Can someone explain to me, in dumbed down terms, what panel types are? What's the difference between IPS and VA and why is it such a big deal to people?
here's a basic, general breakdown of the three panel types as I (currently) understand them:
IPS
Best/Accurate Color (not necessarily out of the box, but after tinkering, generally)
Decent Contrast
Fast/responsive + high refresh rate models available now
Good viewing angles
Victim of IPS glow and backlight bleed (defects, very noticeable with dark content)
TN
Generally BAD colors (some models better than others)
Passable contrast (said to be the worst of the three)
Fast as hell response (best of the 3 iirc) + super insanely high refresh rate panels available
Trash tier viewing angles (image goes negative near immediately, depending on panel, depending on the angle at which you are looking at the screen)
Do NOT go near these, and do NOT consider these if you do any type of art, design or editing work, PERIOD!
Much cheaper in general than the others
VA
Decent colors
Best contrast
Okay response (smeary, generally slower than both TN and IPS) + high refresh rate panels available
Lackluster viewing angle (gamma shifts immediately if not being viewed from absolute dead center)
Victim of VA glow (similar deal with ips glow, its a defect and is noticeable in dark content)
a visual for ips glow/backlight bleed (pic from Lim's Cave):
Photos generally exacerbate the effect but this is an ips display simply showing the color black. Backlight bleed usually has a static position (which is generally along the edges of the screen) whereas glow will straight up change location, and intensity, depending on your current viewing angle.