Monday, September 17, 2012

LCD vs LED debate broken down. Is the LED TV really worth it?

By Andrew Perez


Have you caught yourself walking around the aisles of a Best buy feeling utterly bewildered as to what the differences between all the TVs are? Have you ever tried to ask a salesclerk as to the differences and got a poorly rehearsed meaningless reply? If you've scratched your head repeatedly because you simply don't understand, then you came to the right spot to gain some knowledge. I'm going to go into full detail as to what the exact differences are between both of the high def televisions. Once you are finished going through the facts in this post, you will be significantly more enlightened on the matter. Then you could go back to the Fry's or Best buy you went to and teach the salesclerks some stuff.

Don't get it mistaken; an LCD is an LED:

Before we get started, let me let the cat out of the back on this entire television debate. An LED is actually an LCD because both TVs utilize something called liquid crystal display. What this basically means is that both TVs operate using liquid crystal display (LCD) flat panels to display their picture. The actual difference is the type of back lighting they both use. Besides that, there is no such thing as a pure LED television. Now that I've made things a little more clear, you will start to identify both televisions as an LCD and an LED-LCD TV.

What kind of backlighting is there?

As I said earlier, the key difference between both TVs is the type of back lighting it uses. An LCD displays its picture with what is referred to as a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (ccfl) for background lighting. The fluorescent lamps use a plastic shield right in front of the censors to effectively administer its light. LED is short for light emitting diode, which is kind of similar to the lights you put on your house during Christmas, only quite smaller. This is where the whole debate between both TVs begins to make more sense when referring to the quality of the images. The LEDs are set up in rows and contrary to the LCD, it does not function using a plastic shield to distribute its lighting. The new LED models utilize precisely installed censors in the LED and in the crystal display to control the image being presented. These sensors are utilized to recognize the 1's and 0's data being sent out and adjust the color display pixel by pixel, so it is able to use the light more efficiently. A good way to look at it is to think of flip sunglasses. These sensors function in the similar way that flip sunglasses operate, only utilizing multiple types of shades. By using this kind of technology on an LED television, you are capable of experiencing much deeper blacks, smoother color and a more radiant picture. This is the reason an LED can display for you a much more lifelike picture. So whenever you are referring to the LCD vs LED debate, what you're actually comparing is LED back lighting vs fluorescent back lighting.

What is full backlit and edgelit?

There are primarily two ways the LED HDTV uses back lighting. Backlit and edgelit. The main feature on the full backlit TV is that it's utilized to magnify the contrast levels by turning off and on the LEDs that were selected and using a feature referred to as local-dimming. This amplifies the amount of blacks in certain spots of the image.

The edgelit's most obvious advantage is that it allows for the TV to be exceptionally slim, which makes the edgelit less heavy and simple to set up in your home or carry when needed. Contrary to the full backlit LED, the edgelit has its LEDs aligned along the edges rather than behind the panel. A handful of the most current edgelit televisions now have local dimming as well. Just remember to keep in mind that the edgelit presents fewer dimmable segments compared to the full backlit LED TV. The difference is obvious, a lot like comparing thousands to millions. To sum it all up the full backlit LED television can give you more definition in color and improved local dimming.

Local Dimming on LED TVs:

TVs have completely evolved since the old tube televisions. All LED television sets that include the local dimming setting are keen on recognizing specific dark areas of the picture. This ultimately allows more detail to shine through on the scenes that are darker. Local dimming works by turning off selected pixels, giving the image a significantly better contrast ratio and wider levels of black. The pixels turn off then on as a result of the ambient lighting. Think of this like enjoying a good flick on your television with the glare from the sun radiating through your window, or the room light glaring right on your TV screen. The LED HD television automatically fixes the attributes of your picture as needed, so you are then able to continue enjoying the picture on your television screen without being interrupted. This is clearly an extremely nice option to have if you ask me. LCD only televisions don't include this feature.

So is the LED TV really worth the money it costs?

To be honest, I really do not think this debate is still significant, since in the near future all televisions will be LEDs. As technology keeps moving forward, LEDs keep getting more high tech. Pure LCD TVs are becoming outdated and will soon become extinct. To summarize everything, these are the key features to keep in mind when buying an LED television instead of an LCD TV; LED TVs use less power, have a much quicker response time in comparison to fluorescent lighting, are equipped with local dimming, are less heavy and give you overall greater quality picture.




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