It's true LCDs do become unviewable from extreme angles, but any amount off center and contrast starts to drop. Heck, on big screens which fill your field of view it's possible for the sides to already have a measurable contrast drop.

Try some of these test patterns on an LCD display (you can use either a HTPC or a media player, just make sure the driving device and the display are in pix-by-pix mode): http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

Pioneer PDP-5020FD, Marantz SR6011
Axiom M5HP, VP160HP, QS8
Sony PS4, surround backs
-Chris