IPS glow seen by a former TN owner

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

x3sphere

Senior member
Jul 22, 2009
722
24
81
www.exophase.com
My 34UM95 looks fine in a dark room. There is only some glow at the far left/right corners and I barely notice it as it's hitting my peripheral vision anyway.

It was a much bigger problem on the 3008WFP it replaced.
 

Hi-Fi Man

Senior member
Oct 19, 2013
601
120
106
If you want (relative to IPS, TN, etc.) deep blacks, high contrast ratios, 8-bit panels without FRC, little backlight bleed, and no glow than you should look into an LCD with a VA type panel. They blow away other panel types as far as blacks and contrast ratios are concerned and that's why I picked my BenQ GW2750. Only problem is if you want resolutions higher than 1080p but manufacturers are working on that.
 

hawtdawg

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2005
1,223
7
81
LCD technology sucks for blacks, thats just reality. This is why I own plasma TV's
 

hawtdawg

Golden Member
Jun 4, 2005
1,223
7
81
If you want (relative to IPS, TN, etc.) deep blacks, high contrast ratios, 8-bit panels without FRC, little backlight bleed, and no glow than you should look into an LCD with a VA type panel. They blow away other panel types as far as blacks and contrast ratios are concerned and that's why I picked my BenQ GW2750. Only problem is if you want resolutions higher than 1080p but manufacturers are working on that.


VA gamma shifting is just as irritating as any TN or IPS shortcoming.
 

soska66

Junior Member
May 18, 2014
15
0
0
I ended up ordering Dell P2414H, which is an IPS. There's a 14 days 'cooling off' period within which I can return the product without reason, so will try it out and see how it works.

If I like and keep it, I'm thinking my next monitor would be 120Hz VA - sounds like a best option (tho quite expensive atm)
 

MrPickins

Diamond Member
May 24, 2003
9,125
792
126
Don't game in a dark room, problem solved

My problem is not the dark room, but the dark games. Especially ArmaII/DayZ which can be very dark.

That's when I'm most bothered by the IPS glow (on my Asus PA248Q).

I do love the vibrant, accurate color, though.
 

soska66

Junior Member
May 18, 2014
15
0
0
I usually play 'dark' games in a dark room but always with a small source of light in the corner of the room (lamp)

If IPS is shit in terms of playing in dark room, will just send it back. Or perhaps bring it to work and convince my boss to buy it from me ;)
Not sure if I mentioned that before, but it turned out my TV is IPS. It has IPS glow but it never bothered me to date and I can barely see it now (even when watching horror flicks). I also used to play games on it a bit in the past and never felt something is wrong. I wonder how this compares to Dell screen I'm getting
 
Last edited:

TeknoBug

Platinum Member
Oct 2, 2013
2,084
31
91
Dealing with colors on a TN is a royal pain in the rear, but thankfully my BneQ TN monitor has picture modes and "Movie" is the closest thing to traditional colors, my LG IPS looks phenominal and still is 5ms response which is just fine for gaming- I too notice a tiny bit of light leak on the bottom of my IPS monitor, but it doesn't bother me and I've never had an issue with playing in a dark room with an IPS (although I always have a lamp on behind the monitor, my eyes can't deal with dark surrounding). I have had a few cell phones with the very same issue and depending on the quality of the cell phone, it can get annoying.

VA panels are actually quite good too.
 

Mantrid-Drone

Senior member
Mar 15, 2014
353
49
91
As somebody who games in what was used as a darkroom and is still blacked out I can only confirm what others have said about IPS 'glow' or light bleed with my Dell U2412M. At present I just use it with a XB360.

The fact is it is noticeable in all four corners extending to a lesser extent along the edges. If you weren't in a darkroom and only played brightly lit, colourful games you'd be more than happy because of the PQ is otherwise great. But anything dark like for instance Metro 2033 which takes place mostly in under lit tunnels and rooms, it is obvious. Whilst it certainly doesn't ruin games I sure wish it wasn't there.

I have an ordinary Dell SE177FP 17" 5:4 TN panel I bought secondhand three years ago. I use it in the same room attached to a laptop and that, despite its undoubtedly lower contrast and far less accurate colours, displays, at the optimum viewing angle, blacks which too my eye look as good as the IPS but, for me more importantly, it is even across the whole panel. No significant light-bleed at all.
 

Mantrid-Drone

Senior member
Mar 15, 2014
353
49
91

Wow, that looks very good but so it should for the price (typically £450+ inc. VAT/delivery in the UK).
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
I have an older VA panel as my main screen. About the same time I got it, a friend got a pair of 22" Dell IPS panels. I noticed the "glow" on his screens immediately, and would describe it as the screens getting brighter when viewed from an angle (and the edges are indeed at a different angle than the center). I strongly preferred my VA.

Fast forward 7 years and I upgrade my wife's screen to a 27" Viewsonic IPS. I actually looked for a VA, but the price was right. In all honesty, I'd swap my VA for her screen in a heartbeat now. The glow effect is much reduced over older IPS panels, colors are better still, and overall it's just a pleasure to look at.
 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
171
106
I have a 6 year old TN panel and am afraid to jump to either 120hz TN or an IPS. Hoping something with less obvious drawbacks comes out soon. G-Sync... 120hz IPS... something that merges the tech.

Then again if I (or anyone) is happy with an OLD 5ms blacklight bleed crazy TN panel then I'd have to imagine I'd be happy with anything new. TN's have gotten better over the years I've heard... and so has other display tech.
 

soska66

Junior Member
May 18, 2014
15
0
0
I have a 6 year old TN panel and am afraid to jump to either 120hz TN or an IPS. Hoping something with less obvious drawbacks comes out soon. G-Sync... 120hz IPS... something that merges the tech.

Then again if I (or anyone) is happy with an OLD 5ms blacklight bleed crazy TN panel then I'd have to imagine I'd be happy with anything new. TN's have gotten better over the years I've heard... and so has other display tech.

Went thru the same thinking process. You would think such opinion would make your choice easier. It doesn't :)
 

MoJoSoDOPE

Member
May 13, 2014
53
0
0
edge bleed does have nothing to do with the panel. its the pressure that the bezel or glue holidng the panel together being applied. i compared my TN to a IPS and i don't really notice any glow that i experience. im using ASUS 23" vh238h and thinking about switching to NIXEUS Vue 27" since i liked the tech of IPS and the quality of the picture and color from NIXEUS
 

soska66

Junior Member
May 18, 2014
15
0
0
No one doubts in IPS' color quality, angles etc. I created this thread to discuss the glow (and/or bleed combined with the glow) on IPS. Because, stupid or not, this is the first thing I'm going to test. If I run Metro, Outlast or Amnesia and I see glow disturbing my gameplay, will get rid off the screen and go back to TN
 

x3sphere

Senior member
Jul 22, 2009
722
24
81
www.exophase.com
I usually play 'dark' games in a dark room but always with a small source of light in the corner of the room (lamp)

If IPS is shit in terms of playing in dark room, will just send it back. Or perhaps bring it to work and convince my boss to buy it from me ;)
Not sure if I mentioned that before, but it turned out my TV is IPS. It has IPS glow but it never bothered me to date and I can barely see it now (even when watching horror flicks). I also used to play games on it a bit in the past and never felt something is wrong. I wonder how this compares to Dell screen I'm getting

Is your TV full array local dimming? That eliminates IPS glow completely (and any blacklight bleeding issues).

It's only used on very high end sets typically though. No monitors use it unfortunately.
 

blackened23

Diamond Member
Jul 26, 2011
8,548
2
0
The IPS glow varies and is actually not quite as bad on recent model IPS panels. I have definitely seen IPS glow, though, and it doesn't bother me. I will say that the type of coating used on the IPS panel has a HUGE effect on this. What i've noticed is that glossy and full matte IPS panels don't have much in the way of IPS glow, while many semi glossy panels seem to be the worst hit. My theory is that the brightness of IPS panels in general is so great that it can cause the phenomenon.

It simply doesn't bother me. For productivity, even with IPS glow in mind, it isn't noticeable unless you really sperg out over it IMO. And the benefits of IPS far outweigh the cons of TN panels.

Now I do like TN panels for gaming, but for actual work, it really isn't a contest. IPS is just leagues better.
 

Micrornd

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2013
1,390
246
106
I'm just going to put this out there - You get what you pay for, period.

I'm lucky enough to have 5 NEC LCD2490WUXi monitors.
Mine are 24" H-IPS 60hz panels made in 2007 and 2008.
(they were also available in 26" and 30" panels)
They have 0 glow and 0 backlight bleed (even with auto-dimming "off").

I don't believe there is anything that is not adjustable on these monitors, from cable length compensation to automatic ccfl color temp. compensation.

7 year old tech, still not matched, except for a few extremely top end monitors.

OEMs are not going to take the time to make "decent" monitors, as long as the market continues to buy the "bottom end" monitors made with panels that are basically rejects (based on what is considered "quality")

The tech just hasn't advance enough, and the yield is still not high enough, to produce quality monitors at a bargain price.
There's just no way around it, if you want a high quality monitor, you're going to have to pay for it.
There still aren't any real "high quality" monitors at bargain prices.
 

Mantrid-Drone

Senior member
Mar 15, 2014
353
49
91
I have to admit that previously I didn't fully understand there was a specific phenomena ie. IPS glow which is a separate issue from backlight bleed. However if backlight bleed is present how can you tell to tell if the IPS glow is significant or not?

Whatever the cause of the lighter edges or corners, as soska66 indicated, for gamers and many less critical users these issues are more obvious and therefore more significant than some others.
 
Last edited:

blackened23

Diamond Member
Jul 26, 2011
8,548
2
0
If you don't want IPS glow, get an IPS panel with a matte coating. I haven't seen ANY matte IPS panel with IPS glow or backlight bleed. Whereas IPS is generally so bright that any type of semigloss may show the IPS glow phenomenon. That's my experience.

Whatever though. It's a non issue compared to the shortcomings of TN. IMO. I really feel like it's something you notice only if you're OCD about it and look for it non stop. That's my .02, however. There are plenty of high quality IPS panels without this problem. As with any technology, if you pay more, you will a lot of the time get more quality. So don't be surprised at IPS glow if you buy a 300$ korean panel.
 

XiandreX

Golden Member
Jan 14, 2011
1,172
16
81
Hi guys

Trying to get myself a new monitor and I've been doing a research for many days now. My PC usage is 80% games (non competitive, mainly single player) and 20% internet/work. I narrowed my search down to either an IPS (Dell P2414H) or one of the standard gaming 60Hz TN's in 200-300 quid range (eg BenQ RL2455HM)

Now, my main problem with IPS is I'm extremely concerned (scared even) of amount of glow that could possible take all the pleasure from using this screen (or even become annoying). Like I mentioned, I do play games a lot and I do like atmospheric or horror games with plenty of black color on screen. I'm used to what I have in terms of blacks on my current TN and I'd at least like to have the same. not worse.

I own an IPS TV from Phillips and I can definitely see the glow when watching a movie in a dark room (I'm yet to do a proper gaming test tho). The experience is of course slightly different as a) it is a different screen (brand, model), b) I watch from a bigger distance than I would a PC monitor.

I think my main question here is then directed to all gamers who had a TN screen not that long time ago (so they can still remember ;) ) and do play a lot of atmospheric games in a dark room. Can you tell your experience with the glow after switching to IPS panel? Is it annoying? Do you even notice it?

As I recently bought the P2414H I will chime in. This is my first IPS screen and I was worried as you are. However I can say, at least with mine that the glow is minor and not distracting.

The Color improvement is significant. I feel like I am using a proper screen for the first time. Its night and day. Movies are awesome now. Latency and lag is fine for Gaming. I don't play competitive FPS and for those situations I can see a 120Hz panel being ideal.
I did a lot of research and after reading TFTCentrals review of the P2414H I went ahead and bought one.
I have not looked back since and I will not buy another TN panel. :biggrin:

I want to add that I recently got back into Skyrim with many different mods, most for visual improvement and Skyrim looks so much better words don't do justice.
 
Last edited: