A study conducted by research company Displaymate indicates that the viewing angle of LCDs are narrower when compared to plasmas. This study was conducted in collaboration with Insight Media, a market research firm and involved plasmas and LCDs from the 2008 models of top manufacturers. The study also revealed that when the test LCD models were viewed at an angle of 45 degrees, their black levels and contrast ratios dropped way below 50 percent, where as, comparatively, those of Plasmas dropped to approximately 10 percent.
Displaymate also found that some new features of offered by certain leading manufacturers that were tested tended to reduce picture quality and accuracy of images. Further, it indicated that dynamic contrast ratios were not the same as advertised.
Contrast ratio is an essential factor that controls the picture performance. The higher it is, the better. A wide viewing angle does not compromise on the picture quality even when viewed from a difficult angle.
