LCD manufacturers challenge us to keep in mind many technical aspects about their products, and one of them is now related to LED backlight technology that they employ for their products. We explained in a different article how this technology works, and we listed several of its most important advantages. But we believe that you, as a buyer, would be more interested in seeing how this technology brings something really different when compared to normal LCD, so you can learn if it is worth spending more for something new. We will talk about the type of light that brings them both to life and we will try to dig deeper into the main difference that could make them move away from one another
LED vs CCFL
The main difference between LED LCD and normal LCD is the type of lighting they use in order to project images on the screen. Traditional products use CCFL backlights (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp); this acts like a fluorescent light bulb that distributes light around the screen, while newer products use LED (Light Emitting Diode), which is, indeed, a step further in better and more uniformly lighting the screen. But how does this influence the way we watch television when we want to acquire a new LCD TV? Let’s see.
LED has the upper hand over CCFL, and there is a sound explanation for it. As you may well known, early LCD criticism was directed towards the uniformity issue. Many said that LCD TV’s had trouble when displaying the image on the screen, in terms of uniformity, especially when compared with plasma TV. Exactly this was the problem that people wanted to address by adding the LED technology to LCD’s. Also, if the TV has the local dimming feature, LED technology can help even more. This permits turning off some portions of the backlight depending on what type of image is shown on the screen, which means that colors look more accurate and deeper blacks are achieved.
Talking More About Black Levels
We mentioned above black levels and not hazardously. Plasma is praised especially because it can deliver the deepest black levels, providing a stunning watching experience. No wonder that LCD manufacturers had something to think about. While each pixel on a plasma screen is illuminating by itself, LCD needs a backlight in order to project the image and to illuminate the pixels. The thing with pixels is that they can never be made look opaque when an external light is showered on them, which causes what is called bleed through. This is the reason why traditional LCD’s could never deliver the deepest black, making some dark scenes look washed out when compared to plasma. LED backlighting, accompanied by local dimming, is able to deal with that, by turning off some areas, so deeper blacks are deliver. It has yet to win over plasma, but it is better than traditional LCD’s.
Contrast, Power Efficiency and the Kind
Advantages of LED LCD TV versus normal LCD are noticeable. LCD’s that are designed with LED backlights are able to deliver greater contrast, better black levels, more accurate colors, and it is, also, more power efficient. Now, you may think that we have already reached our conclusion. But it is not quite so. In order to deliver such great advantages, LCD’s should use a full array of LED’s installed in the back of their screens, yet, many LCD manufacturers still preferred the edge mounted LED’s, which is the cheaper solution. Now, this type of LED’s still deliver more screen uniformity, but such LCD TV’s do not come with the local dimming feature, so we sadly have to say goodbye to plasma challenging blacks, or noticeably increased contrast. This means that, even if edge mounted LED LCD’s still present some advantage over normal LCD’s, they are not that impressive.
Sleek Design
Mounting LED’s only on the edge allowed manufacturers to produce products that are thinner than previous one. This is about the only major advantage of LED LCD versus normal LCD that we can put our heart on. These new LCD’s are really thin and they have a nice sleek design that pleases the eye. We should not forget the fact that they are also eco-friendly, consuming less power than traditional model, so, if you care about environment, you may also consider this as an important advantage.
Conclusions
LED LCD technology is one step ahead normal LCD, yet, it has to prove itself. Unless you buy a model that sports a full array of LED’s on its back, with local dimming feature, you will not get any near a plasma like experience when watching your favorite programs in full HDTV. Subtle improvements in screen uniformity, contrast and black levels exists in all LED based models, but it truly depends if you care so much about it, or you want to wait for the prices to go down for more competitive