IPS and VA panels both are incredible and they are not that important factors technically which you should know. But your requirement makes them crucial factors that you should know before buying a new TV.
A crucial point that TV manufacturers or retailers (offline & online) don’t tend to talk about but it can have a deep impact on picture quality. There are various TV technologies that impact picture quality in their own way.
Top television brands mix panels (VA & IPS) in the same LED TV series. And we think it is one of the most important factors that should be at the top of every television specification list.
Every technology has its own advantages and disadvantages and selecting a TV based on this totally depends on your requirements and how you are going to use it.
This article will solve the question “What are IPS and VA Panels in LED TVs?” and how do they impact picture quality.
What is IPS Panel?
Pros: Excellent viewing angle, great refresh rate, good response time.
Cons: Decent contrast ratio, ok black uniformity, Expensive.
IPS (In-Plane Switching) is one of the common displays found in almost every TV and monitor. You can take a minute and read the IPS panel history.
The major advantage of the IPS panel is they provide wide viewing angles with better quality and accuracy.
However, nowadays, the OLED panel is getting very popular among customers and manufacturers. The panel display is found in the LCD. Pixels in LCD TV are made up of using a liquid crystal that produces color when activated with voltage.
Similarly, the crystals in the LCD panel are aligned parallel to the glass substrate. This provides you with a wide-angle view with excellent picture quality.
The problem arises when excessive light is passed through the screen. You will also notice light patches at the corner of the screen and also fails to display bright images with proper clarity.
How does IPS Panel Works?
Like VA panels, IPS panels operate by controlling voltage to modify how liquid crystals are aligned. Unlike VA, though, IPS panels introduce their crystals in parallel with (rather than perpendicular to) the glass substrates present in every LCD panel and revolve their crystals around to let the expected amount of light through rather than tilting them.
Who makes IPS TVs?
Many small and big TV manufacturers have predominantly used the IPS panel. LG Electronics and Sony TVs are the biggest manufacturers of IPS panels.
The company has been predominantly using IPS panels on most of its entry-level and premium TV.
Besides LG, AU Optronics is another biggest user of IPS panels on its hardware product after LG.
Samsung also features an IPS panel on its product, but the company mainly uses an IPS panel on PC monitors compared to TVs.
In 2021 Samsung has launched a couple of TVs with IPS displays. The company will still be using IPS panels in the coming years.
Philips, Panasonic, Sony, and Hisense are some brands using IPS panels on a few of their product.
What is VA Panel?
Pros: High contrast, great black uniformity, affordable.
Cons: Bad viewing angle, ok color range, slow response time.
VA panel is another popular display type widely used in computer monitors. The crystal in this display is arranged vertically or perpendicular to the glass substrate.
Unlike IPS panel displays, the major advantage of VA panels is they provide an excellent contrast ratio.
Monitors with VA panels come with a contrast ratio minimum of 3000:1. Whereas our IPS panel has a minimum contrast ratio is 1000:1 in the same display type.
As the VA panel provides in-depth picture quality, it is mainly suitable for gaming monitors.
However, the panel fell behind IPS when it came to viewing angles. Monitor with VA panel fails to provide wide viewing angle.
How Does VA Panel Work?
The VA stands for Vertical Alignment. This name is emanated from the way VA panels use voltage to vertically aligned liquid crystals that have been scaled perpendicularly to the panel’s glass substrate, driving them to tilt as needed to let the required amount of light through for each image frame.
Who makes VA TVs?
Here comes the most important question who makes VA TVs? Where is it manufactured most? There are a number of manufacturers manufacturing VA panels in the market right now.
Among them, Samsung is one of the leading manufacturers manufacturing the SVA variant of the VA panel.
Similarly, AU Optronics is another popular manufacturer which manufactures the AMVA variant of VA panels.
When it comes to using cases, Samsung electronics has been consistent in using VA panels on its LCD TVs. IPS panel was dominant in the older model of Samsung TV until recently. Samsung has replaced IPS panels from most premium TVs.
Sony is another big user of VA panels in most premium TVs. Similarly, the company also uses a mixed display (IPS and VA panel) on entry-level TV. Recently Panasonic has introduced a VA panel on its Flagship TV.
The Dissimilarity Between IPS and VA Panel
IPS and VA panels mainly have two major differences. The IPS panel provides a wider viewing angle and offers less contrast ratio.
On the other hand, the VA panel provides High contrast ratio but fails to provide a wide viewing angle. Both the panels have their drawbacks and advantages. Therefore here we will discuss
Viewing Angle
If you don’t know what viewing angle is, then let me tell you that viewing angle refers to the maximum angle where the user can look in front of the screen to watch from the side with a change in color or brightness.
The viewing angle plays a vital role in TV because it adequately perceives the visuals.
The viewing angle has two different aspects one is horizontal, and another is vertical. A good TV consists of 120 and 160 degrees of horizontal viewing angle and 120 and 160 degrees of vertical viewing angle.
As mentioned earlier, the IPS panel has a good viewing angle compared to the VA panel.
The liquid crystal in the display is arranged parallel to the glass substrate, which provides a wide viewing angle.
When it comes to the VA panel, liquid crystal is arranged vertically to the glass substrate; therefore, it has a narrow viewing angle.
Credit goes to IPS Panel
Contrast
The contrast ratio is the separation between the darkest and brightest areas of the image on the screen.
Increasing the contrast ratio in the display increases the separation between dark and bright colors. The contrast ratio plays a very important role in TV display.
A high contrast ratio in TV display has more detail in black pictures. Similarly, if the TV has a low contrast ratio, you will notice less detail in black pictures.
Dynamic contrast ratio or advanced dynamic contrast ratio is a setting that lowers the power of the backlight lamp.
While amplifying transmission through the panel and when it amplifies the transmission, it creates a darker black image.
The static Contrast ratio is the luminance of the brightest white colors on the screen VS darker black shades.
Both these ratios are expressed using numbers, for example, 1000:1 or 1000: 1. The more the difference between these two numbers, the better the picture quality. LED TVs provide a more dynamic contrast ratio as compared to other types of TV.
VA offers high contrast ratio ranging from 3000:1 to 6000:1, and a comparable IPS panel will have a 1000:1 contrast ratio.
Therefore, it is clear that the VA panel tends to be more contrast when compared to the VA panel.
Credit goes to VA Panel.
Black Uniformity
Black uniformity means how evenly a TV can display black colors on the screen. A perfect black uniformity delivers an immersive experience while watching action and the fighting scenes in movies and games.
Excellent black uniformity means darker images and pictures like shadows and night skies, and the black object will look equally black at any time. There is no LED LCD TV having perfect black uniformity.
However, TV using VA panel tends to have good black uniformity compared to TV having IPS panel.
But, it is not necessary that every VA panel has good uniformity. Some best-LED TVs with an IPS panel provide even better black uniformity on the flagship models.
Nowadays, most modern best 4K TVs have features of local dimming through which you can achieve or improve uniformity on your TV. But be careful small size televisions (32-inch TVs and 43-inch TVs) don’t come with a local dimming feature.
Credit goes to VA Panel.
Technical Difference
Sub Pixel Layout
Pixel layout is another reason that affects the clarity of the picture on the TV. In both, the panel pixel is laid out in different positions.
BGR layout is mainly found in the VA panel, whereas RGB layout is dominant in the IPS panel.
Monitors with BGR layout have inverse sub-pixel arrangement compared to standard RGB pixels.
The downside of the BGR layout is that it displays blurry text, making it a little difficult to read smaller text on the screen.
On the other hand, RGB has no such problem with the layout. Moreover, RGB layout is dominant in almost every electronic device.
It is the perfect screen layout for TV displays and other display types. Therefore, we will conclude that the IPS panel has a better screen layout than VA.
Credit goes to IPS Panel
Refresh rate
Refresh rate is a frequency in which the monitor changes the frames and it is measured in Hertz (Hz) per second.
The IPS panel has a good refresh rate among all the displays. IPS displays have a high refresh rate when compared to the VA panel.
The majority of monitors and TV have a minimum of 75 hertz to a maximum of 144-hertz refresh rate.
However, the VA panel does not offer to same or comparable refresh rate as a similar IPS panel. Most of the VA panels have 60 Hertz, and there are very few panels having 144 hertz of refresh rate.
Credit goes to IPS Panel
Response time
Response time is another important thing you should consider when buying a monitor, TV, or panel. Response time is the time taken by the display to change one color to another.
It is measured in milliseconds, and the lower the time, the better the picture quality or experience. There is a huge difference in response time between VA and IPS panels.
The IPS display has a faster response time; therefore, it is popular in gaming monitors.
If you are a gamer or planning to buy a monitor, make sure to consider it has an IPS panel. VA panels have a lower response rate. There is always a couple of milliseconds difference in IPS and VA panels.
Credit goes to IPS Panel
How to Identify Which Panel Type a Particular TV is Using?
It is easy to differentiate between IPS and VA panels on TVs and Monitors. There is no science and tech behind it; if you have a habit of watching IPS or VA-based panels.
You can easily differentiate them. There are two main attributes to identify the VA and IPS panel on your TV.
You can differentiate between IPS and VA panels by looking at the viewing angle. As mentioned earlier IPS panel has a wide viewing angle and low contrast ratio.
Similarly, VA panels have a low viewing angle but high contrast ratio. You can check these attributes by looking at monitors or TV.
However, if you have a problem identifying VA and IPS panels, I recommend checking TVs or Monitor packing. There you will find an entire specification of TVs or monitor along with display type.
If there is no such information about display type or specification. Go to the manufacturer’s official website and search for your TV model and kind. Here you will find complete details on your TV along with panel information.
So What Should You Buy?
Now here comes the most crucial part of the article. What should you buy? I am sure most of you might be confused after reading this article as both panels have their advantages and disadvantages.
But, don’t worry, the main difference between IPS and VA panels is the arrangement of liquid crystals.
This crystal alignment creates a difference in picture quality and performance of the picture on the panel.
As we all know, VA panels have low viewing angles and a high contrast rate. Therefore, VA panels are suitable for office, study, and viewing your favorite program but from a straight angle. Similarly, if you are in need of a mixed-type panel, you can go for a VA panel.
On the other hand, the IPS panel is best for video editing, entertainment, gaming, and content creation, and more importantly, it has excellent color and accuracy.
Depending upon your use case and needs, you can select any panel. If you have read this article fully, I hope that you don’t have any confusion between the IPS and VA panels.
Besides this, if you have any query or question related to the panel, write your problem down in the comment.
IPS And VA Panel Comparision Table
| FACTOR | VA | IPS |
|---|---|---|
| Picture Quality | Good | Decent |
| Viewing Angles | Limited | Broad |
| Contrast Ratio | Very high (6000:1) | Mediocre (1000:1) |
| Response Time | Lowest Up to 1ms ( offers a “quick” response ) Highest 16 ms ( slow response ) | Lowest Up to 0.5ms ( offers an “instant” response ) Highest 16 ms ( slow response ) |
| Lowest is good For Gamers less than 2 ms For Normal users less than 5ms | Lowest is good For Gamers less than 2 ms For Normal users less than 5ms | |
| Refresh Rate | Highest Up to 144 Hz,160 Hz, 165 Hz, 240 Hz Lowest Up to 60 Hz,75 Hz, 100 Hz The highest Refresh Rate is Great | Highest Up to 144 Hz,160 Hz, 165 Hz, 240 Hz, 280 Hz, 360 Hz Lowest Up to 60 Hz,75 Hz, 100 Hz The highest Refresh Rate is Great |
| Black Uniformity | Good | Ok |
| Performance | Ok response time, high refresh rate, and low input lag | Great response time and highest refresh rates |
| Best For | Office or study usage, online games, and pro PC gamers. | Digital artists and programmers |
| Price | Average | Costly |
Tanmoy Misra found his love for tech early in life when he got his first Nintendo (NES) console. He spent many hours blowing into cartridges to no avail until inspiration struck and he started taking apart and rebuilding anything that didn’t work. After dropping console gaming at the end of high school, Tanmoy entered the world of PC online gaming. His love of gaming and problem-solving soon led him to build his computers. As per expertise, he is an ISF-certified video calibrator and covering AV for a number of publications since 2018.
He is a consistent contributor to BSL. He is also an Imaging Science Foundation level II certified video calibrator like Bishnu. He has been contributing to BSL for more than 2 years. He is a multi-talented technical person but primarily focused on the part in which he holds the foremost authority. Abhishek has tested and reviewed smart TVs for popular sites like HomeTheaterReview.com and has every tool and knowledge required for objective testing.
Bishnu is a multi-talented professional with years of experience as an editor and marketer. He loves to buy the product online and moreover he holds some deep knowledge on technical terms. In his free time, he likes to play games without any disturbance and traveling the globe.
