Monitor Viewing Angle Test

Press Full Screen on a saturated colour or grey, then move your head off to the sides and up and down. How much the colour and contrast shift tells you your panel type — and whether it suits shared viewing, side monitors, or portrait mode.

New to this? Here’s the plain-English version.

What this test is

Solid colour screens you view from different angles to see how much the image shifts when you’re not sitting dead-centre.

How it helps you

It tells you whether your monitor suits sharing with others, angled side monitors, or portrait mode — or only looks right head-on.

What we’re checking

How much colour and contrast change as you move off to the side or above and below the screen.

White

Red

Green

Blue

Cyan

Magenta

Yellow

Black

Check for color consistency from different angles.

View the screen from the side, top, and bottom. Note if the colors wash out, become darker, or shift in hue. On a good display, the colors should remain consistent.

Press F11 or Full Screen · ← → patterns · Esc to exit

How to Use the Test

The test is most revealing on high-saturation colours (red, green) and 50% grey, where shifts are easiest to see. Pure white and black tell you very little about viewing angle.

1Pick a revealing colour. Cycle to a solid red, green, or 50% grey and go Full Screen. High-saturation colours and grey show shifts that white and black hide.
2Set your on-axis reference. Sit directly in front at your normal distance and note the colour and brightness — this is your baseline.
3Move left and right. Shift your head to the outer edges and watch for colour shift, brightness change, or contrast loss.
4Move up and down. Vertical angle reveals the most severe colour inversion on TN and the biggest contrast loss on VA.

Viewing Angle by Panel Type

Panel technology is the single biggest factor. If you know how your panel behaves off-axis, you can usually identify which of these four types you own:

Poor

Rated 170°/160° but shows severe colour inversion on the vertical axis — a slight head move shifts reds toward yellow and inverts dark tones. Unsuitable for shared or portrait use; its real strength is fast response, not angles.

IPS

Very good

178° with near-zero colour shift across most of the range. The main off-axis trait is IPS glow — a silvery corner shimmer. The standard choice for colour work and shared viewing.

Moderate

Rated 178° but colours wash out and contrast (its main strength) degrades beyond roughly 20–30° off-centre. Best viewed straight-on.

OLED

Excellent

The best angles of any current technology. Self-emissive pixels keep colour, contrast, and brightness consistent at almost any angle.

Seeing a silvery corner shimmer that moves with your head? That is IPS glow, not a defect — and different from fixed edge light, which the backlight bleed test covers.

When Viewing Angle Matters Most

Multiple viewers

Watching films or reviewing work together needs IPS or OLED — a TN panel shows a completely different image from a side seat.

Multi-monitor setups

Angled side monitors sit off-axis from your main seat. A TN or narrow VA side panel looks washed out or colour-shifted from there.

Portrait mode

Rotating 90° moves TN’s severe inversion to the left/right of the screen. IPS handles portrait rotation without significant loss.

Large screens (32"+)

The corners of a big panel already sit 30°+ from your eyes — enough for visible VA contrast loss or TN colour inversion at the edges.

Viewing Angle FAQ

What is viewing angle on a monitor?+

Viewing angle describes how much the image changes as you move away from directly in front of the screen. A wide viewing angle means the picture looks consistent from the side; a narrow one means colours shift and contrast drops off quickly as you move off-centre.

IPS vs VA — which has better viewing angles?+

IPS, clearly. IPS keeps colour accuracy across a very wide angular range, with only IPS glow as a characteristic artifact. VA shows visible contrast loss and colour washing at moderate off-axis angles despite similar rated specs. For shared viewing or side monitors, IPS is the better choice.

Why does my monitor look different from the side?+

All LCD panels shift colour or brightness at an angle because of how liquid crystals interact with polarised light. TN shifts the most, IPS the least among LCDs. If the shift is severe even at a slight angle, you almost certainly have a TN panel.

What panel type is best for wide viewing angles?+

OLED first, then IPS. OLED holds colour, contrast, and brightness from nearly any angle because each pixel emits its own light. IPS keeps good colour accuracy across wide angles with only IPS glow as a trade-off. VA and TN are both weaker, though VA is much better than TN.

What is IPS glow and is it a defect?+

IPS glow is a silvery shimmer in the corners of IPS panels that grows when you view from an angle or up close. It is an inherent characteristic of IPS technology, not a defect, and it shifts as you move — unlike backlight bleed, which stays fixed. It cannot be returned or repaired.

Does viewing angle matter if I sit alone at a desk?+

Less, but it still matters on large screens and portrait setups. On a 32-inch panel the corners already sit at a notable angle from your eyes, so a narrow-angle panel shows contrast loss at the edges. Rotating a TN panel to portrait moves its worst colour shift to the sides of the screen.

How do I test viewing angle properly?+

Use a high-saturation colour (red or green) or 50% grey — these reveal shifts that white and black hide. Sit centred for a reference, then move your head left/right and up/down and watch for colour shift, brightness change, or contrast loss. Vertical movement exposes TN colour inversion most dramatically.

Related Monitor Tests

Uniformity Test

Even brightness and colour across the panel

Colour Accuracy Test

Hue accuracy and grey neutrality

Contrast Test

Black levels and contrast ratio

Checking a whole new panel?

Run the dead pixel test and browse the full monitor test suite.

Monitor Pixel Test All Monitor Tests