eli5: why do twisted nematic displays appear black when viewed from extreme angles?
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Not an electrical engineer, but did previously sell computer monitors and nerded out over the different display techs, so I’ll give this a shot.
TN displays work kind of like Venetian shades in a house window. Each pixel is covered by a separate set of shades that opens to different angles to allow different levels of light through. The problem is, like with Venetian shades, even when they’re open, if you try and look at them from an extreme angle, you end up seeing the side of the shade, and not the direct light coming through.
By the same analogy, when TN panels try to block all the light, the shades don’t fully close, and allow light to leak through. This is why most TN displays don’t have contrast levels that match those of other display technologies.
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