What They Say
One of the interesting bits of news from CES was the announcement of IPS Black from LG Display. This new version of its IPS technology has ‘35% lower black levels’ and better contrast. We contacted the firm to find out more about how this is done, but we got the reply that the group in charge “does not want to reveal any details”, although the firm did confirm that contrast with IPS Black can be 2,000:1.
What We Think
LG Display panels have had around 1,000:1 typically in the past although I have seen IPS panels at up to around 1,500:1 before. A boost to 2,000 is, therefore, significant and will help the technology to compete against VA which is 3,000:1 or more. In-store there should be less difference in contrast visible between VA and IPS sets.
LGD showed a ‘professional’ 27″ UltraHD monitor and Dell launched a 32″ Conferencing monitor with the new technology. At the moment, it’s not clear to me if the technology will be applied to TVs. The positioning suggests that there is a significant extra cost or some other penalty, such as energy consumption. If it was just a new IPS material or pixel configuration, I would have expected it to be more widely promoted. I’ll try to get a bit more.
LG Display has also said that the technology is certified by TÜV Rheinland and, although cynical about such testing as regular readers will know, I have also reached out to them to find out what this means! Given that, in my experience, TÜV Rheinland has all the marketing flair and skills of a (insert ageist and nationalist slurs here) engineer, I’m not optimistic. (BR)
