TV Buying Guide: LED vs LCD

Whenever you walk into a local electronic store and watch the vivid colors and high-definition videos being played on screen, you may often wonder what sets these televisions apart and what the differences are. When weighing your options in buying a television set, it often comes down to comparing LED vs LCD TVs. Both television types have been around for a while, but these three-letter acronyms can still baffle a regular consumer. Here are some of the differences between LED and LCD TVs.

Samsung UN22F5000 22-Inch 1080p 60Hz Slim LED HDTV

LCD TV

LCD also stands for liquid crystal display and it has been around much longer than LED TVs. LCDs are also not limited to televisions, but can be found in almost everything that requires a display panel, such as digital alarm clocks, laptops, CD players, microwave ovens, and others. LCD televisions, however, utilize a different backlighting method, which is typically called cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). CCFL is an older technology and is one of the foremost differences when comparing LED vs LCD TVs. An LCD panel is composed of tiny light valves or cells connected to a voltage inverter board. Colored filters are placed in front of the valves and an always-on CCFL sits behind the cells or valves and provides the backlight.

Pros
CCFL bulbs are older technology but are the most cost-effective and simplest method of backlighting an LCD panel. This means an LCD TV is generally cheaper compared to LED TVs and is still a great option if you're in a budget. CCFL-lit LCD televisions don't falter greatly in comparison when it comes to pushing the brightness and color aggressions of the pictures.

Cons
One of the persistent problems with CCFL-lit televisions is the lack of means to control the black level response or simply the black color often required to enjoy scary scenes from movies or television series. This is due to the single, always-lit CCFL backlight that limits the ability of LCD TVs to control the brightness of the panel's individual pixels. The brightness often results in grayish or cloudy color instead of a purer black level response. While CCFLs bulbs are cheaper compared LED bulbs, they require more power to operate, which means a bit higher electrical cost. Life span comparisons are also an utmost consideration in LED and LCD TVs, and unfortunately, CCFL-lit LCD TVs have shorter life spans than LED TVs.

LED TV

Contrary to other people's belief, LED is not a different type of television but is actually a subset of LCD TVs. It has been used since 2004 and is first released by Sony in its WEGA series. The main comparison in LED vs LCD TVs is the backlighting. LED TVs use light-emitting diodes (LED) as a light source or backlight. Unlike CCFL-lit LCD TVs, LED TVs don't use inverter tubes but a matrix or a strip of LEDs behind the screen panel.

Pros
LED TVs are generally thinner and lighter in weight compared to CCFL-lit LCDs because they don't use inverters and tubes. LED also allows for a more vivid color and higher brightness as LEDs work with distinct RGB-colors, which is red, blue, and green, the same chroma wheel found on old CRT televisions. Another advantage of LED TVs is their dimming capabilities, allowing the TV to display a blacker black and filter the brightness of the lights passing through the LCD panel. Local dimming, however, is only often available in backlit or full-array backlighting. Edgelit LED backlighting, on the other hand, have dimming capabilities but can only be dimmed in fewer segments. LED TVs with edgelit backlits are also incredibly thin because the LEDs are not behind the panel but are at the side.

Cons
LEDs are more expensive than CCFLs, but are increasingly becoming more affordable due to laptop manufacturers using LED as backlighting for their LCD panels.

Conclusion

When it comes down to comparing LED vs LCD TVs, the main difference is that LED TVs can provide better video and picture quality but can also be more expensive than LCD TVs. CCFL-lit LCD TVs are improving in terms of color, black level response, and brightness and is still a good contender for LED-backlit TVs. If you're not in a budget constraint, however, an LED TV is still the best option, as it has a longer life span, is considerably thinner, and offers better and clearer images.

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