Viewing angles

What are they?

When you sit directly in front of your computer monitor, laptop screen or TV, you expect to see the best possible picture. However, if you move to one side, you may find that the colours start to change.

The viewing angle is a way of specifying at what point this distortion begins to occur. Think of it in terms of a cone shape that extends out from the centre of your screen (as pictured).

How do they work?

Modern screens use a complicated arrangement of lights, filters and electronic components, arranged in many layers, to create each pixel you see on screen. Depending on how these layers are arranged, some elements of a pixel might be obscured by its neighbouring pixels or some other part of the screen, if you move too far to one side. This is when distortion and colour changes start to appear.

What are the specs?

The viewing angle is measured in degrees, and may be different for both horizontal and vertical angles. On a TV for all the family, you want several people to enjoy a good view wherever they’re sitting in the room, so the latest OLED TVS boast viewing angles in excess of 178 degrees. It’s not quite so important with a computer monitor, which usually only caters for one person. A reasonable spec here is around 75 degrees. Some laptops make a feature of having a more limited viewing angle, so its users can work on sensitive information, even when people are sitting next to them.

Can I change it later?

No, it’s an intrinsic characteristic of a screen, so can’t be altered.