IPS or VA

[t2na]

Some of the higher end VA panels aren't too bad but I'm largely in agreement with everyone here that IPS is better. I briefly used a 240hz 1080p VA monitor from AOC - and whilst a good monitor it never felt like it was able to keep up with that refresh rate.

Compared to the 1080p 240hz IPS monitor that I replaced it with (AW2521HFL) which, even taking into account the poor contrast, just blew it out of the water.

If I was buying a monitor now and it was between those two, I'd go with IPS.

 

[Vimes]

I only bought one VA monitor, a 34"UW Samsung...... Oh my was it bad.
The text was problematic in reading at the desktop. I can't remember the precise details now, but the sharpening used to try and enhance it made it look terrible. Limited options to change.
The smear and black type crush in certain games, with a type of trailing being noted, at times, was very off putting.
Whether that was typical or not, I did not try a VA again. I'll take an IPS with all of its hobnomolies over trying another VA.

Due to a total avoidance of VA type monitors I assumed that they had been largely marginalised these days.

 

[hornetstinger]

I only bought one VA monitor, a 34"UW Samsung...... Oh my was it bad.
The text was problematic in reading at the desktop. I can't remember the precise details now, but the sharpening used to try and enhance it made it look terrible. Limited options to change.
The smear and black type crush in certain games, with a type of trailing being noted, at times, was very off putting.
Whether that was typical or not, I did not try a VA again. I'll take an IPS with all of its hobnomolies over trying another VA.

Due to a total avoidance of VA type monitors I assumed that they had been largely marginalised these days.

I only see trails in specific dark scenes, not always
No issue with sharpness.

I've seen IPS glow and it's pretty annoying

Not saying VA is perfect but it's hardly trash like couple of people above said

 

[deviation]

Some of the higher end VA panels aren't too bad but I'm largely in agreement with everyone here that IPS is better. I briefly used a 240hz 1080p VA monitor from AOC - and whilst a good monitor it never felt like it was able to keep up with that refresh rate.

Compared to the 1080p 240hz IPS monitor that I replaced it with (AW2521HFL) which, even taking into account the poor contrast, just blew it out of the water.

If I was buying a monitor now and it was between those two, I'd go with IPS.

"Aren't too bad" isn't a sentence me or my wallet likes though. The same as I wouldn't 'put up' with OLED's doing that shuddering or whatever it's nickname is, 'sensitive to it' or not, it shouldn't be doing it for that price, so I couldn't allow that at any price, let alone OLED money.

I strongly believe there is never a situation where you'd choose VA over IPS. I've had both, and never has the VA been 'better' in every way, like an IPS always is.
Also the viewing angles of a VA are laughable!
TV wise again IPS has always won, I had a rather expensive IPS 120Hz gaming TV last year, after a VA with all the fancy NanoCell QNED stuff, and the IPS still looked the same if not better, the VA however, was horrific for gaming, despite being 120Hz/VRR/ALLM/Freesync Premium Pro, but the IPS, did it all, perfectly.

Monitor wise, again I can't see in what world anyone could justify the sacrafise of a VA versus IPS, ever.

 

[hornetstinger]

"Aren't too bad" isn't a sentence me or my wallet likes though. The same as I wouldn't 'put up' with OLED's doing that shuddering or whatever it's nickname is, 'sensitive to it' or not, it shouldn't be doing it for that price, so I couldn't allow that at any price, let alone OLED money.

I strongly believe there is never a situation where you'd choose VA over IPS. I've had both, and never has the VA been 'better' in every way, like an IPS always is.
Also the viewing angles of a VA are laughable!
TV wise again IPS has always won, I had a rather expensive IPS 120Hz gaming TV last year, after a VA with all the fancy NanoCell QNED stuff, and the IPS still looked the same if not better, the VA however, was horrific for gaming, despite being 120Hz/VRR/ALLM/Freesync Premium Pro, but the IPS, did it all, perfectly.

Monitor wise, again I can't see in what world anyone could justify the sacrafise of a VA versus IPS, ever.

Viewing angles of VA are fine, don't know what you're talking about. Sure you didn't have TN?

For bright scenes, there is no trailing.Played Doom Eternal that's fine

 

[deviation]

Viewing angles of VA are fine, don't know what you're talking about. Sure you didn't have TN?

For bright scenes, there is no trailing.Played Doom Eternal that's fine

Some of them. Not all. I guess you've had better luck than me dude.
"VA panels generally have narrower viewing angles compared to IPS panels, which can lead to color and contrast distortion when viewed from the side. While they offer excellent contrast ratios, the picture quality may degrade if viewed at extreme angles."

I played loads of current AAA games on that high end VA gaming TV last year, and there was trailing, and it did not like certain shadows etc around objects, RE4R at the beginning was very easy to demonstrate this, you'd move quickly and the smear was ridiculous.
Garbage.

Sent it back, got an IPS with the same featureset, played the same games, never had the same issues.

 

[Vimes]

I only see trails in specific dark scenes, not always
No issue with sharpness.

I've seen IPS glow and it's pretty annoying

Not saying VA is perfect but it's hardly trash like couple of people above said

Of all the peripherals or components associated with a PC I totally dislike buying a monitor the most. At best it is a panel lottery, seemingly regardless of the money spent.

IIRC the Samsung locked some of its settings when a custom mode was selected. I can't remember the details now, but I do know the text at the desktop, websites and within Word were not good and not could it be made acceptable.
Games, I even seem to have recollection of color shift across the 34", that was noticeable to a point.

Yes, it could have been a bad example, apart from some locked settings, but it did put me off from trying another.
Understanding my total aversion to buying monitors.
But I am not tempted to try a VA again, OLED at some point.
That does NOT make IPS perfect...!

You always need to choose your retailer with care, imo, when it comes to monitor buying times...... for a decent returns policy.

By and large Dell have done well in the past for me.

 

[Gray2233]

Viewing angles of VA are fine, don't know what you're talking about. Sure you didn't have TN?

For bright scenes, there is no trailing.Played Doom Eternal that's fine

It could be that you won the proverbial panel lottery or just aren't as sensitive to it as others are.

As others have mentioned, it's the sort of thing where if you notice it one time it sticks in your mind and becomes more and more noticeable to the point it never goes away. It's one of the most infuriating things to deal with on any kind of monitor as far as I'm concerned, for a TV there's arguments to be made but I'd struggle to recommend VA for desktop/gaming use unless someone can't afford an OLED and really hates IPS glow/bloom.

 

[deviation]

It could be that you won the proverbial panel lottery or just aren't as sensitive to it as others are.

As others have mentioned, it's the sort of thing where if you notice it one time it sticks in your mind and becomes more and more noticeable to the point it never goes away. It's one of the most infuriating things to deal with on any kind of monitor as far as I'm concerned, for a TV there's arguments to be made but I'd struggle to recommend VA for desktop/gaming use unless someone can't afford an OLED and really hates IPS glow/bloom.

This!

 

[t2na]

Of all the peripherals or components associated with a PC I totally dislike buying a monitor the most. At best it is a panel lottery, seemingly regardless of the money spent.

Completely agree with this - and I really love monitors. I feel like that 'unicorn' monitor is out there somewhere, it's just finding it that's the real issue.

My wife regularly teases me about the volume of monitors I seem to go through - although I have sold off the majority of them recently with a room move.

I don't necessarily think OLED is the future either, whilst I love my OLED monitors, I think there's still other panel types that can compete in more than just gaming too.

 

[deviation]

Completely agree with this - and I really love monitors. I feel like that 'unicorn' monitor is out there somewhere, it's just finding it that's the real issue.

My wife regularly teases me about the volume of monitors I seem to go through - although I have sold off the majority of them recently with a room move.

I don't necessarily think OLED is the future either, whilst I love my OLED monitors, I think there's still other panel types that can compete in more than just gaming too.

What have you been told about not bringing your work home with you!
You:

 

[Rroff]

I don't necessarily think OLED is the future either, whilst I love my OLED monitors, I think there's still other panel types that can compete in more than just gaming too.

OLED certainly hasn't hit end game perfection yet - I still use my old Dell S2716DG TN for a lot of stuff and while I own OLED displays I don't use them in my daily driver setup - in fact I'm currently using a 16" 2560x1600 130Hz IPS, the Dell and the Philips 436M6 (43" UHD w/ HDR) on my desk.

 

[Rob_B]

I had a curved VA (as all the cheap curved monitors are) so viewing angles weren't an issue whatsoever. I do miss the curve, it absolutely makes a difference.

 

[Gray2233]

I don't necessarily think OLED is the future either, whilst I love my OLED monitors, I think there's still other panel types that can compete in more than just gaming too.

In terms of raw image quality I don't think much has come close to plasma yet, and in more modern times there's some fantastic mini-led/FALD displays out there.

Laser projectors are really coming along too, I've said this before but if I was in the market for a TV over the 65" size I'd get a nearfield projector instead. While OLED is still superior in most respects, I'd argue the gap in quality isn't that big and frankly from a longevity/practicality standpoint it's easier. Response times and refresh rates are getting up there for the technology too so it makes for valid big screen gaming.

 

[Ilstar57]

VA panels suffer from two major faults: black smearing and VRR flicker. The first relates to the very poor pixel response around dark colors. This can lead to smearing of the image in darker areas during movement (especially rapid movement). For example, an acquaintance of mine plays racing games. On his VA monitor, he cannot see the textures on the buttons on his dark car interior while racing, as the black colors smear too much. It's fine if he is stationary or only slowly moving the camera, but when at speed - the blacks smear too much. Some people find this acceptable, others - intolerable. It's a personal preference.

The second relates to how VA monitors handle variable refresh rates (freesync/gsync). If you have a stable framerate, this is not an issue. However, if you have a variable framerate, dark scenes can appear to flicker - which can be annoying and distracting, in extreme cases even nauseating. Now, as I said, if your framerate is stable this isn't an issue, but then again the point of VRR is to handle, you know, variable refresh rates. The intensity of this flicker depends on the variance in the framerate, as well as some monitor specificities, but most, if not all VA monitors are affected by this to some extent. OLED monitors also suffer from this issue, but not IPS or TN panels.

So whether or not you'll like a VA panel can largely depend on your ability to tolerate the aforementioned issues. If you can, then VA panels have a lot to offer. VA panels generally have a much better contrast ratio than IPS. Currently, VA panels offer the cheapest price points for entry into true HDR at far below the price of OLEDs. That could be a compelling reason to go for a VA panel. Besides this, however, I find them difficult to recommend. I suggest playing around with a VA panel, either at a friend's house or at a physical location that carries them and seeing whether or not those issues bother you a lot. If this is not possible, then make sure you get a good return policy. If you'd rather not risk it - I'd go with IPS. While IPS has issues of it's own, like IPS glow and fake HDR support, these are generally far easier to avoid or stomach than the black smearing or VRR flicker. Plus, IPS panels typically have both a wider colour gamut and better colour accuracy. There's a reason the industry seems to be standardizing around IPS at the low and medium-price segments and OLED at the high-end, with VA and TN more as specialties for specific use cases (like low-cost HDR and ultra-high refresh rate e-sport gaming, respectively).

 

[deviation]

We shouldn't have to tollerate anything in world with the advances in modern tech and the excessive pricing structures.
It's a monitor for Christ sake? Nothing new here? How is it TV's are so far behind, and what are they, a monitor? This is nothing new? Yet modern TV's struggle with so many things that aren't new tech.
Then they give us nonsense like VA... Then give us it on TV's.
I wont live in a world where VA monitors exist there is zero benefit. They're the tech definition of grabbing at straws/a chocolate teapot.
VA can go in the bin, along with stuttering 24FPS panned shots, smearing, motion sickness, motion blur, burn-in, VR, 3D TV's, curved monitors and those pointless, stupid gyroscopic TV remotes!

 

[hornetstinger]

We shouldn't have to tollerate anything in world with the advances in modern tech and the excessive pricing structures.
We also shouldn't have to live in a world where VA monitors exist there is zero benefit. They're the tech definition of grabbing at straws/a chocolate teapot.
VA can go in the bin, along with stuttering 24FPS panned shots, smearing, motion blur, burn in, VR, 3D TV's, curved monitors and those pointless, stupid gyroscopic TV remotes!

Improved contrast ratio
A more even black level

Over reacting much?

I've seen IPS glow it's really horrid, junk, fit for the bin, all IPS monitors should be smashed into a million pieces, with the associate PC and house as well

 

[throwaway4372]

I think we can all agree that all panel types have major issues. Kinda crazy to see such a poor job done on a product everyone has.

 

[deviation]

Improved contrast ratio
A more even black level

Over reacting much?

I've seen IPS glow it's really horrid, junk, fit for the bin, all IPS monitors should be smashed into a million pieces, with the associate PC and house as well

Absolute marketing nonsense. If you believe that, you'll believe anything.

I've had some very expensive TV's (4 in the last 8 months) 2 VA, 2 IPS, along with 3 top end VA monitors, and the VA's were all junk and got sent back!
None of them, looked better than the other despite all the stupid marketing features such as QLED, QNED, NanoCell, blah blah blah.
Then when I went to game on them despite 120Hz for the TV's and ALLM, Freesync Premium Pro, VRR, etc, all just a blurry smeary mess, 1 of which gave me a headache. Awful. In the bin!

I guaranty if you were tricked into a test with a load of top of the line TV's monitors side by side with all these BS fancy new named VA features, you wouldn't know side by side static which was an IPS or VA based on the contrast/colour/black levels.

If you believe a VA looks better, than you're very susceptible to a marketing placebo.
As for IPS glow, never had that problem, nor seen it, genuinely - and I'd be the first to get very annoyed with something like that, as I do not 'accept' things like that when I pay a lot of money for something, I will never 'just live with the X' of something, hence why I wont own an OLED, because I would be very sensitive to the stutters etc... And don't deam it acceptable to have to put up with that on something costing thousands for a TV.

You're the only person defending VA in this thread, everyone else agrees the good does not outweigh the bad with VA, and has experienced all of it's flaws, yet none of your IPS issues.

 

[hornetstinger]

I'm not saying VA looks better in everything. I do notice the trailing in specific scenes. In brighter scenes it's fine. But both panel types have pros and cons.

However your rants are a bit extreme and laughable

As for VRR flicker I had that with old gpu as framerate was getting pretty low <60hz. But not an issue with 9070XT

IPS glow can be seen as uneven blacks- watch a movie and you can see it. Absolute junk lol

I'd say if VA can improve it's trailing I'd be happy with it. The angle thing isn't an issue with curved monitors.

Also edge lit is crap, that effects TN, VA and IPS