IPS panel always ahead of VA panel

Subhro Prakash Ghosh

Innovation never gets stagnant. It always has incessant flow, sometimes touches crest and at times trough. But it never ends. In every field innovation is constant. If we look into the electronic world, among the most striking innovations happened in the last decade, the television technology has reached the pinnacle with the introduction of LCD (liquid crystal display), LED (light emitting diode) and 3D TVs. The television sets consisting of conventional CRT (cathode ray tube) are getting a gradual shift to ‘no interest’. This is also due to the constant falling price of the LCD and LED televisions.

The concept of LCD came in before, and later the introduction of LED TV reduced the former’s impression, however, the latter product costs comparatively high. However, both the categories are based on the VA (Vertical Alignment) technology. But after going through an inclusive research on the usage of VA panel, it has been noticed that VA consists of numerous drawbacks and fails to meet the criteria of the manufacturers, as well as end-consumers.

VA panel is manufactured by the joint venture of Sony and Samsung. In VA display, the liquid crystal material naturally exists in a vertical state. When there is no voltage, the liquid crystal cell remains perpendicular to the substrate. This generates a black display. Whereas when voltage is applied, the liquid crystal cells immediately take the horizontal shift, i.e., parallel to the substrate, thus allowing light to pass through and creating a white display. As cited about the drawbacks, such as – both Samsung and Sony claim a viewing angle of 178⁰ but in actual case color shift happens with the change of viewing angle. The picture quality is not adequate in giving a sense of ‘realness’ to the audience. The screen composed of VA panel will always have lighting and tailing when touched.

If there are so many disadvantages involved with VA panel, why should we opt for the televisions made up of VA panel? And above all when we are having an alternative option. I don’t know if you have heard about IPS technology or not, but trust me, this is the superior alternative we have till date. IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel technology was developed by Hitachi in 1996. The purpose of Hitachi was solving some limitations of TN (Twisted Nematic) matrices, i.e., poor viewing angles and color reproduction. However, albeit launched around 15 years back, this IPS technology has taken its height with lots of innovations and modifications made in it.

There are lots of advantages of using TV comprised of IPS panel. IPS panel has fast response speed compared to VA panel, and displays accurate and consistent color from any viewing angle. While changing the angle, there will be no color change at all. The picture quality completely gives a sense of ‘realness’ to the audience. Whereas IPS panel displays stable images when it is touched, no option of lighting and tailing common to VA panel. Considering its advantages, LG and Hitachi are presently applying the IPS technology in their televisions.

LG LED TV having IPS panel

In India and other countries, LG products implemented with IPS technology are receiving tremendous response. It has also been noticed that customers using the Samsung and Sony products, composed of VA panel, have replaced with LG products. If you will find in Wikipedia the advantages of IPS panel, conversely the disadvantages of using VA panel. Hence, when the world is voting for IPS panel, you should also do the same with no controversy.