science

Viewing angle

Viewing angle is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Viewing angle rather than just read about it. In short: In display technology parlance, viewing angle is the angle at which a display can be viewed with an acceptable visual performance. In a technical context, the angular range is called viewing cone defined by a multitude of viewing directions.

Key takeaways

Viewing angle belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Viewing angle to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Viewing angle from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In display technology parlance, viewing angle is the angle at which a display can be viewed with an acceptable visual performance. In a technical context, the angular range is called viewing cone defined by a multitude of viewing directions. The viewing angle can be an angular range over which the display view is acceptable, or it can be the angle of generally acceptable viewing, such as a twelve o'clock viewing angle for a display optimized or viewing from the top. The image may seem garbled, poorly saturated, of poor contrast, blurry, or too faint outside the stated viewing angle range, the exact mode of "failure" depends on the display type in question. For example, some projection screens reflect more light perpendicular to the screen and less light to the sides, making the screen appear much darker (and sometimes colors distorted) if the viewer is not in front of the screen. Many manufacturers of projection screens thus define the viewing angle as the angle at which the luminance of the image is exactly half of the maximum. With LCD screens, some manufacturers have opted to measure the contrast ratio and report the viewing angle as the angle where the contrast ratio exceeds 5:1 or 10:1, giving minimally acceptable viewing conditions. The viewing angle is measured from one direction to the opposite, giving a maximum of 180° for a flat, one-sided screen. A display may exhibit different behavior in horizontal and vertical axes, requiring users and manufacturers to specify maximum usable viewing angles in both directions. Usually, the screens are designed to facilitate greater viewing angles at the horizontal level, and smaller angles at the vertical level, should the two of them differ in magnitude. The viewing angle for some displays is specified in only a general direction, such as 6 o'clock or 12 o'clock. Early LCDs had strikingly narrow viewing cones, a situation that has been improved with current technology. Narrow viewing cones of some types of displays have also been used to bring a measure of security in businesses, where employees handle private information in the presence of customers, banks being one example. Rectangular privacy filters fitting to the computer monitors have also been sold as accessories.

LEDs LEDs are measured so that the line along half the viewing angle from directly forward is half the brightness as at directly forward.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Viewing angle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Viewing angle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Viewing angle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Viewing angle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Viewing angle

In research: Viewing angle appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Viewing angle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Viewing angle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Display technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Viewing angle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Viewing angle in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Viewing angle means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Viewing angle out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Viewing angle in simple terms?

Why does Viewing angle matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Viewing angle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Viewing angle.