Do LCD (flatpanel) monitors have the "bad viewing angle" syndrome of laptop LCDs?

[MDesigner]

Subject says it all. I was wondering if flat-panels have the same problem as laptops.. where if you don't view the screen straight-on, there's contrast/color distortion.

Very bad for people who rely on colors, like graphic designers.

Thanks

 

[dullard]

No they don't have the color changing problem. But, if it is important to you they have a different problem when looking from odd angles. Put a picture of a face looking straight forward on a rounded monitor. No mater what angle you look at the monitor, the face and eyes will be looking right at you. Now put the same face on a flat monitor. The eyes will be looking at you ONLY if you sit dead center in front of the screen. All other angles will have the eyes looking off into some corner of the room.

While I agree this is a minor issue, it sure ruins some movies, especially if you have a few friends over. Each friend sees a different movie and only the one sitting directly in front gets to see what the director wanted you to see.

 

[MysticLlama]

I have two Dell 1500 series, (one 1500, one 1501/digital+analog), and the newer one is a little crisper and faster, but not really by a huge margin.

They both have a very wide viewing angle, not as much as a monitor, but far better than the active matrix laptop screen I have, which is a good screen to boot.

The most noticeable is up and down though, rather than side to side, for instance, when I was wiring up the computer last night and sitting on the floor looking up at it on the desk, it was readable, but a little off. But that was a pretty extreme angle.

All in all, dekstop flat panels are MUCH better than any laptop screens I've seen.

Just be sure to get a newer one, like no older than two years, (even if it's new it could be an old model) because each newer generation seems to be faster and have a better viewing angle.