Will portrait mode damage my LCD?

Question

I've got a Viewsonic VX924, which I love. Ignoring the fact that I will have to improvise my own mount in order to do it, will operating the monitor on its side (portrait mode) cause any harm to the display?

I seem to recall that Plasma displays have to stay in a certain vertical/horizontal arrangement; and that there are some LCDs that readily switch back and forth between landscape and portrait; but I don't know if rolling my own portrait mode is going to cause me to bust my monitor.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I currently have 84 LCD monitors mounted this way in my training room.
Monitors are designed with the field of view optimised for the user when used in landscape view. In this orientation, anyone sat directly in front will get the best display, anyone viewing from above and to the side will see a reasonable picture and anyone viewing from below the normal eyeline will see a poor quality picture. So, when you turn your monitor on it's side, the field of view will be rotated as well. e.g. if you turn it clockwise, anyone viewing the monitor from the left hand side will see a poor quality picture. You need to bear this in mind when mounting the monitor.

Answer 2

No damage, unless it has poor components or is a bad quality design.

To some of my business clients, I use widescreen monitors in tilting VESA mounts, and they use them on their side to read full screen documents, comes in very handy!

Answer 3

No damage will be caused to the screen, but it could cause problems with your vision. Most LCD displays are designed to be viewed the long way. If they're oriented the other way then your eyes will see the same part of the screen at slightly different intensity levels, which can increase visual fatigue.