TN vs PVA: Difference and Comparison

We live around technology. There are many electrical items or things we surround ourselves with, but we don’t know about their internal parts of them. And sometimes, it is a bit difficult for students to understand it. Here you know the two important things with their differences.

Key Takeaways

1. TN (Twisted Nematic) panels deliver fast response times and low input lag, while PVA (Patterned Vertical Alignment) panels provide better color reproduction and wider viewing angles.
2. TN panels are more affordable and popular in gaming monitors, while PVA panels are used in higher-end displays for professional or entertainment purposes.
3. PVA panels overcome the limited color reproduction and narrow viewing angles of TN panels but sacrifice the fast response times that gamers may prefer.

TN vs PVA 

TN displays use a simple and inexpensive design that works by twisting the liquid crystals to control the amount of light that passes through. PVA displays use a more complex design that creates a pattern of electrodes on the surface of the display, which aligns the liquid crystals vertically.

Twisted nematic is the main technology part that makes liquid crystal display (LCD) practical. We are aware of cells and batteries, so TN cells use low-voltage batteries. It is said that it is responsible for fast pixel responses. Simply, it is a type of LCD that plays a very vital role in LCD.

Patterned vertical alignment (PVA) is used for contrast ratio and is independent of MVA (multi-domain vertical alignment). It is characterized by pixels that use liquid organic material in LCD. You all know of technological things, and there are uncountable display devices. And each HD and  UHD use liquid material.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	TN	PVA
Power consumption	TN LCDs consume very little power	PVA LCDs consume more power.
Response time.	TN LCD takes a low response time.	PVA takes the longest response time.
Viewing angles	TN LCD Panel has the worst viewing angle.	PVA LCD panels have a better viewing angle than TN.
Brightness	TN LCD has very low brightness.	PVA LCD has a very good brightness quality.
Best use	Used in gaming applications and animation.	It is used in documentation.

What is TN?

Before understanding twisted nematic, let’s understand it term by term. We know the chemical formula of water H2O, in this formula, all three particles were included, which are water, liquid, and solid. This liquid state is isotropic, and the solid state is anisotropic. It is the state between liquid and crystal.

So a nematic liquid crystal is characterized by molecules that maintain the same direction. There are many phases, but for now, understanding, we understand the nematic phase. We also know basic terms like cells and electrodes. By knowing the working of TN, we understand it. 

There are two polarizers present with transparent electrodes in them. The chemical used in that is indium tin oxide and thin liquid crystal sandwiched between electrodes. We named it TN because the display twists 90 degrees. The polarization process occurs in it. Here we don’t understand the deep working of TN, but it depends on the voltage when it is on working is on and when it is off by us, they stop their work.

There are many advantages of TN, like the material used for construction of it at low cost. It is sunlight readable. There are also disadvantages, like they provide low contrast and limited multiplexing. Usually, TN value is high on the market. Because it is easy to construct, mostly used in big industries.

In simple words, twisted nematic is a thin layer of liquid crystal found in the 1970s used for many daily purposes, such as computers, digital calculators, watches,  etc.

What is PVA?

In this era, everyone knows what liquid crystal displays. Now it’s become a homie thing most people use. Probably many people are aware of and see the LCD. Because it’s a science era and we are surrounded by computers, monitors, laptops, smart appliances, etc.

There are many LCDs and their types because technology is vast. Here we understand one type of technology of LCD, i.e. patterned vertical alignment. It is named vertically because pixels are vertically aligned in it. Whether HD, UHD, or LCD, we know they use liquid crystal pixels.

Liquid pixels work vertically in the glass substrate on which they are placed. When our LCD pixels are placed in a perpendicular direction in the substrate. When LCD is turned on, voltage causes them to change their position, and then it is vertically oriented. When a backlight solution creates light, it can pass through liquid pixels and then produce images. It has a good capability of producing background music.

PVA is characterized by multi electrodes. Due to customer demand for a higher quality of image, PVA demands in the market are increasing. Samsung announced the PVA mode in 2004. Everything comes up with its pros and cons. It also has some. But PVA has more advantages and fewer disadvantages.

Main Differences Between TN and PVA

1. Twisted nematic aligned 90 degrees whereas patterned vertical alignment aligned vertically in the glass substrate.
2. Twisted panels are cheaper than other panels, whereas patterned vertical alignment panels are expensive.
3. Calibration of twisted nematic is very easy, whereas calibration of PVA is complex.
4. Colour contrast is not good for TN, whereas Colour contrast is very good in the quality of PVA.
5. Word consistency is not so good in the TN panel LCD, whereas in PVA, word consistency is very good in the LCD panel.
6. The refresh rate of TN is very high whereas the refresh rate of the PVA LCD Panel is very low.

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001074212602599
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021998312448497