TN vs VA vs IPS: Which is the Right Panel for You?

While there are plenty of display technologies out there, the most common ones are the TN, VA, and IPS panels. Over the years, each of them has been significantly improved with revolutionary updates that can be seen on high-end monitors such as Samsung’s Odyssey series. Still, these panels greatly differ from one another, and choosing the right one depends on your purpose of use.

TN vs VA vs IPS: Which is the Right Panel for You?

In this article, we will be comparing these panels side-by-side to figure out the core differences between them and what type of tasks they are good for.

Panel Type	TN	VN	ISP
Viewing Angle	170/160	178/178	178/178
Contrast	1000:1	3000:1	1000:1
Color	Poor	Good	Best
Response Time	1ms	4-5ms	1-2ms

TN vs VA vs IPS

Viewing Angle

The very first and most obvious difference between these panels is the viewing angle. TN panel, in this case, has the weakest viewing angle, typically being 170 by 160 compared to the VA and IPS. When viewed from a horizontal or vertical perspective, they tend to lose a lot of color and contrast. To get the most out of them, you need to view them from the dead center. Although you might get a slightly better viewing angle on higher-end TN panels, it still is a big weakness for them.

The IPS panel, in this case, is the best. They often have a 178 by 178 Viewing angle, which is excellent and has a far less noticeable color shift compared to the TN panel. VA falls right between these two panels. Although they are not as great as the IPS, they get the job done with reasonable color and contrast shifts.

Brightness & Contrast

There is not that big of a difference between these monitors in terms of brightness. On average, you will experience 350+ Nits of brightness on them, which is ideal for playing games or working on productive tasks such as video editing.

In terms of contrast, however, the VA panel is significantly better than the other two. They often have a 3000 to 1 contrast ratio which outcompetes even the most modern IPS monitors. Naturally, the TN panels are the worst in producing deep blacks, while the IPS panels with their usual 1000 to 1 contrast ratio are slightly better.

Color Coverage & Gamut

These days, the monitor’s panels, whether TN, VA, or IPS, maintain a standard color coverage. So even in the worst color quality TN monitors, you get to see at least 95% of color spacing.

The variation can be found in the Gamut types and how wide they are. Most TN panels do not exceed 95% sRGB coverage, while most VA monitors incorporate 85 to 95% DCI-P3 color gamut. High-end IPS monitors can have up to 99% Adobe RGB color gamut, making them the best in terms of color reproduction.

Refresh Rate & Response Time

TN panels used to hold the crown of being the monitors with the highest refresh rate, followed by IPS and VA. In recent times, all three panels can reach 240Hz at Full HD resolution. With that being said, the highest refresh rate monitors currently available on the market can reach a maximum of 360Hz and has either the IPS or the VA Panel.

Response time has also dramatically improved on the IPS and VA panel, which used to be far behind what TN used to offer a couple of years back.

TN vs VA vs IPS: What’s the Best Display Panel Technology?

So it is safe to say that the TN panel is becoming obsolete since brands like Samsung and LG keep focusing more on the VA and IPS panel. It is losing all of its strong points and is not as practical as it used to be. However, from a budget perspective, it is quite cheap and affordable than the other two if you can care less about the viewing angle and color coverage.
VA Panel’s super-high contrast ratio makes it ideal for HDR content. And some high-end VA monitors have even better overall performance than IPS ones.