What is IPS panel?

What is IPS panel?

In-plane switching (IPS) was developed by Hitachi Ltd. in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angle and the poor color reproduction of TN panels at that time. Its name comes from the main difference from TN panels, that the crystal molecules move parallel to the panel plane instead of perpendicular to it（as shown in Figure 1）. This change reduces the amount of light scattering in the matrix, which gives IPS its characteristic wide viewing angles and good color reproduction.

As a global leader in liquid crystal display technology manufacturers, LG Display's IPS technology LCD panels have been favoured unanimously by industrial professionals. Top brands such as EIZO, NEC, APPLE, and other professional display products, are using IPS Hard-screen LCD technology to meet the demanding requirements of colors for industrial professionals in design, printing, aerospace, medical imaging.

The most visual difference is that, direct touch on IPS hard-screen doesn't effect ripple when touching VA / TN soft screen, as shown in Figure 2.

How to tell IPS panels?

1). Touch it and check whether there is a ripple; if yes, It is soft screen instead of IPS panel;
2). Use magnifier and check the pixels arrangements, see  as below:

IPS technology LCD has several advantages compared with TN panels:

1. It delivers the real blur-free dynamic videos.

What Are the Different Versions?

• IPS  - IPS stands for 'In Plane Switching' which was originally developed by Hitachi in 1996. This original version had some obvious limitations and has been through several generations sinces its initial development. It was produced to combat the two main issues with TN matrices, those being limited viewing angles and low-quality colour reproduction. As already stated, the main manufacturer of IPS technology today is LG.Display (prev LG.Philips)
   
• S-IPS  - 'Super IPS' was the first major development in IPS technology, helping to overcome some of the original drawbacks and now offering some improved response times and lower production costs. You will still see S-IPS mentioned in modern displays (e.g. HP still refer to their LP2475W as having an S-IPS panel on their website) and LG.Display still refer to their technology as S-IPS on their website in many cases. This is probably still the most generic name used for IPS panels in the market.
   
• AS-IPS  - 'Advanced Super IPS' hasn't really been seen much, but was used by NEC to promote their NEC 20WGX2 when it was launched. This was supposedly a custom made and tweaked panel produced by LG.Display exclusively for the 20WGX2, and it was characterised by an excellent response time, something which was really a first in the IPS market.
  
  
  
  
  

Advantages

• IPS panels display consistent and accurate color from all viewing angles.
• Unlike TN LCDs, IPS panels do not lighten or show tailing when touched. This is important for touchscreen devices, such as smartphone and tablet
• IPS panels can process high speed signals without data loss by using copper wiring with low resistance values.
• IPS Panels offer clear images and stable response time.

• Disadvantages

  • IPS panels have slower response times and are therefore more prone to the gosting effect.
  • IPS panels require up to 15% more power consumption than TN displays.

via (ronbenmultimedia.com& wiki)