Watching TV on an angle

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Jul 24th, 2020 1:12 pm

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Jul 22nd, 2020 9:34 am

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 22nd, 2020 9:34 am

Watching TV on an angle

Bought a TCL 4-Series and when I sit on an angle, some of the whites look yellow. For example, the sky with a sun looks white/yellowish when on an angle, but sitting straight in front of the TV it looks fine. It's a big deal for us because 3 of our seats in the room will be on an angle of sorts (just the way the room is set up). Any advice on what this is and what to do?

I'm all but ready to return this TV to Costco and invest in another TV. Unfortunately I feel that all LED TV's will have the same effect and make it almost unwatchable for me. Am I nitpicking here or is this something that's common? We can't afford the expensive OLED TV's right now unfortunately that my small amount of research has revealed will help eliminate this while viewing on an angle.

Any tips would be appreciated. I'm waiting for the new weekly sales to start on Friday before I make any decision. Would prefer Costco because the 5 year coverage can't be beat.

22 replies

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:10 am

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 23694 posts; 10202 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:10 am

This is the downside of VA panels. Your TCL 4 series is a VA panel. If you want wide viewing angles, get an IPS TV or else an OLED.

1. VA panel (eg. Samsung, Sony): Good black levels with good contrast. Lousy to mediocre viewing angles. (Some of the most expensive VA panels have moderately OK viewing angles.)

2. IPS panel (eg. LG, some Sony): Poor black levels and mediocre contrast at night, but in daytime or in a room with the lights all on, a good IPS panel should look fine (because poor black levels are not obvious in this scenario). Excellent viewing angles.

3. OLED panel (all of them, since they're all made by LG): Perfect black levels and infinite contrast, but there is a small risk of burn-in. Excellent viewing angles.

+10

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:16 am

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:16 am

EugW wrote: ↑ This is the downside of VA panels.

If you want wide viewing angles, get an IPS TV or else an OLED.

1. VA panel (eg. Samsung, Sony): Good black levels with good contrast. Lousy to mediocre viewing angles. (Some of the most expensive VA panels have moderately OK viewing angles.)

Thanks. IPS seems to be less expensive than OLED, so that might be my best bet. Can't really afford to spend $2000 here.
2. IPS panel (eg. LG, some Sony): Poor black levels and mediocre contrast at night, but in daytime or in a room with the lights all on, a good IPS panel should look fine (because poor black levels are not obvious in this scenario). Excellent viewing angles.

3. OLED panel (all of them, since they're all made by LG): Perfect black levels and infinite contrast, but there is a small risk of burn-in. Excellent viewing angles.

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:28 am

ds2chan: Deal Addict; Dec 11, 2003; 3306 posts; 1866 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:28 am

EugW wrote: ↑ This is the downside of VA panels. Your TCL 4 series is a VA panel. If you want wide viewing angles, get an IPS TV or else an OLED.

1. VA panel (eg. Samsung, Sony): Good black levels with good contrast. Lousy to mediocre viewing angles. (Some of the most expensive VA panels have moderately OK viewing angles.)

2. IPS panel (eg. LG, some Sony): Poor black levels and mediocre contrast at night, but in daytime or in a room with the lights all on, a good IPS panel should look fine (because poor black levels are not obvious in this scenario). Excellent viewing angles.

3. OLED panel (all of them, since they're all made by LG): Perfect black levels and infinite contrast, but there is a small risk of burn-in. Excellent viewing angles.

Thanks for this info. Can you tell me what do you mean by poor black levels? Like, if watching a movie or playing a game where the scene is dark is it really hard to see people in the scene?

P10 2.4 THz CPU || 8 TB Ram || WD 300 TB HD || Nvidia w/ 32 TB Memory

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+1

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:28 am

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 23694 posts; 10202 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:28 am

ds2chan wrote: ↑ Thanks for this info. Can you tell me what do you mean by poor black levels? Like, if watching a movie or playing a game where the scene is dark is it really hard to see people in the scene?

For an IPS TV, it will not look good in the dark. Blacks are a hazy grey. What do you watch, and do you watch with the lights on? When there is a lot of ambient light in the room, those poor blacks are much harder to notice.

Anyhow, my main TV is an OLED. This is in a darkened and dedicated home theatre room. My living room TV is an IPS TV because I couldn't get an OLED small enough for that cabinet and because I need really wide viewing angles there. Also, it's mainly the kids' TV with the room lights on, and my young kids don't know enough to care about black levels anyway. I'm considering a VA panel for another room, because it's mostly straight on viewing there and I don't feel like paying for an OLED for that room, but I do like watching in the dark in that room.

Different strokes for different ~~folks~~ usage.

EDIT:

OLED black on the left and IPS black on the right, in a dark room:

https://imgur.com/r/thinkpad/WWsdw

This looks horrible, because it's it a completely dark room. However, in the daytime or in a room with the lights on, it doesn't look anywhere near this bad. There are lots of fans of LG IPS TVs, people who don't usually watch in the dark.

+6

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:44 am

ds2chan: Deal Addict; Dec 11, 2003; 3306 posts; 1866 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:44 am

EugW wrote: ↑ For an IPS TV, it will not look good in the dark. Blacks are a hazy grey. What do you watch, and do you watch with the lights on? When there is a lot of ambient light in the room, those poor blacks are much harder to notice.

Anyhow, my main TV is an OLED. This is in a darkened and dedicated home theatre room. My living room TV is an IPS TV because I couldn't get an OLED small enough for that cabinet and because I need really wide viewing angles there. Also, it's mainly the kids' TV with the room lights on, and my young kids don't know enough to care about black levels anyway. I'm considering a VA panel for another room, because it's mostly straight on viewing there and I don't feel like paying for an OLED for that room, but I do like watching in the dark in that room.

Different strokes for different ~~folks~~ usage.

EDIT:

OLED black on the left and IPS black on the right, in a dark room:

https://imgur.com/r/thinkpad/WWsdw

This looks horrible, because it's it a completely dark room. However, in the daytime or in a room with the lights on, it doesn't look anywhere near this bad. There are lots of fans of LG IPS TVs, people who don't usually watch in the dark.

Thanks for the explanation. That helps a lot.

I see what you mean in the images. I always watch TV and play games with the lights on. If you didn't show me the pictures I probably would never notice if I had just bought an IPS TV. I think I would just go with and IPS screen then since I'm not willing to pay for an OLED TV. Also, I think my wife could kill me.

I never knew that Samsung was not using an IPS screen in the TVs these days. I thought every was.

P10 2.4 THz CPU || 8 TB Ram || WD 300 TB HD || Nvidia w/ 32 TB Memory

"You're only as dumb as you look"

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:44 am

coriolis: Deal Expert; May 22, 2005; 21569 posts; 7405 upvotes; GTA

Jul 22nd, 2020 10:44 am

More good info here:

https://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/ips-led-vs-va-lcd

Jul 22nd, 2020 11:00 am

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 23694 posts; 10202 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 11:00 am

ds2chan wrote: ↑ Thanks for the explanation. That helps a lot.

I see what you mean in the images. I always watch TV and play games with the lights on. If you didn't show me the pictures I probably would never notice if I had just bought an IPS TV. I think I would just go with and IPS screen then since I'm not willing to pay for an OLED TV. Also, I think my wife could kill me.

I never knew that Samsung was not using an IPS screen in the TVs these days. I thought every was.

Most TVs are VA actually. If you don't need wide viewing angles and don't want to pay for an OLED, then I would recommend a VA panel (preferably a good quality one with well implemented local dimming).

BTW, a family we know had an old TV and were due for a new one. The husband wanted an OLED, but the wife said it was crazy to spend that kind of coin on a TV. So we brought them over to my house to see my OLED and she was convinced. They now have a shiny new OLED.

Seriously though, yeah, they are really damn expensive and if you aren't watching in the dark, a lot of the benefit of OLED is lost. Plus there is a risk of burn-in esp. if you have an unchanging video game HUD on-screen all day.

+1

Jul 22nd, 2020 12:41 pm

ds2chan: Deal Addict; Dec 11, 2003; 3306 posts; 1866 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 12:41 pm

EugW wrote: ↑ Most TVs are VA actually. If you don't need wide viewing angles and don't want to pay for an OLED, then I would recommend a VA panel (preferably a good quality one with well implemented local dimming).

BTW, a family we know had an old TV and were due for a new one. The husband wanted an OLED, but the wife said it was crazy to spend that kind of coin on a TV. So we brought them over to my house to see my OLED and she was convinced. They now have a shiny new OLED. Seriously though, yeah, they are really damn expensive and if you aren't watching in the dark, a lot of the benefit of OLED is lost. Plus there is a risk of burn-in esp. if you have an unchanging video game HUD on-screen all day.

Thanks for all the info. That helped a lot.

That's a funny about your friend. I think my wife would kill me if I bought an OLED and then still enjoy the TV.

P10 2.4 THz CPU || 8 TB Ram || WD 300 TB HD || Nvidia w/ 32 TB Memory

"You're only as dumb as you look"

Jul 22nd, 2020 1:18 pm

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 22nd, 2020 1:18 pm

Thanks everyone for helping. We have wide angles so I think an IPS works best. LG had a nice 65” for $849 that is now out of stock.

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg ... a/13808495

LG uses IPS, not sure if other brands.

Jul 22nd, 2020 1:35 pm

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 23694 posts; 10202 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 22nd, 2020 1:35 pm

sportznutt wrote: ↑ Thanks everyone for helping. We have wide angles so I think an IPS works best. LG had a nice 65” for $849 that is now out of stock.

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg ... a/13808495

LG uses IPS, not sure if other brands.

As mentioned Sony also uses IPS for some models, although usually for their lower end models. Sony's higher end models are VA or OLED. Also, often the 43" models are IPS because people use them as computer monitors, and some people don't like using big 43" VA panels as computer monitors because of the viewing angle issue.

This year LG has gone after this sub 50" computer monitor market with its new 48" OLED, but for some reason it is not available (yet?) in Canada. Already available in US and Europe. The 48" CX OLED was listed in a few spots on LG Canada's website, but they've since removed it on the main CX page.

Jul 22nd, 2020 2:02 pm

Cough: Deal Fanatic; Dec 9, 2003; 5256 posts; 1087 upvotes; Calgary

Jul 22nd, 2020 2:02 pm

You do know that most stores have TVs on display that you can view from side to side????

Jul 22nd, 2020 4:48 pm

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 22nd, 2020 4:48 pm

Cough wrote: ↑ You do know that most stores have TVs on display that you can view from side to side????

Haha yes I do. When I went the first time to Best Buy, I had my son running around the store. When I went to Costco the second time, the guy couldn't get the videos to display, so it was just a picture of the home screen.

Jul 22nd, 2020 5:51 pm

IcarusLSC: Deal Addict; Nov 7, 2016; 2885 posts; 1790 upvotes; Ontario

Jul 22nd, 2020 5:51 pm

I wish I could remember the model number but I was looking at a Hisense at Visions that wasn't IPS but still had good viewing angles. Go in and look at different TVs...

Jul 22nd, 2020 6:02 pm

robertz: Deal Addict; Nov 21, 2008; 1443 posts; 343 upvotes; North Vancouver, BC

Jul 22nd, 2020 6:02 pm

sportznutt wrote: ↑ Thanks everyone for helping. We have wide angles so I think an IPS works best. LG had a nice 65” for $849 that is now out of stock.

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg ... a/13808495

LG uses IPS, not sure if other brands.

The UM6900 has poor blacks, a dim display, and gaming flicker. I would suggest spending an extra $50 to $100 and get the UM7300 as it's better in these areas.

Jul 22nd, 2020 9:00 pm

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 22nd, 2020 9:00 pm

robertz wrote: ↑ The UM6900 has poor blacks, a dim display, and gaming flicker. I would suggest spending an extra $50 to $100 and get the UM7300 as it's better in these areas.

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg ... lsrc=aw.ds

Thanks.

Jul 23rd, 2020 9:26 am

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 23694 posts; 10202 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 23rd, 2020 9:26 am

sportznutt wrote: ↑ https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg ... lsrc=aw.ds

https://www.costco.ca/lg-65-in.-smart-4 ... 60770.html

Jul 23rd, 2020 10:28 am

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 23rd, 2020 10:28 am

EugW wrote: ↑ https://www.costco.ca/lg-65-in.-smart-4 ... 60770.html

Thanks. Same TV, just different size, I believe, right?

Jul 23rd, 2020 11:34 am

EugW: Deal Expert; Mar 23, 2009; 23694 posts; 10202 upvotes; Toronto

Jul 23rd, 2020 11:34 am

sportznutt wrote: ↑ Thanks. Same TV, just different size, I believe, right?

The one you linked is an older model (and smaller). This year is UN while last year is UM. The main difference is UN may get updates for 1 year longer.

This one is at Costco as you wished and is under the $1000 barrier.

Jul 23rd, 2020 1:11 pm

sportznutt [OP]: Member; Dec 24, 2005; 494 posts; 114 upvotes

Jul 23rd, 2020 1:11 pm

EugW wrote: ↑ The one you linked is an older model (and smaller). This year is UN while last year is UM. The main difference is UN may get updates for 1 year longer.

This one is at Costco as you wished and is under the $1000 barrier.

You're the best! I'll have a look and see if it'll work for us (size wise). Appreciate the help.

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