Annoying thing with LCD's?

[bellerophon]

Hi, Im new here.

I have a RCA 26' 720p/1020i TV set for my room. I know it sounds small but it is the perfect size considering where I am viewing it from. I find(with this TV at least), while watching movies, if I am viewing it from below(looking up at the TV), everything seems darker, and I cannot see many of the dark scenes. I have lowered the TV to a lower stand but I still have the problem. If I move to look at the TV from straight on, it looks perfect. Its really annoying because basically in order to see a perfect picture, I almost have to put it on the floor. Im guessing this is for all LCD's? Its very irritating. thanks.

[MacDaddyOJack]

I can't say that I've ever noticed that with mine. I have mine setup so that it is straight at eye level, but even when I stand up it still looks just as good. I'm not sure what your problem might be

[bellerophon]

Its not when standing up, its when the LCD is above the eye level. Much darker.

[William H Pratt]

The problem you have is that LCDs have a very narrow viewing angle. Get too far off dead center in any direction & the quality of the picture you're seeing will degrade. Plasmas don't suffer from this.

[kpkelley]

You said that it's on a stand so this may not help, but when mounted on the wall an lcd can be tilted downard towards the viewing position to reduce this effect. You could always sit up straight instead of slouching over all the time

[dobyblue]

It's the viewing angle. LCD's have gotten better with this, but the newer LED-LCD sets have jumped back about 4 years to where LCD used to be on this topic.

[skygreenleopard]

Agree with dobyblue. Funny the $900 Samsung A550 I bought a year ago has a much better viewing angle than these new $3000+ sets. While they look great, a good viewing angle is pretty important to me, and I wouldn't want to sacrifice it.

[koontz1973]

Originally Posted by William H Pratt

The problem you have is that LCDs have a very narrow viewing angle. Get too far off dead center in any direction & the quality of the picture you're seeing will degrade. Plasmas don't suffer from this.

Got an LG Scarlett, no problem at all from different angles. One chair is 45 degrees out and can watch it perfectly if MY chair has been taken by some inconsiderate sod.

Originally Posted by kpkelley

You said that it's on a stand so this may not help, but when mounted on the wall an lcd can be tilted downard towards the viewing position to reduce this effect. You could always sit up straight instead of slouching over all the time

Mounted on the wall quite high up so when sitting, it is at the perfect angle for my neck.

[Steve]

Not-so-great off angle viewing is an issue with many LCDs, but can vary widely from set to set. As noted, the newer LED sets seem to be worse than the older "regular" LCDs. I was at a friend's house last night, who has a fairly new Samsung LCD (not sure exactly which model), and I couldn't help but be surprised at how the picture quality did NOT suffer as I was off to the side by more than 45°.

[Tempest]

Originally Posted by William H Pratt

The problem you have is that LCDs have a very narrow viewing angle. Get too far off dead center in any direction & the quality of the picture you're seeing will degrade. Plasmas don't suffer from this.

Not all LCDs have this issue.. in fact most do not.. I can be at the most extreme angles of my 52" Sharp LCD and have no issues at all. My LCD is a nicer one which still is pricey today even though it is a 3-4 year old model. I am guessing this RCA was quite cheap and your seeing why it is so cheap now. I have a 28" LCD monitor for my computer that definately has this issue but then again when I am in front of the computer I am always dead center and don't really have others viewing it so it is not as much of an issue.

The saying you get what you pay for holds pretty true with LCD/Plasma TVs.. I would get a better LCD or Plasma if I was you.. cheapest is not always the best way to go. Very cheap Plasma's may cause you issues with IR / Burn in too.. just need to do some research before you buy any TV.

[connect42]

Originally Posted by Tempest

Not all LCDs have this issue.. in fact most do not.. I can be at the most extreme angles of my 52" Sharp LCD and have no issues at all. My LCD is a nicer one which still is pricey today even though it is a 3-4 year old model. I am guessing this RCA was quite cheap and your seeing why it is so cheap now. I have a 28" LCD monitor for my computer that definately has this issue but then again when I am in front of the computer I am always dead center and don't really have others viewing it so it is not as much of an issue.

The saying you get what you pay for holds pretty true with LCD/Plasma TVs.. I would get a better LCD or Plasma if I was you.. cheapest is not always the best way to go. Very cheap Plasma's may cause you issues with IR / Burn in too.. just need to do some research before you buy any TV.

Agreed. Not knocking the guys TV, because I'm sure it is a good one, but you get what you pay for. The viewing angles on my LG are really good.

[jeff92k7]

Originally Posted by bellerophon

Hi, Im new here.

I have a RCA 26' 720p/1020i TV set for my room. I know it sounds small but it is the perfect size considering where I am viewing it from.

Come on...no one has picked up on this yet? A 26 foot screen? That's certainly not small. I'm not sure I even have a room in my whole house that could fit a screen that size.

[pony exp]

Originally Posted by jeff92k7

Come on...no one has picked up on this yet? A 26 foot screen? That's certainly not small. I'm not sure I even have a room in my whole house that could fit a screen that size.

Come on its problably a miss print. I suffered the same problem when I brought my first lcd back in 2004. I learned from my mistakes and now check the angle viewing right in the store before buying it. Its a learning experence.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by bellerophon

Hi, Im new here.

I have a RCA 26' 720p/1020i TV set for my room. I know it sounds small but it is the perfect size considering where I am viewing it from. I find(with this TV at least), while watching movies, if I am viewing it from below(looking up at the TV), everything seems darker, and I cannot see many of the dark scenes. I have lowered the TV to a lower stand but I still have the problem. If I move to look at the TV from straight on, it looks perfect. Its really annoying because basically in order to see a perfect picture, I almost have to put it on the floor. Im guessing this is for all LCD's? Its very irritating. thanks.

Each TV has a different angle rating for viewing. My Sony BRAVIA has a 176 degree viewing angle, so I can watch it from being nearly beside it without losing image fidelity... Many of the "Wal-Mart brands" (as I like to call the cheap brands) of TV sacrifice these types of details in order to keep their production costs down. That's why I never skimp on major electronic components... they have a fractional price for a reason!

[Bluubyu]

My A950 has great viewing angles, no problem there. I see an upgrade in your future.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Originally Posted by bellerophon

Hi, Im new here.

I have a RCA 26' 720p/1020i TV set for my room. I know it sounds small but it is the perfect size considering where I am viewing it from. I find(with this TV at least), while watching movies, if I am viewing it from below(looking up at the TV), everything seems darker, and I cannot see many of the dark scenes. I have lowered the TV to a lower stand but I still have the problem. If I move to look at the TV from straight on, it looks perfect. Its really annoying because basically in order to see a perfect picture, I almost have to put it on the floor. Im guessing this is for all LCD's? Its very irritating. thanks.

In the world of High Def televisions, quality means everything. RCA isn't exactly setting the world on fire with high quality models. This is why one should stick to the top name-brands (Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Pioneer, Panasonic etc) and a reason why many still consider LCD to have poor viewing angles. If these tv companies would stop skimping, they would see otherwise.

Next TV purchase, do research....lots of research. The technology in these tv's isn't as cut 'n dried as it used to be and not all high def TV's are made equal...in fact, they aren't by a very, very large margin. You get what you pay for is more true in the electronics industry than pretty much in any other industry in the world and it is most true in the case of HDTV's.

[travis8214]

Slightly older LCDs and don't really have the greatest viewing angles in the world, and the smaller the worse, actually. Not that having a 26" is bad, I have a 26" BRAVIA in my bedroom and I love it, it's just that the bigger the display the more viewing area, and in turn the viewing angle becomes less of a problem.

[fly4rabbi]

Originally Posted by NuSoardGraphite

In the world of High Def televisions, quality means everything. RCA isn't exactly setting the world on fire with high quality models. This is why one should stick to the top name-brands (Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Pioneer, Panasonic etc) and a reason why many still consider LCD to have poor viewing angles. If these tv companies would stop skimping, they would see otherwise.
Next TV purchase, do research....lots of research. The technology in these tv's isn't as cut 'n dried as it used to be and not all high def TV's are made equal...in fact, they aren't by a very, very large margin. You get what you pay for is more true in the electronics industry than pretty much in any other industry in the world and it is most true in the case of HDTV's.

I would say they are skimping for a reason, because they are hitting a price point for people that dont have or dont want to spend the money. I love both of my panny plasmas, but have lots of freinds w/ dynex, vizio, lcds ect. As said before you get what you pay for, and many people don't want to pay.

[RWebb74]

My Samsung 52" A650 has great viewing angles. I was really impressed when shopping for it. Very close to plasma like. I would say that each make and model LCD is different and if it matters to you, it should be something you check out beforehand with any TV before you buy.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Originally Posted by RWebb74

My Samsung 52" A650 has great viewing angles. I was really impressed when shopping for it. Very close to plasma like. I would say that each make and model LCD is different and if it matters to you, it should be something you check out beforehand with any TV before you buy.

Oh, absolutely. My Samsung LN40A530 also has great viewing angle. That was one of my main criteria when i went TV hunting (also matte screen to filter out bright lights for daytime viewing. I HATE GLARE!)
Heck, my tv isn't even close to one of Sammy's top-of-the-line models, and the viewing angles are near perfect. It washes out a hair, but I only notice it because I know to look for it. No one else I know has even mentioned it.

The top LCD makers have pretty much gotten rid of the bad angles on their decent models, with the exception of the new LED backlit models. Hopefully those will be up to spec in another generation or two...