What is a TN LCD screen?
Date:2025-11-10
TN LCD screen is a liquid crystal display technology that uses the twisted nematic effect to control the passage of light. It is known for its extremely fast response speed and low cost, but its disadvantages are narrow viewing angle and poor color performance.
detailed explanation
I. Origin of Name and Working Principle
The full name of TN is Twisted Nematic, which means "twisted nematic" in Chinese.
Working Principle:
A liquid crystal material called "nematic phase" is filled between two parallel glass substrates. These liquid crystal molecules will twist and arrange in a 90 degree spiral shape in their natural state.
When not powered, the twisted structure of liquid crystal molecules acts like a "screw", rotating the polarization direction of incident light by 90 degrees, allowing the light to pass through the polarizing plate on the other side. At this point, the screen displays a "bright" state (for constant brightness mode).
When powered on, the liquid crystal molecules will all stand and align under the action of the electric field, no longer distorting the light. As a result, light cannot pass through the second polarizer, and the screen displays a "dark" state.
By precisely controlling the voltage, the deflection angle of liquid crystal molecules can be partially controlled, thereby achieving display of different gray levels (brightness). Combined with color filters, a complete image can be displayed.
II. Main features (advantages and disadvantages)
Advantages:
1. Extremely fast response speed: This is the core advantage of TN screens. Its liquid crystal molecules have a fast deflection speed, so the dynamic image drag/residual image is very small. This has made it the preferred choice for esports gaming monitors for a long time, especially in the field of pursuing extremely high refresh rates (such as 240Hz, 360Hz).
2. Low cost: With mature technology, simple manufacturing process, and high output, TN screen is the cheapest among the three mainstream LCD screens (TN, IPS, VA).
3. High refresh rate is easy to implement: Due to its fast response characteristics, manufacturers can more easily equip it with a high refresh rate, providing a smooth visual experience for esports games.
Disadvantages:
1. Poor viewing angle: This is the most fatal drawback of TN screens. When you view the screen from the side or top and bottom angles, there may be severe distortion, whitening, and even color reversal in color and contrast. Not suitable for multiple people to watch together or for color sensitive work.
2. Poor color performance: TN screens usually only display 167000 colors (6 bits+FRC jitter simulation), with low native contrast, resulting in insufficient color saturation and a relatively "pale" or "washed out" appearance, unable to fully cover the sRGB color gamut, let alone a wider color range.
3. Low contrast: The black color is not deep enough, and the overall layering of the screen is not as good as IPS and VA screens.
III. Main application scenarios
Professional gaming monitor: relying on its ultra-high refresh rate and extremely fast response time.
Cost sensitive low-end displays and laptops.
Some industrial control equipment requires stability, durability, and low cost.
IV. Comparison with other mainstream LCD screen technologies
To better understand TN screen, it can be compared with two other mainstream technologies:
Feature | TN screen | IPS screen | VA screen |
Perspective | Poor, severe distortion when viewed from the side | Excellent, the color is almost accurate from any angle | Better than TN, but not as good as IPS |
Color/Contrast | Poor color and low contrast | Accurate color, wide color gamut, average contrast | The highest contrast, purer black, and colors between TN and IPS |
Response time | The fastest, with the smallest drag | Generally, in recent years, high-end IPS has been rapidly developing | Slowest, prone to black ghosting |
Cost | Cheapest price | Higher price | Moderate price |
Applicable scenarios | Competitive games, users with limited budgets | Professional design, photography, general office, most games | Users who pursue high contrast in film and television entertainment |
summary
TN LCD screen is a long-standing and mature technology. It has unparalleled advantages in speed and cost, but makes significant sacrifices in visual experience (color and perspective).
Suggestion for selection:
If you are a hardcore esports player pursuing the ultimate frame rate and response, and have a limited budget, TN screen is still a viable option to consider.
But if you mainly use it for daily office work, audio-visual entertainment, image/video processing, or want to share screen content with friends, then IPS or VA screens are far better choices than TN screens. Nowadays, with the improvement of IPS technology response speed and the popularity of high refresh rate IPS screens, the market for TN screens is gradually being squeezed.
