An employee reports that when she shifts slightly to the side of her inexpensive LCD monitor, dark areas look washed out and colors become distorted. You confirm the screen uses a twisted nematic (TN) panel. Which inherent design characteristic of TN technology is primarily responsible for the issue she observes?
Intrinsically high pixel response times
Limited horizontal and vertical viewing angles
Susceptibility to permanent image burn-in
Requirement for a high-voltage inverter to drive the backlight
TN panels are built so the liquid-crystal molecules twist steeply when viewed off-axis, causing light to leak differently at various angles. This limits both horizontal and vertical viewing angles, making color and contrast shift noticeably when the viewer moves. TN panels actually have low (fast) response times, are not especially prone to burn-in, and their need for an inverter is no different from other CCFL-backlit LCD types, so those factors do not explain the observed distortion.
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