Abstract said:
I always thought it was just a matter of screen colour calibration, say with a GretagMacBeth or something of the sort.
Color calibration will get you a long way, but there are some fundamental physical differences between S-PVA and S-IPS architectures that will keep them from being identical. The two main ones are viewing angle and color response... S-PVA's
usually have better brightness and contrast, but S-IPS screens
usually have better color
accuracy.
indigoflowAS said:
Can little ol' naive me get a breakdown of what S-PVA and S-IPS are?
These two categories (according to the posts) seem to be exclusively either hardcore graphics OR good gaming...any of them both? Am I right to imagine that great for graphics will do great for everything?
Basically, S-IPS and S-PVA are different image production methods used in LCD screen. S-PVA
usually have higher brightness and contrast ratios, while S-IPS
usually have wider viewing angles and more accurate color reproduction. (A
very thorough explanation can be found
here. It's probably more than you'll ever want to know

)
RedTomato said:
The Apple Cinema monitor is held up as a shining example of a S-IPS monitor.
(Doesn't that mean the Dell 2005 / 2405 / xx07 are also S-IPS monitors?)
D-rock, could you recommend a S-IPS monitor you like?
Thanks
Yep, the cinema displays are usually regarded among professionals as having very accurate color reproduction. They seem to be plagued with manufacturing issues, though. But they are definitely good monitors! People also seem to like the Philips 230WP7NS, Viewsonic VP231WB, HP F2304, and Sony SDM-P234-B. But since people's preferences differ, I'd say the best thing to do would be to check out several monitors side-by-side and see which you prefer.
This site will tell you which screen type any given monitor is using.
The Dell 2005 and 1st generation 2007's (as well as the 30 incher) use S-IPS. Both 24" models and the Rev. B 2007 use S-PVA, I would guess for cost reasons.
I mentioned viewing angle... don't be tricked by the "viewing angle" listed by the manufacturer. All that says is how long the image stays viewable, and does not take into consideration the image quality. If they did, the Dell 2405 (and probably any other S-PVA monitor) would have to list something like 10 degrees!

As you move your head off-center on a PVA screen, there is a noticeable gamma shift in the darks of the image. It's
very subtle, but if you're doing serious graphics work you
will notice it and it is very annoying! This is a proven physical property of the way S-PVA screen work.
Ok, there's probably some stuff I left out but I need to go get ready for work. (yay west coast time!

)