Glossary A–ZLetter V
VA panel
A VA panel is a type of LCD screen in which the liquid crystals stand perpendicular to the image surface when at rest and therefore block the light of the backlight well.
The abbreviation stands for “vertical alignment”. This results in high contrast with deep black.
The contrast of VA panels is generally much higher than that of IPS panels. This pays off in darker environments, for example in cinema foyers, bars, museums or with content that contains a lot of black. Bright outdoor and shop window screens also often use VA, because good black levels support the picture at high brightness.
The weakness lies in the viewing angles: seen from the side, VA panels tend to lose more contrast and colour accuracy than IPS panels, and colours can shift. For screens viewed head-on this hardly matters; for totems in passageways or video walls viewed at an angle it does. Operators should choose the panel type according to location and viewing direction and, where possible, compare devices from the side.