TN, IPS, PVA/MVA panels

What are the advantages and disadvantages of these?

I heard that TN is not as good as IPS or PVA/MVA, why? Are there any mainstream LCD monitors that are not TN?

What type of panels do LCD TVs use?

When I was looking to buy a monitor, everyone was complaining about the TN panels, how the colors weren't as rich, they weren't bright, the contrast was bad, etc. I bought a Samsung 226BW that happened to have a TN panel. It looks fantastic. The colors look great, the contrast is fine, I have no complaints. I spent about 5 minutes tuning it with their software and it looked even better. I really don't think anyone can notice the difference between panels. People just like complaining.

kayson said:

I really don't think anyone can notice the difference between panels. People just like complaining.

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People do like to complain. However, the difference between a TN and other types of panels is not difficult to tell. The easiest way to spot a TN panel, even a very good one, is the more limited viewing angle they offer. TN's generally look good from directly in front, but if you go to either side, high or low, then you can easily see the drop off in the picture.

Contrast and color differences are much more difficult for the untrained eye to detect. This is particularly true when you don't have two different panels right next to each other to compare them. If the picture looks good, then it looks good. So this isn't going to be an issue for most people unless they do color sensitive work, like a graphics artist does.

I really think the viewing angle issue is overrated. Unless you plan to use your monitor for family TV viewing or something, then 99.9% of the time you'll be seated directly in front of it anyway.... where the angle limitations won't matter. So if you discount viewing angle situation, which is the only real weakness for TN panels, then there's nothing wrong with them.

I myself prefer TN because they are the fastest, and since I game a lot that was important to me.

TN panels are very cheap with fast response times but have inferior color reproduction, contrast ratios and viewing angles

S-IPS panels are generally considered the best all around panel type, but they are more expensive and very few are made.

S-PVA/MVA panels offer better color reproduction and viewing angles than TN panels, have slightly worse response times than TN or S-IPS, offer the best contrast ratios, may suffer from color shifting or input lag and have higher availability than S-IPS panels. (From pchardwarehelp)


I would go with a non TN Panel monitor unless you're really into gaming and response time is more important that color accuracy.

6 bit Tn displays can only theoretically display 262,144 colors while the 8 bit displays can display 16.7 million colors. So the 8 bit panel makes a great viewing experience. Since the 8 bit has a better color range, it can display such things as gradients and vivid photographs with crisp smooth quality where as the 6 bit display will show banding. 8bit displays are good if you’re a photographer, artist, movie freak or anyone who enjoys a superior quality picture.

My Samsung 2232 GW has a good response time (2 ms), great color and good contrast IMO, but the viewing angle is really bad and the stand is wobbly.

What I want to be able to do is watch TV at any angle, what would you recommend for that?

Also what panels do LCD TVs use?

Most of the cheap 32 inch or smaller LCD TVs use TN panels, why? Because TN panels are very cheap to buy. You can tell a TN panel by looking up from the bottom of the screen at the picture, if it turns blackish….it’s a TN panel.

I don’t know if they’re putting TN panels in the larger screens yet as I haven’t looked for a few months. The high end LCD TV's use IPS panels but VA panels are very good too. If a TN panel is say a 1 and an IPS a 100 the VA panel is an 85. IMHO

Firestrider said:

My Samsung 2232 GW has a good response time (2 ms), great color and good contrast IMO, but the viewing angle is really bad and the stand is wobbly.

What I want to be able to do is watch TV at any angle, what would you recommend for that?

Also what panels do LCD TVs use?

Click to expand...

IMO you need to be shopping for a TV, but one that also has good enough resolution to operate as a monitor; especially if you're looking at built-in TV tuners and such. Samsung does have a few choices in their "touch of color" (TOC) lineup that look pretty nice and have been getting good reviews - newegg has them in stock. It's a TN panel for sure, but probably the upper scale of the TN line up, if there is such a thing.
If you want 178x178 degree viewing angles, then you need to either shop for a VA or IPS panel. A couple of years ago, the response times of either panel was not so good, but the PVAs are down to about 6ms gray-to-gray, which is really good. You will pay a premium, but either of these panel types are significantly superior to a TN. Many buy TN's because of the price, and I don't blame them one bit; for the price a TN is typically enough for most users.
BUT, there is a difference - as a prior owner of both types, TN just doesn't come close to accurate color and viewing angles, but the TN also has extremely good response time. TN also has more backlight bleed, but either PVA or IPS will cost double the price of a TN - just a compromise in the end..