Other sections of the backlight are turned off, offering true blacks. However, active zones still display some backlight bleed.
OLED displays have traditionally been restricted to high-end devices. Even today, only high-end TVs and laptops feature OLED displays. In the world of smartphones, though, OLED technology has been democratised and even mid-range smartphones these days use OLED displays with high brightness and high refresh rates.
In a nutshell, OLED displays don’t use separate backlight sources. Instead, every pixel can reproduce its own light (also known as self-emissive displays). So, there’s no need for an additional backlight and each pixel can be turned on or off as needed. Since there is no need for a separate backlight plane, OLED displays are much thinner than LCD displays. They also offer a much better contrast ratio and viewing angles. However, the organic material used in OLED pixels tends to “burn” over the years that results in ghosting. Moreover, they can’t be as bright as LCD, Mini-LED, or Micro-LED displays.
We have given you a brief overview of IPS and OLED technologies. But which one is better? And which of these will be right for you? Here’s a list of pros and cons to h