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PRINCIPLE ADVANTAGES OF IPS
In-Plane Switching (IPS) is a liquid crystal switching technology that addresses the problems that affected early TFT-LCD panels many years ago, including limited viewing angles, color shift and slow response times. Thanks to the roll-out of successive generations of IPS technology, all of these issues are now largely in the past, and high-end LCD TVs that combine an IPS-based panel with premium set electronics truly deliver a superior viewing experience.
| Wide viewing angle |
178° (U/D, L/R, off-axis) |
Natural color
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> 72% |
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| Smooth motion picture |
< 5ms (gray-to-gray with ODC) |
Long lifetime
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> 50,000 hours |
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High brightness
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400~600 nits |
High contrast
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1600:1 (with DCR)
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THE EVOLUTION OF IPS
The original IPS technology was developed some years ago by engineers at Hitachi as a way to overcome the poor viewing angle characteristics of early TFT-LCD technology. The basic principle was to change the physical behavior of the liquid crystal layer by having the molecules move in parallel to the TFT and color filter layers rather than at oblique angles. This fundamental change significantly lessened light scattering, and thus improved the picture uniformity and color fidelity when viewed from wide angles.
Several years later, LG.Philips LCD introduced Super IPS (S-IPS), which built upon the strengths of IPS by employing an advanced “multi-domain” liquid crystal alignment. S-IPS set a new standard in premium LCD panels by further improving viewing angle to up to 178° (U/D, L/R), increasing color fidelity, achieving gray-to-gray (GtG) response times of under 8ms (when combined with overdriving circuitry (ODC)) and max dynamic contrast ratio (DCR) of 1200:1.
Enhanced Super IPS (Enhanced S-IPS) is the newest generation of IPS technology, and takes the LCD viewing experience to the next level. Enhanced S-IPS improves upon the previous generation by extending the viewing angle benefits to off-axis directions, specifically at 45° to the horizontal and vertical. In addition, Enhanced S-IPS achieves response times of under 5ms (with ODC) and a DCR of 1600:1.
REAL-LIFE PERFORMANCE BENEFITS
While it is easy to compare flat panels based on a wide array of specifications, it can be more difficult to understand how these measurements impact the real-life experience of viewing the panel.
However, Enhanced S-IPS is a technology that affects the basic viewing experience in a clearly visible way.
WIDE VIEWING ANGLE
Enhanced S-IPS builds on S-IPS technology by providing the same 178° viewing angle from above and below and to the sides, and greatly improves the off-axis viewing experience by delivering crisp images with minimal color shift, even when viewed from off-axis angles such as 45°.
Enhanced Super IPS truly delivers a great viewing experience from virtually any angle.
RESPONSE TIME
In theory, an LCD needs to have a pixel switching response time of less than 16.7 milliseconds in order to display standard NTSC video material without flicker.
However, even at these switching speeds, LCDs can still suffer from motion blur or smearing when displaying fast motion video due to the eye’s visual perception. In order to help tackle this problem, Enhanced S-IPS delivers effective response times of less than 5ms gray-to-gray (GtG) when combined with overdrive circuitry (ODC). When an Enhanced S-IPS panel is put together with high-quality front-end electronics and technology such as scanning backlights or data insertion (DI), motion blur can be reduced to the point where it is almost undetectable.
CONTRAST RATIO
Similarly, Enhanced S-IPS enables ambient dynamic contrast ratios of up to 1600:1. This is a significant achievement, as it ensures that LCD panels can reproduce bright, vivid colors on the screen, without sacrificing deep black colors.
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