How big of a difference is there really from IPS to TN panels?

[Rennn]

I'm sick to death of my TV having better IQ than my monitor. All my PC games should look great, but the color accuracy and viewing angle on my Asus VS247 just isn't up to par.

 

With that in mind, I have a pretty good idea of what monitor I'm going to get, but first I need some final input. To people who have owned with IPS and TN monitors, how big of a difference does the type of panel make? Was there an immediate noticeable increase in IQ going from a TN monitor to an IPS monitor, or were the changes more subtle?

[FMod]

Every TN monitor is different.

Every IPS monitor is different.

Every VA monitor is different.

 

A very good TN can be better than a bad e-IPS (happens sometimes on laptops), and then there's the whole VA that's competing with IPS, which no one notices, because before Apple started using IPS and marketing them, no one even knew about these.

 

The difference between a good display and a crap one will be obvious, no matter the panel type. The difference between a decent display and a so-so one will be more subtle.

[JimboUK]

It's best to go and look at them, you can see for yourself then. Just remember that the colour and brightness are likely to have been cranked up for store display purposes but you can still see the sharpness, consistency of colours and viewing angles for yourself. A good IPS will be better than a good TN, a bad IPS won't be.

[FMod]

Sharpness in LCD displays isn't exactly an advantage. These displays are perfectly sharp by design; if one appears sharper, then either contrast has been cranked up or the sharper display has a thicker grid between the pixels. In a flat panel you want less sharpness, not more, at least if looking for an accurate image.

 

Looking at displays in a store won't get you far, unless it happens to specialize in professional graphics and offer a semi-darkened corner with roughly calibrated displays and test images.

 

Actually, the main reason LCD displays may appear differently sharp in a store is because stores used to, and most still do, drive them with a VGA splitter, which is basically a 5-channel analog amplifier that powers up the signal a bit and sends it to a lot of screens. Between analog output and a splitter built to a price point, the signal arrives degraded, and different displays may have different strength of sharpening to compensate for it. Since you're obviously going to use DVI (or DP) at home, it's of no relevance to practical use.

 

Other parameters - color accuracy and backlight uniformity - require testing in adequate conditions, preferably with equipment, not in a brightly lit store. You can buy a rotting lemon and think it a gold egg.

 

Better look for good reviews (done with a lot of numbers and their understanding) to see what's good and what is so-so. IPS displays generally tend to be better, but the bottom tier - which are not necessarily bottom priced - are no better than midrange TN, they basically *are* low-end TN with an IPS panel stuffed in, which does them no good other than riding on Apple's IPS-marketing wave.