Thinkpads Forum

I read erik's review of the Thinkvision L22x on lenovo's forum with great interest. Sounds like I would love it. What do you guys recommend that I get? I'd like maybe a slightly bigger one and turn it into a second TV. 30" maybe?

Also, what exactly is the difference between S-PVA and IPS? The review said "I couldn't notice that it was NOT IPS", which was music to my ears.

I'd also like a widescreen model for movies, and as high a resolution display as possible. I forget what the highest resolution that the ATI V5200 supports for external monitors is? I borrowed my dad's Fujitsu-Siemens 22" widescreen display once and I couldn't set it to more than WSXGA+ (1680x1050), even with my new UXGA T60p. Although I must admit that I didn't really try very hard to find a driver that might have produced different results, as I knew it would be quite temporary. Besides, I know that I want a slick black baby like the Thinkvision.

Thanks everyone!

S-PVA (Samsung) and S-IPS (Hitachi, LG.Philips) are completely different technologies (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFT_LCD ). In any case, both of them are much better (thousand times ) than TN technology in every aspect. S-IPS has the best color gamut and viewing angles while S-PVA has better contrast ratio, response times and is a bit cheaper. Unless you need a monitor for professional graphic/photo work, latest S-PVA (or A-MVA) generation is the best compromise for a "versatile" monitor.

Hey, thanks for the response. What's S-IPS? My screen is an AFFS IPS from BOE-Hydris. I'm not a graphics professional at all, but I love these screens, as I constantly work on my Thinkpad, and also watch movies and TV on it, so I like to look at this HDTV-like crispness and clarity. The wide-viewing angle is also extremely useful for me.

Considering what I have now, do you think I'll be equally as impressed by the S-PVA technology? Or is IPS still a noticeable step up? I hear you on the 1000x better than TN. lol...

It is not true that S-PVA has better response times than S-IPS - the opposite is usually true. However we are talking about negligible differences.

The main advantages of S-PVA are contrast, like Puppy said, meaning that the black is very deep, as well as an absense of a purple halo when looking at a black screen from a side. Both make it great for movies. The advantages of S-IPS are, again as Puppy said, better color accuracy (not gamut, though - this is a feature of the backlighting only), and absolutely best flawless viewing angles (with the exception of the black->purple shift). S-PVA also tends to lose dark shades when viewed straight on, no such thing on S-IPS.

However, in good S-IPS/S-PVA panels these minor flaws are barely noticeable, and you will not be able to notice the difference, unless you look for it.

dr_st wrote:The main advantages of S-PVA are contrast, like Puppy said, meaning that the black is very deep

Have you ever seen a side-by-side comparison of black color "shining" between S-PVA and x-IPS ? Some picture would be nice. I was deciding between NEC 2090UXi (A-TW-IPS 700:1) and 2190UXp (S-PVA 1000:1). Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to see the S-PVA one so I rather got the first one. I still don't believe that black representation of S-PVA would be at least two times better. Also it is getting worse with viewing angle. The black color is still the weakest part of LCD technology.

Even though I have witnessed both, I haven't got any face-to-face pictures of PVA vs IPS, sorry. The depth of the black is relative, because even though the capabilities of VA are higher than those of IPS in this area, older VA panels might lose to newer IPS panels, since the industry as a whole has been improving.

The violet hue however is present in IPS, and not in VA, so if you're talking about viewing angles when displaying black or extremely dark shades, they WILL be better in VA. How better - depends. Some IPS panels have really strong hue, others have one that's barely noticeable. The A-TW-IPS you got should actually be very good in this department, so its viewing angles would be great, even with pure black.

S-IPS is the best kind of LCD for computers, there is no comparison. The viewing angles are much more important the closer your head is to the screen. S-IPS do not have that shift in contrast when your move your head unlike VA panels.

Most TVs on the other hand use VA panels, Sony and Samsung use PVA panel because they offer the best contrasts. The viewing angles on the top end Sony LCDs almost match IPS, but they cost thousands of dollars more to achieve this.