Display Tech Compared: TN vs. VA vs. IPS

[Scorpus]

When choosing a new computer monitor, the type of panel used by the display is a key piece of information that reveals a lot about how the monitor will behave and perform. By far the most common types of display panels are TN, IPS and VA.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/2322-display-tech-compared/

 

[madboyv1]

Excellent revisit of panel technology. I remember back about 15 years ago when I started buying IPS monitors exclusively, how I always had the tinge of envy of how fast TN panels were (refresh rate and especially input lag) and the contrast of VA panels. At the time I was getting hot and heavy with image editing so the color reproduction was my primary requirement in mind, so the choice was mostly obvious for me. But back then I had figured eventually VA panels would overtake IPS in technology and performance and in general cost less than IPS panels at the time, which helped bolster their rising popularity.

While VA panels (and to a much lesser extent TN) have certainly come a long a way since then, it makes me happy to see I am not left wanting for choices regarding IPS displays and, if I decide my pockets are sufficiently deep, I don't have to sacrifice overall performance anymore.

My only problem is during that span of time I went from having a single screen to three, so... $$$ hahaha.

 

[BSim500]

Nice article though I'd like to see a more in depth practical test on VA vs IPS in terms of what inverse ghosting, black crush, VA's smearing on dark scenes, etc, looks like with a more visual demonstration. Every time I look at VA monitors, I always end up on videos like this wondering why hardly anyone is mentioning the obvious when comments complain of seeing it on the same Samsung Odyssey G7 that gets praised here for fast G2G response times. Who to believe?...

 

[Sausagemeat]

A modern VA is my preferred choice. I’m not a “competitive” gamer, I like to play open world games, preferably with lots of bright colours and contrast - you know like the opposite of Fallout 3. The modern VAs don’t ghost at all and are the closest I’ve seen to OLED in terms of contrast and colour. IPS is better for tablets and phones etc because of the viewing angles but for a fixed monitor desktop gaming solution id pick VA (until OLED models come out).

As for TN I can’t stand it! I can understand why it’s a dying breed.

Great article.

 

[Grinnie Jax]

LCD -> OLED -> QLED.

 

[p51d007]

If you are "really" in search of color accuracy, especially if you are printing, spend the extra money and buy something like an x-rite i1 basic pro3.
I have to service production copiers and it just amazes me how many DON'T use those, then complain how the color on their computer screen, isn't what comes out of the printer.
At least the ones that have a fiery box come with one, so I don't get any complaints from them, IF they calibrate it like they are suppose to. PITA, but less work for me.

 

[ddferrari]

If you are "really" in search of color accuracy, especially if you are printing, spend the extra money and buy something like an x-rite i1 basic pro3.
I have to service production copiers and it just amazes me how many DON'T use those, then complain how the color on their computer screen, isn't what comes out of the printer.
At least the ones that have a fiery box come with one, so I don't get any complaints from them, IF they calibrate it like they are suppose to. PITA, but less work for me.

999 out of 1000 users have no use for this- and those that do already know about it. Good comment but irrelevant to the mainstream user!

 

[ddferrari]

OLED when they fix the burn-in issues will be the next big step.

Otherwise if you already have a good high refresh rate TN model, probably it's not actually going to be worth upgrading from. I know I just went through this and tried.

IPS has that terrible backlight glow, even on higher end models, and I asked around and that is apparently the norm. You can find pictures, most people will put them up if you ask, and it's really not good. VA, at least VA with reasonable prices (I.e. $500ish, maybe it changes at $1k+ but I'm not going to spend that much) is very slow with a lot of blurring and ghosting. And quite frankly, the contrast ratio difference is not at all noticeable. If you put a CRT next to a VA next to a TN, you will immediately notice how great the CRT's contrast ratio is over the other two. VA next to TN is going to be marginal especially compared to that.

As someone above mentions, its also game wise. If you play super modern titles only, and more colorful open world at that, it's going to show more of a difference than playing a game like Fallout 3---the monitor is not going to change older content which generally is not designed to have all that information. This is also true for virtually all TV, movies, streaming, etc. You would need HDR content to take advantage of the color gamut etc. So you'd want to make sure you have a good HDR10 monitor, but none are particularly good and all are crazy expensive. For whatever reason, PCs generally don't like HDR or do HDR that much. Getting an OLED HDTV makes more sense for this as well, since burn-in isn't an issue and the difference is significant over LCDs.

Going back to games, TW3 on 4k vanilla is not going to look all that great. It does have colors of course. But it won't really be that special. You have to mod it up and then it will be a rather marginal improvement. You'll for instance notice in the Orchard inn at the beginning, someone walking outside through the window during a cutscene that you probably would miss on unmodded 1080p. Or maybe you'd have noticed a shape there, but not able to make it out that well. Does this really matter? Probably not.

The viewing angles also really only matter if you're watching with a group, otherwise why wouldn't you be sitting in the middle looking straight on? And if you're in a group, seriously, you want the couch and want to be watching on a bigger HDTV, just go OLED.

But for right now, on PC, most people are probably better off just using a fast TN. It just doesn't have the issues VA and IPS have that MIGHT be mitigated at very high prices. The improvements either makes is so marginal you won't care, but your wallet will. Wait for OLED.

TN is the worst monitor tech available today. Washed out color, horrible viewing angles. This has been stated time after time in numerous reviews.

IPS is clearly the best choice for color and viewing angles. VA does offer slightly better blacks - but at a fairly large gap (slower) in response time. IPS is still the king for accurate colors and best viewing angles. No need for a "group" view to experience this; if you simply lean your head a few inches left or right, TN gets completely washed out. Pass!

As for IPS glow- it's only noticeable on a blacked out screen. Once there's a picture showing, it's virtually unnoticeable.

There IS a reason why expensive monitors use IPS. If TN was superior, why is it only used in budget monitors? You'll NEVER see that tech in any display over $500.

 

[ddferrari]

For everyone who isn't a pro gamer, IPS is superior. Read literally every review- IPS kicks butt over TN in all aspects, minus response time and input lag. And now, IPS has gotten much better. 6.9ms average is nothing to sneeze at for my monitor. I don't do multiplayer online gaming, so it's plenty quick. YMMV

There's a reason why the cheapest monitors use TN and the best monitors use IPS.

 

[jpuroila]

For everyone who isn't a "pro gamer" IPS is superior. Read literally every review- IPS kicks butt over TN in every aspect, other than response time. And now, IPS has even caught up on that.

There's a reason why the cheapest monitors use TN and the best monitors use IPS.

Facts, son.

For most people who aren't professionals, I would say that VA is the best choice. It's a solid compromise between quality and paying out the a** for a quality IPS monitor.

 

[Markoni35]

If you're watching nude girls with big ....eyes.... just go IPS. Colors are superb and you won't notice any problems with the response time.

 

[jdwii]

I logged in just to say some of these articles and reviews you guys do are just insane the amount of work you guys put into this stuff.

LOVE U

 

[ddferrari]

What? So you spaz your head around while playing games, don't play any games with any blacks or dark screens at all, and think "pros" have high input lag, high response time monitors?

Every single pro gamer uses a TN panel

If I have to keep my head in a tiny sweet spot to keep the image from looking awful, that's not a good monitor. Spend a little more next time (if you're able). It's worth it. And, I hope you're not suggesting that TN panels have better black levels than IPS.

Your fledgling 7 posts are off to a pretty rocky start... this ain't IGN. We know our stuff here, and it appears that you're seriously out of your league at the moment. Talk less, learn more is my advice.

PS: I don't mean this as an Ad Hominem attack; I'm simply suggesting that you make sure you've done your homework before starting a sparring match on this site. There are some very knowledgeable members who will shred you if you haven't done your research!

 

[Dimitrios]

I wish I had this article when I bought mine a while back. I regret it and rushed since only WALMART had one 27 inch Element 2 or so years ago. The bottom bezel is freakin white and it gets very hot. The glare on black is horrible from most viewing angles so I cheat and change the settings to FPS that's built into the settings

You would think by now monitors would be almost perfect but they aren't. You get what you pay for I guess.

 

[tokyojerry]

It is now 2023 for the record. I just took delivery of LG's new 32SQ730S smart monitor which apparently is in competition with Samsung's smart monitor. I don't know if this is a new category of monitors which we will see increasingly appear on the market. One attraction was the inclusion of LG's WebOS which provides extra internet content access without a need for a PC (Netflix, (Amazon) Prime video, etc.). The main reason use case will be to complement my existing LG 31" (32UL950-W) 4K IPS monitor, purchased in 2018 for the TB3 connectivity and daisy chaining.

I am an amateur regarding my knowledge base of monitor technologies. I've heard the buzzwords TN, IPS, VA but beyond that was not aware of the differences, except to avoid TN as a somewhat inferior technology. I sort of always regarded having an IPS panel as being the superior way to go. Now I have this VA (above mentioned) for the first time. I like the convenience of LG's WebOS in our LG 75" flat panel TV so to see this WebOS technology (and with remote) appearing in a PC-based monitor was surprising and somewhat appealing. I will now have a dual 4K monitor setup. I primarily use that for the convenience of moving open windows around between dual panes. I am not much of a gamer at all so that is a non-issue. My biggest concern is if I will have any problem with video NLE productions when stretching a timeline across a dual monitor mix of IPS/VA. Thoughts? Down the road, I am considering getting an ultrawide OLED display in lieu of the dual panel setup. Currently, I am thinking of the recently released LG UltraGear 45GR95QE-B Gaming Monitor. I hear OLED has burn-in issues (?) but supposedly there are controls to mitigate that problem in newer OLED panels.

Will I have any color issues, in particular, using the IPS/VA dual monitor setup video timeline edits? Or, shall I consider the OLED ultrawide panel? Samsung also has a new Neo G9 ultrawide and I think there is one from MSI as well. Thanks. TokyoJerry.

 

[ddferrari]

It is now 2023 for the record. I just took delivery of LG's new 32SQ730S smart monitor which apparently is in competition with Samsung's smart monitor. I don't know if this is a new category of monitors which we will see increasingly appear on the market. One attraction was the inclusion of LG's WebOS which provides extra internet content access without a need for a PC (Netflix, (Amazon) Prime video, etc.). The main reason use case will be to complement my existing LG 31" (32UL950-W) 4K IPS monitor, purchased in 2018 for the TB3 connectivity and daisy chaining.

I am an amateur regarding my knowledge base of monitor technologies. I've heard the buzzwords TN, IPS, VA but beyond that was not aware of the differences, except to avoid TN as a somewhat inferior technology. I sort of always regarded having an IPS panel as being the superior way to go. Now I have this VA (above mentioned) for the first time. I like the convenience of LG's WebOS in our LG 75" flat panel TV so to see this WebOS technology (and with remote) appearing in a PC-based monitor was surprising and somewhat appealing. I will now have a dual 4K monitor setup. I primarily use that for the convenience of moving open windows around between dual panes. I am not much of a gamer at all so that is a non-issue. My biggest concern is if I will have any problem with video NLE productions when stretching a timeline across a dual monitor mix of IPS/VA. Thoughts? Down the road, I am considering getting an ultrawide OLED display in lieu of the dual panel setup. Currently, I am thinking of the recently released LG UltraGear 45GR95QE-B Gaming Monitor. I hear OLED has burn-in issues (?) but supposedly there are controls to mitigate that problem in newer OLED panels.

Will I have any color issues, in particular, using the IPS/VA dual monitor setup video timeline edits? Or, shall I consider the OLED ultrawide panel? Samsung also has a new Neo G9 ultrawide and I think there is one from MSI as well. Thanks. TokyoJerry.

In a nutshell:

- TN monitors are considered inexpensive as they go, even high refresh-rate models. The problem is that one must stay within a narrow viewing angle - nearly dead center - otherwise the picture can look washed out and dull. They also usually have the lowest gamma coverage (and contrast) of the bunch. That's why this is the primary panel used in cheap monitors.

- VA monitors have more saturated and accurate colors than TN panels. Their black levels are also far superior. But a drawback of VA panels are higher input lag, so they are not the ideal choice for fast paced/competitive gaming, although they have improved over the years. Viewing angles are decent.

- IPS monitors have *most* of the benefits of TN and VN panels. They have good to excellent gamma coverage, lower input lag than VA, and wider viewing angles with minor degradation at extreme angles. However, they generally have somewhat inferior black levels to VA panels, and are notorious for backlight glow and uneven contrast within the panel zones. Still, they have been widely considered the "best" panels overall until recently, and were almost exclusively used in higher-end gaming and pro monitors.

- Finally, the new OLED monitors have obliterated every other panel's performance. The viewing angles, no matter how sharp, are nearly perfect. Their contrast levels are 1,000,000 : 1, meaning the black levels are truly black no matter what the next pixel over is displaying - because they don't just dim - they completely shut off each individual pixel when required, so they have unlimited "dimming zones". Their gamma coverage (color range reproduction) is also unmatched compared to 99% of other panel types. Also, they are capable of true HDR performance versus almost all of the others. Input lag is impressively low.

Burn-in was a problem in the past, but with new Quantum Dot tech and other mitigating features, such as doing a one-pixel-shift of the entire image every now and then (imperceptible), individual pixel refreshes every four or so hours, and a full panel refresh after every ~120 hours of use, they are likely immune from the image retention issues of the past. Only time will tell for sure. But, a monitor has to display a static image for a LONG time (24 hours? A week?) before this even becomes a possibility.

They are expensive, but I can tell you that having been the owner of all the above technologies in the past, my QD-OLED leaves the others in the dust by a country mile. I have the Alienware AW3423DW and it destroys every other monitor I've owned. Dell also includes a 3-year warranty against just one dead pixel, along with any burn-in issues.

Text isn't "quite" as sharp on these monitors due to a unique sub-pixel layout, but you really have to be a pixel peeper to notice. I see no difference personally between my new monitor and my old Alienware AW3418DW monitor, which used an IPS panel. The HUGE gamma and contrast improvement made it well worth the supposed trade-off (again, I can't see any difference). Best single improvement I've ever made to my rig, visually.

 

[tokyojerry]

In a nutshell:

- TN monitors are considered inexpensive as they go, even high refresh-rate models. The problem is that one must stay within a narrow viewing angle - nearly dead center - otherwise the picture can look washed out and dull. They also usually have the lowest gamma coverage (and contrast) of the bunch. That's why this is the primary panel used in cheap monitors.

- VA monitors have more saturated and accurate colors than TN panels. Their black levels are also far superior. But a drawback of VA panels are higher input lag, so they are not the ideal choice for fast paced/competitive gaming, although they have improved over the years. Viewing angles are decent.

- IPS monitors have *most* of the benefits of TN and VN panels. They have good to excellent gamma coverage, lower input lag than VA, and wider viewing angles with minor degradation at extreme angles. However, they generally have somewhat inferior black levels to VA panels, and are notorious for backlight glow and uneven contrast within the panel zones. Still, they have been widely considered the "best" panels overall until recently, and were almost exclusively used in higher-end gaming and pro monitors.

- Finally, the new OLED monitors have obliterated every other panel's performance. The viewing angles, no matter how sharp, are nearly perfect. Their contrast levels are 1,000,000 : 1, meaning the black levels are truly black no matter what the next pixel over is displaying - because they don't just dim - they completely shut off each individual pixel when required, so they have unlimited "dimming zones". Their gamma coverage (color range reproduction) is also unmatched compared to 99% of other panel types. Also, they are capable of true HDR performance versus almost all of the others. Input lag is impressively low.

Burn-in was a problem in the past, but with new Quantum Dot tech and other mitigating features, such as doing a one-pixel-shift of the entire image every now and then (imperceptible), individual pixel refreshes every four or so hours, and a full panel refresh after every ~120 hours of use, they are likely immune from the image retention issues of the past. Only time will tell for sure. But, a monitor has to display a static image for a LONG time (24 hours? A week?) before this even becomes a possibility.

They are expensive, but I can tell you that having been the owner of all the above technologies in the past, my QD-OLED leaves the others in the dust by a country mile. I have the Alienware AW3423DW and it destroys every other monitor I've owned. Dell also includes a 3-year warranty against just one dead pixel, along with any burn-in issues.

Text isn't "quite" as sharp on these monitors due to a unique sub-pixel layout, but you really have to be a pixel peeper to notice. I see no difference personally between my new monitor and my old Alienware AW3418DW monitor, which used an IPS panel. The HUGE gamma and contrast improvement made it well worth the supposed trade-off (again, I can't see any difference). Best single improvement I've ever made to my rig, visually.

Thanks loads for taking the time for your detailed explanation. It is much appreciated. I follow TechSpot in my Google News aggregator as one of my favorite tech news feeds because I have learned things along the way I did not already know. ( Having worked in IT in the past in Tokyo I do have some knowledge.) Anyway ....

I did understand the TN, VA, and IPS differences from the article. I am concerned with having considered a VA monitor to use in conjunction with my existing LG 32" 4K IPS panel. Unfortunately, I already made the purchase, and it just arrived today from Amazon Japan. Fortunately, there is a 30-day window of opportunity to return which I usually don't like to do. But after reading the article and your comments, I think having the mix/match of IPS/VA is not a very wise choice for color consistency of video edit timelines spanning two monitors of varying quality (IPS/VA). Your feedback convinced me to go OLED. I was already on the fence considering OLED anyway, but your comments provided the nudge to go for it. Your explanation also mitigated concern about burn-in. Now, the matter I still need to decide on is whether to go ultrawide OLED or two separate 31/32" 4K OLED monitors of the SAME model. LG's new ultrawide 45" ( LG UltraGear 45GR95QE-B) is not 4K but well-spec'd and tempting. Less desktop cable clutter and no middle bezel either. I have a good idea of what to expect from such a wide OLED monitor setup as my Samsung S22 Ultra is AMOLED.
Thanks again and much appreciate your sharing your knowledge and thoughts on the matter. Jerry.

 

[ddferrari]

Thanks loads for taking the time for your detailed explanation. It is much appreciated. I follow TechSpot in my Google News aggregator as one of my favorite tech news feeds because I have learned things along the way I did not already know. ( Having worked in IT in the past in Tokyo I do have some knowledge.) Anyway ....

I did understand the TN, VA, and IPS differences from the article. I am concerned with having considered a VA monitor to use in conjunction with my existing LG 32" 4K IPS panel. Unfortunately, I already made the purchase, and it just arrived today from Amazon Japan. Fortunately, there is a 30-day window of opportunity to return which I usually don't like to do. But after reading the article and your comments, I think having the mix/match of IPS/VA is not a very wise choice for color consistency of video edit timelines spanning two monitors of varying quality (IPS/VA). Your feedback convinced me to go OLED. I was already on the fence considering OLED anyway, but your comments provided the nudge to go for it. Your explanation also mitigated concern about burn-in. Now, the matter I still need to decide on is whether to go ultrawide OLED or two separate 31/32" 4K OLED monitors of the SAME model. LG's new ultrawide 45" ( LG UltraGear 45GR95QE-B) is not 4K but well-spec'd and tempting. Less desktop cable clutter and no middle bezel either. I have a good idea of what to expect from such a wide OLED monitor setup as my Samsung S22 Ultra is AMOLED.
Thanks again and much appreciate your sharing your knowledge and thoughts on the matter. Jerry.

Hi Jerry,

I'm happy that my post helped a little with your decision. I'm perfectly happy with 1440p on a 34' ultrawide, but it sounds like you need more screen real estate than that. I have heard that beyond, say 38", 1440p may not have enough pixel density for some, and 4K would be the way to go. However, I'm not sure if that "rule" applies to a 32:9 aspect ration, vs 16:9. I would definitely try to see one in person before purchase.

Perhaps some other Techspot readers have direct experience with 40"+ ultrawides at the 1440p resolution and could provide some insight? Also, does anyone here use a mix of VA and IPS for video editing? Thoughts?

I have always preferred one large monitor vs two side-by-side because of the lack of any bezel down the center (despite how much thinner they've become), but each to their own!

I would recommend buying QD-OLED if you can, as they use a slightly different tech than regular OLED that not only do a better job of preventing burn-in (they run cooler), but are also able to display higher NITS (brightness). I would research OLED vs QD-OLED.

Best of luck in your search!

 

[tokyojerry]

Hi Ferrari.

Thanks again for your reply. My takeaway this time can be summed up in a single word, 'QD-OLED'. Decided!. Now to narrow it down the decision to either 27" x2, 31-32" x2 (either 4K), or Ultrawide. I also can be satisfied with 1440p so long as there is 5120 on the horizontal. 5120 x 1440p. Split screen when needed would work out to 2560 x 1440 (with bezel) At my age I don't absolutely need 4K but with 8K emerging and 16K in R&D, it is preferred. A dual monitor with minimal bezel, I could 'tolerate' so long as the setup is the same screen technology (QD-OLED) and the same brand for consistency.

Since modern notebook technology has become quite powerful with advanced technology compared to years past, I usually run a relatively high-powered notebook closed lid with thunderbolt 4. I wish more monitors were equipped with thunderbolt 4 so that I could daisy chain two external monitors vis-a-vis my TB4 CalDigit hub. A single ultrawide with TB4 would also be great. But alas, they don't exist. My current LG 31" is TB3 and works beautiful. I reckon the perfect monitor in every single aspect just does not exist. But going forward, QD-OLED will be the control factor. For now, it seems only Samsung takes the QD-OLED title ( https://tinyurl.com/2hfhyboy ) although I have a preference for LG.

 

[ddferrari]

My Dell QD-OLED uses the Samsung panel. Funny how Samsung came out with the panel itself first, but Dell beat them to the punch in releasing the first monitor incorporating it on the market. The Samsung branded model will have the exact same specs. Here's a great review by Tom's Hardware on the model I bought. It will give you the gist of why QD-OLED has such wide and accurate gamma and contrast in both sRGB and dci-p3.

Alienware AW3423DW Gaming Monitor Review: QD-OLED Impresses

Curved with 175 Hz, G-Sync, HDR, extended color and infinite contrast.

www.tomshardware.com

I'm sure that any brand with this tech will be stellar. My preference to Dell products is their warranty; they will exchange a panel if it has just ONE dead pixel that can't be resolved with a panel refresh (built into the monitor menu). They will ship a new panel sans stand the next business day (one-day shipping) and include a free return shipping label. Pop the old one in the box that the replacement came in, slap on the label and send it off. 3-year coverage. They'll happily allow a return if you don't like it.

I doubt a Samsung-branded monitor would offer this, as no other brand has to this point. But since Dell has not yet offered a 49" version, I guess that doesn't matter. I'd imagine one will be released shortly. I don't do video editing, and sit about 15" from my monitor, so a 34" really fills my field of view.

I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous and certainly not an expert, so do a bit of research and please do read the review I posted above from someone much more versed than me. They said the monitor was so well calibrated from the factory, there were no noticeable gains after tweaking it!

PS: Dell just released a similar model to mine (AW3423DWF) without a G-sync module that drops the price $100. As G-sync is really a gaming feature, you may not need it.

 

[tokyojerry]

You may want to have a view of DigitalTrend's take on Samsung vs LG regard QD-OLED.

Does QD-OLED have a burn-in problem? | Digital Trends

Samsung has thrown a lot of shade at LG's OLED TVs over the years over potential burn-in problems. Have the tables finally turned?

www.digitaltrends.com

We are still at the threshold of QD-OLED technology so there are still few choices. But I surely will take a look at the Dell option as you make a good case for the after sales service and support. Same in Japan.

The only reason for considering a 49" version in my use case scenario would be an alternative to having the equivalent of two (dual) monitors in one physical device. The main trade off would be for compromising to QHD vs UHD (4K). But for myself, the visual is pretty much just as good with 2560x1440 x2 I can accept that if an all-in-one ultrawide. For dual monitors, if I go that route, I will review your suggestion on the Dell option. They are also big in Japan and would be a second choice for me after LG. I like what I see with that 34" curved model.

Alienware 34 Inch Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor (AW3423DWF) - Computer Monitors | Dell USA

Shop the Alienware 34 Inch Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor (AW3423DWF), featuring infinite contrast ratio & AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, or view all computer monitors at Dell.com.

www.dell.com

Maybe a pair of those??

 

[tokyojerry]

Thanks for that heads up on the Dell QD-OLED. I am ordering today through Dell Japan. Only $845 (JPY equivalent, thanks to the weaker yen) including tax and shipping.

 

[ddferrari]

Thanks for that heads up on the Dell QD-OLED. I am ordering today through Dell Japan. Only $845 (JPY equivalent, thanks to the weaker yen) including tax and shipping.

Congrats! I hope you love it.

I wouldn't worry at all about burn-in. As the article you linked above stated: "...if left the same image displayed on the S95B for days at a time, with brightness set to maximum, permanent image retention occurred".

Well, I'm sure you're not going to do THAT. Clearly, businesses mainly stick with LCD on monitors that may have, for example, have a static logo in the corner. Or if they're showing CNN 24/7.

To be safe, I made sure to set a screensaver to kick in if I don't use my mouse for 15 minutes. Also, I chose to auto-hide the taskbar in desktop mode. This doesn't bother me a bit - it pops up instantly when you hover over it, and it buys you a little more vertical real-estate. I even created a shortcut to F11 on my programmable mouse to toggle full screen, hiding my tabs along the top when I'm reading a long article, etc.

But seriously, one would have to make some egregious errors for burn-in to occur. Dell has really reduced the odds further with technologies I mentioned previously: 1-pixel shift left or right every so often (this monitor has an extra single row of vertical pixel), an full pixel refresh every 4 hours of use (you can decline and it will run whenever you put the monitor to sleep or off), and a full panel refresh after every 1500 hours of use (takes about an hour so I do it over night).

Please check in and let us know your first impressions, Jerry!

 

[tokyojerry]

Thanks for that thorough heads up and feedback on this monitor. TBH I've had a bit of a roller coaster ride with this Dell monitor (Samsung 34" in disguise, I presume) and subsequent actions. I purchased it and initially loved it. After about a week of usage, I had a situation in which a Windows Windowed frame outline in the center of the screen was persistent and would not go away. It was a window frame related to one of Dell's monitor settings. The frame outline remained like a burn-in kind of thing and would not disappear. After powering the monitor off and on and rebooting my computer, the frame outline still displayed. I called Dell and went through their Q&A cycle and even sent them a screen capture of my screen all the while being kept online with them to confirm this experience. To make a long story short, they acknowledged the problem. After waiting some time I eventually got a replacement shipped in from China.
That gave me time to rethink things. After the monitor did arrive, I opened it to confirm the contents, and then immediately sold it on auction unused. I took a bit of a loss in the process. While waiting for the replacement I discovered an alternate monitor and replaced it with LG's 40WP95C-W, a 5K2K curved ultrawide (5120 x 2160) Nano IPS monitor. Frankly, I've been using LG monitors for a long time and fundamentally like their design, and jog switch to control settings. But the big draw for me more than having OLED was the fact this is one of the few monitors that I am aware of that support Thunderbolt 4. This initial bad experience with Dell, coupled with discovering the LG TB4-equipped monitor caused me to change.
The Dell experience is my first time experience with an OLED screen (aside from a smartphone) but unfortunately, the first time I've had such an experience as well. Aside from that experience, Dell also does not have USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 support either. So for now I've opted to stick with the 39" LG 4K monitor. I am not anti-OLED by any means and will surely buy one again should the right machine with the right set of ports comes along. I prefer but don't absolutely need 4K. I can also get along with 2560 x 1440 x2 in an ultrawide as well. video NLE productions or two split screens in one physical monitor. Something along the line of LG 49WL95C-WE Monitor Display, 49 Inches, 5120 x 1440 (32:9 Ultra Wide) would be acceptable. The problem with that model though is 60Hz (which I could live with not being a heavy gamer) and it has USB-C as well. But it is not Thunderbolt 4. I multiplex the signals for all my externals rhrough the monitor via a single TB4 port on the notebook. In addition to being able to power my external Thunderbolt hubs, SSDs, etc., I not only connect to the monitor itself obviously, but conversely the monitor also powers my notebook via the same cable from monitor using PD which eliminates the notebook's power brick. The 49" mentioned above is really nice and has almost a 5-star rating at Amazon Japan. However being a March 2021 model and being IPS (acceptable) I'll wait a bit longer to see if perhaps a newer version comes along soon having both QD-OLED and thunderbolt 4 features. Perhaps it's pipe dreaming but the current 4K/39" LD will tide me over for the interim.

 

[ddferrari]

Sorry to hear that, Jerry.

I think you had a bit of bad luck. I have never had an issue with my monitor after nearly 1.5 years of use. As for Thunderbolt and USB-C, I never needed them and didn't bother to look into it. Clearly that was a need for you... I just wish you had researched that before your purchase!

I have had the experience of your first week's impressions since day-one: I love mine and haven't had any issues. I hope you will look into this tech a generation or two later. You can't deny the awesome picture quality! I feel bad that I steered you in this direction, but perhaps you jumped the gun selling it without giving the replacement a chance...

I wish I knew why you had an issue and I didn't, but I still love this monitor and it has been flawless! I am replaying Shadow of the Tomb Raider and it looks stunning as opposed to my last play on Dell's IPS AW2318DW monitor.