The difference between LCD and LED Monitors and HD TVs
Knowing the difference between LCD vs LED if you are in the process of buying a computer monitor or a flat panel television will help immensely in making the best investment. There has been a widespread debate on LCD vs LED technologies and it is often difficult for a consumer to pick the winner. When you are comparing the capabilities, clarity, and lifespan of an LCD versus LED monitor, you will find that each option has its benefits. You need to be concerned about the technical specifications of electronics products so you do not end up buying the wrong TV or monitor. Read through the following comparison and decide for yourself which technology wins the LCD vs LED debate.
LCD vs LED – Are they different display types?
When asking the question LCD vs LED, there is one thing you need to remember. Both types of displays, whether a computer monitor or television are LCD displays. Both use liquid crystals to show the picture. The greatest difference between LCD vs LED is the way the TV or monitor uses the backlight of the technology, the only way the LCD display can show the picture. We’ll talk about the backlighting next.
LCD vs LED – What is LCD?
An LCD is a flat panel display that uses liquid crystals. When you come across the technical definition of an LCD display, you may get lost after the first 3 words of the paragraph. As a consumer, you do not necessarily need to know the technicalities of LCD displays to understand the basics of how they work. The liquid crystals are found inside two pieces of polarized glass and will change their orientation when they are inside of the liquid. When the liquid is exposed to fluorescent light, it will transmit and change the light based on the type of lightwave. This is how colors are produced on your screen. This is a big difference between LCD vs LED. LCD only TVs use fluorescent light.
LCD vs LED – What is LED?
Now that you have a basic understanding of LCD technologies, you need to understand LED technologies before you decide who wins the LCD vs LED battle. An LED display is a flat panel television that uses light emitting diodes. These small LED bulbs can be used for a variety of different displays including but not limited to: televisions, computer monitors, billboards, and banners. While they both use LCD screens, they achieve HD in a different way. The LEDs illuminate the screen whereas an LCD monitor or TV uses a cold cathode fluorescent bulb to activate the liquid crystals.
LCD vs LED – Understanding the backlighting
Here’s an analogy to help you better understand “LCD vs LED”. Think of Christmas tree bulbs, these are LED lights. Now picture a bunch of LEDs bulbs about a quarter of the size all lined up in straight rows, up and down, on a panel the size of your display. This is important when it comes to LCD vs LED. Picture how the bulbs works, the light it gives off is direct, it’s in front of the bulb and slightly around. It’s doesn’t stray. Now picture the lights at your office building on the ceiling, these are CCFL lights. The kind LCD (Non-LED/LCD) TVs and monitors use, only it’s smaller in size, of course. The light from the fluorescent bulbs can be massive. The light strays and illuminates everything. In a TV or monitor the light can actually leak out (known as leakage) and can be overbearing. Making your blacks more a dull black/gray look and your bright primary colors have a more whitish look. Everything is really bright and not true to life imagery. That’s what backlighting truly means, and it’s VERY important when talking about LCD vs LED. In fact there wouldn’t even be a mention of LCD vs LED if there wasn’t a different source of light.
How Can You Determine Who Wins the LCD vs LED Battle?
Now that you understand how each display technology works (LCD vs LED), you need to discover which technology is better for you. As a consumer, you may consider price over everything. Try not to make this your only deciding factor. Otherwise you might as buy an old fashioned CRT monitor and call it a day? Consider how you are going to use the TV, look at the new technologies coming out. Both LED-LCD and LCD TV’s offer HD, but which offers the best picture? Which TV is the TV that major manufacturers are improving on. Which TV will have all the advantages before the year is even up and years ahead. Definitely be aware of the features, and the best features are in LED-LCD TVs because it has been proved to show the best picture. This is big in LCD vs LED …Features!
LCD vs LED – Which Delivers a Better Quality Picture?
LED monitors and TVs are known for having better contrast ratios. Meaning deeper blacks and crystal clear whites and primaries. When you are searching for an HD monitor or TV, contrast ratios are extremely important. As described above LEDs are light emitting diodes. These diodes are capable of achieving better contrast than fluorescent, liquid crystal displays. The fluorescent bulbs (CCFL) used to illuminate a LCD monitor do offer descent contrast, however in this battle, LED wins by a landslide because it can deliver deeper blacks, as CCFL lighted TVs have a problem with light leakage. This is particularly true when your “LED-LCD” monitor has a “full array of LEDs with local dimming” technology.
Here’s one of the advantages I was speaking about when it comes to LCD vs LED, and that’s Local Dimming. A newer technology that only LED-LCD TVs can deliver. Click here to read about Local Dimming.
LCD vs LED – Power Consumption is Always Important
In many households, a television or computer monitor is an electronic device that is used on a daily basis. It’s not uncommon for computer monitors to be used for hours on end, just surfing the internet. This is why power consumption can be very important. The powerful capacitors that are found inside of an LED panel will allow the monitor to consume less energy when it is powered on. This means you can reduce your carbon footprint on the planet, reduce your energy bills, and still enjoy your media entertainment when you choose an LED panel. LEDs win again in regards to power consumption capacities.
LCD vs LED – The Accuracy of the Color
When it comes to LCD vs LED accuracy of the colors portrayed on your screen is major. After all, when you are watching a movie or playing a game, you want your monitor or TV to display vibrant yellows when the image is supposed to be yellow. A high-definition monitor or flat panel television is not high-definition if it is depicting the wrong colors. LED televisions are known to be far more accurate. Again imagine a fluorescent bulb. It’s one bulb, delivering light all across the screen. Everything is lighted up. LEDs are many bulbs, each one has it’s own mind, so to speak, to deliver different amounts of light to the exact right place on your screen. In LCD vs LED this distinction is very important. As LED-LCD TVs will delivery the best blacks, and best vibrant colors every time.
LCD vs LED – Viewing Angle
If you have a large home or an awkward living room, viewing angle is very important. You need to be able to see the picture on the screen when you are sitting a little to the left or a little to right of the screen. Tougher to describe this one. When it comes to LCD vs LED, LED-LCD TVs have a much better contrast ratio, better clarity, sharper image. This makes it much easier to see what’s going on from a big angle. I say big angle! As most people are not sitting at 180 degrees of the TV looking at it from directly beside it. In the battle between LCD and LED both TVs offer pretty good viewing angles when sitting between 0 to 150 degrees of the TV.
LCD vs LED – Price?
When it comes to price in the LCD vs LED war, LED-LCD monitors and TVs are a tad more expensive. However you easily make that up because running a fluorescent bulb is much more expensive than running LEDs. (LCD vs LED). That’s just one example. However there are many times, especially in Amazon that you will find amazing deals and specials making them, sometimes, even less in price. Also in the LCD vs LED battle newer technology is making it so it takes less energy to run a LED-LCD TV when the power is off. The difference is staggering on some models, such as Sharp.
LCD vs LED – Which Display is the Ultimate Winner?
The LCD vs LED fight has been fought, who wins? Considering the money you will save, better true to life colors, better blacks, better vivid colors, how much less room a LED-LCD TV takes up. LED-LCD is the winner. Considering, LED-LCD technology is the one being improved upon constantly by major manufacturers, is the one newer inventions and ideas are being geared for, it’s even easier to make LED-LCD TVs the winner, hands down, in the battle of LCD vs LED.
