IPS vs TN if you dont print pics

I have a question, in looking into the dell 2209wa there were some complaints or accusations that dell couldnt keep up with production and some of the monitors they provided used a TN screen and not the ips. People on the internet gave the advice that the main way you can tell these two screens apart was by looking at it at a wide angle and the colors would be the same. I would think that the ips screen would be aparant by just looking at it? So is there a noticeable difference in colors or do you need to look carefully at it...kinda like pixal peeping? Now I dont have a ips monitor and the city i live in doesnt have any to view so I cant look at a ips and tn monitor side by side to see the difference. So for those who have experience with ips what are your thoughts? Remeber i dont print pics.

Point isn't print vs non-print, it's accurate vs not accurate, regardless of the medium. Might as well ask "why bother color correcting video films when they are just going into some random uncalibrated screen". If you don't put the photos online, and don't print, then maybe there's no point, but any time you want others to look at it, the closer you are to a standard, the closer you are to getting the image to look the same regardless of where it is (at least on average)

elitejp wrote in post #8994421
I have a question, in looking into the dell 2209wa there were some complaints or accusations that dell couldnt keep up with production and some of the monitors they provided used a TN screen and not the ips.

I've read countless reviews and threads discussing this monitor and have never heard that suggested or implied. Perhaps you misunderstood. Dell may go to a another supplier of IPS panels which may not meet the quality control standards of the original manufacturing batch from LG, but I don't think they'd be stupid enough to publish "IPS" in their specs and then deliver a TN panel.

But Jeez... at this price range, what are your alternatives? By comparison, I'd say my Dell 2209WA is superior in color accuracy and rendering shadow detail as compared to similar priced 22" TN displays and it's equal to the 21" Apple displays we use at my office.

The panel lottery was a major issue with Dell over the 2007WFP 20" model. So far though, I have seen no reputable sources saying this was going on with the 2209wa.

Maybe i was wrong about the 2209wa and the tn or ips, that point really doesnt matter to me. My question is do you se a noticeable difference between these two type of panels when you are looking at your pictures? For example i can see a pretty big difference in a regular laptop monitor compared to a desktop monitor.

Basroil: I think your argument tends to argue a calibrated ips vs a non calibrated TN. Im assuming you can calibrate a a TN. And I am asuming that most people dont have a ips monitors, nor have they calibrated their monitor so putting your pics up on web is prob a gamble on what people see. But I do understand your point of having a standard.

elitejp wrote in post #9000574
My question is do you se a noticeable difference between these two type of panels when you are looking at your pictures?

I answered this question:

Is the difference as noticeable with a $300 IPS paneled display as compared with a $2,000 Eizo? Of course not! But a $300-$500 USD display WILL look noticeably better than a cheap TN display. That is, if you're looking for better color accuracy, shadow detail, etc.

elitejp wrote in post #9000574
...Im assuming you can calibrate a a TN.

Of the people who post saying they are having difficulty calibrating their monitor, more often than not, they are trying to calibrate a cheap TN display.

IPS monitors just look a LOT better than TN monitors period. At work I have a 24" TN. I do nothing with graphics at work and it still drives me nuts. Just browing the internet and using Word. The monitor is so big and the off-angle color shift is so bad that I can see the color shift on the right side of the screen, out of the corner of my eye, while I am reading something on the left side of the screen (and have my head turned that way). I would not recommend a TN panel to anyone unless price was your only consideration. I have a viewsonix vx2025w which is a P-MVA and those are much better than TN as well. But not nearly as nice as the IPS in my Dell 2005FPW

I went to a local hardware store last weekend to take a look at the IPS panels and really couldn't see what the fuzz is all about. Sure the viewing angles were a bit better than with TN panels but I'm sitting in front of the computer and not under it and can't see any of the problems mrknowitall is mentioning.

Most of my photos end up in web and TN panel is the dominant medium currently so isn't it better to have one of those on my own desk as well?

The IPS panel I looked was HP LP2475w (580€) and I ended up buying Samsung T240HD (340€) and Spyder3 Elite for color calibration. The 1920x1200 resolution I was after was the limiting factor here (thankfully as there are kazillion displays out there with 1920x1080 resolution!).

That little Spyder did a nice job, the before and after images especially were quite eye-opening.

Tatexi wrote in post #9023577
I went to a local hardware store last weekend to take a look at the IPS panels and really couldn't see what the fuzz is all about.

If/when you print photos, you'll find out.

Tatexi wrote in post #9023577
Most of my photos end up in web and TN panel is the dominant medium currently so isn't it better to have one of those on my own desk as well?

Think of it this way... If you measure a line using a ruler with a 0.5+/- precision, than take your measurement and draw a new line using that same ruler, the inaccuracy of the reproduced line is not 0.5+/-, it's now 1.0+/-. If you start with an imprecise display device, the image will only get worse when reproduced with another imprecise device.

Tatexi wrote in post #9023577
I went to a local hardware store last weekend to take a look at the IPS panels and really couldn't see what the fuzz is all about. Sure the viewing angles were a bit better than with TN panels but I'm sitting in front of the computer and not under it and can't see any of the problems mrknowitall is mentioning.

Your local hardware store runs all monitors on a single VGA output.... It's like going to a car dealership and having them let you drive it around a 30' by 30' parking lot section... After they give you 30s worth of fuel.

basroil wrote in post #9025134
Your local hardware store runs all monitors on a single VGA output.... It's like going to a car dealership and having them let you drive it around a 30' by 30' parking lot section... After they give you 30s worth of fuel.

lol I totally forgot about that as i had to deal with the same problem when buying a hdtv what i would love to hear from is people who have dual monitor setups...one a ips and one a tn and then ask anybody besides yourself who hasnt been indoctrinated with which monitor is better and have them look at it and tell you if they see a huge improvement? Im not trying to argue (just learning and getting others opinions) but with the current Dell display that I use at work i see no color shift and i need to seriously put it at a large angle before the colors go bad. Of course I dont think i could think of any reason to ever view a monitor from a 180 degree angle, whethor ts ips or tn

Don't have IPS+TN, but do have a 2408WFP (P-VA, pretty much the same as a wide gamut IPS screen) and a S2409W (your average TN screen). No comparison, especially where colors are close to saturation... given, the S2409W isn't calibrated at all, but I can tell you right now it wouldn't even matter, the 2408WFP would win even if it wasn't calibrated and the S2409W was. Then again, the 2408WFP is known for it's high quality, wide gamut, and ridiculous contrast/brightness (can be turned down a bit, maybe not enough for printing though)

I have an IPS as secondary screen on my desktop (older 17" ACD). It is leagues better then the TN screen on my laptop. (Not too surprising that. A "desktop TN will be better then this)

For reference two versions of the same image.
One is limited to the Laptop screens gamut, the other is sRGB. (both converted to sRGB for posting on the web)

Limited to the Powerbooks gamut:

Elitejp... All the supporting arguments are laid out here. But if you can't see the difference between an IPS display and a TN, then in your world there IS no difference. Just get a TN. You'll be perfectly happy.

Put a fork in it... This discussion is DONE!

I'll go ahead and ask it: what do 'IPS' and 'TN' stand for and what do they mean in regards to image quality?