There may be some confusion over the technology and various benefits of LED TVs and LCD TVs.
This is because manufacturers typically present you with lots of facts and figures to promote a particular model without actually telling you anything useful.
To help sort fact from fiction let us take a tour of LED and LCD TV technology and see which is best for you.
LED is really an LCD panel with LED backlights
The most important fact to remember is that both types use an LCD display panel.
The difference comes when you take the backlighting solution into consideration.
Backlighting is necessary to make the LCD onscreen image visible no matter the ambient lighting conditions in the room.
Usually a manufacturer or retailer will use the term ‘LCD TV’ to let you know that this model uses fluorescent backlighting.
This is an older, more traditional form of backlighting which has been used since the inception of flatscreen televisions.
LED TVs on the other hand are much more modern in their approach to backlighting, using thousands of tiny LED lights to make the image bright and the colours vibrant.
Benefits of LED TV
Slimline Design
The first obvious benefit of LED TVs when compared to LCD alternatives is that they are much thinner because the LED backlighting takes up less space.
This results in super-modern, wafer-thin designs that are not as heavy as those that have gone before and as such are much easier to mount on a wall.
They will save you money
The second benefit of LED TVs is that the backlighting is far more efficient, wasting less energy as heat and thus saving you money on your electricity bill and helping the environment in one fell swoop.
LCD TVs are still more efficient than monster CRT displays of the past, but LEDs take this responsibility one step further in the right direction.
Read the latest LED TV Reviews
On the whole superior image quality
With efficiency and attractiveness on their side, LED TVs also take the cake when it comes to image quality.
This is because the LED lighting allows for better contrast ratios and crisper colours.
There are two different types of LED TV at the moment; edge lit and full LED solutions with local dimming technology.
Edge lit displays are the thinnest and most efficient but with the lighting arranged on the outer rim of the panel it can be inconsistent in cheaper models.
Local dimming TVs use banks of LEDs across the entire area behind the display, giving superior contrast as dark areas of the image are dimmed to enhance the blacks. With LCD displays this is simply not possible, so you are stuck with a fixed level of brightness which cannot adapt to the onscreen conditions.
Final Thoughts
So far LED TVs are looking very attractive compared to standard LCD options.
However, because the technology has been on the market for a relatively short period the cost of owning an LED TV is much higher than if you opt for an LCD display of equivalent size.
The divide is becoming narrower as more consumers buy LED TVs when they upgrade, but those on a tight budget may get more bang for their buck with an LCD screen. However, LED TVs are undoubtedly the future of the market.
