LCD TV and LED Televisions – What’s the difference?

May 19, 2012. Paul Hixon

Anyone who has looked into buying a brand new television of late will probably be aware that the latest trend being promoted is the LED (light emitting diode) television.

LED televisions are all set to replace LCD TV’s which is probably why the prices of LCD televisions are dropping as retailers try to dispose of their old stock of tv‘s and create space for the new ones.

So what is an LED television and what advantage, if any, do they have over the LCD (Liquid Crystal Televisions) we were all raving about just a short while ago.

The first thing to note is that LED televisions are not a brand new technology invented to replace LCD TV‘s in the way that the LCD televisions rendered the huge, old tube televisions we all used a few years ago completely redundant within a few years.

Rather, they are a modified form of LCD TV. The images in them are produced in exactly the same way and the stunning and richly coloured pictures you can get from them are due to a change in how the TV is lit.

All LCD televisions have screens that are composed of millions of tiny dots known as pixels, which can be switched on or off. The more the number of pixels, the sharper an image the TV can produce.

In most cases the screens of 42 inch LCD TV ‘s are lit by mini fluorescent lights while the new LED TV’s use an array of LED’s (light emitting diodes) as their source of light.

There are 2 types of LED televisions, the expensive backlit ones where you have a panel of LED’s behind the TV screen and the cheaper edge-lit TV’s where you only have LED’s at the edges, shining light into the area behind the screen.

Backlit LED TV’s are thicker, but the lights in various areas can be automatically and independently brightened or dimmed so you can get a much better level of contrast between the dark and bright parts of the picture you are viewing and a sharper image.

Edge-lit televisions, though thinner, don’t produce as good an image but are much cheaper, in some cases half the price of their more complex rivals.

So what advantages do you get if you buy one of these new LED TV’s rather than a regular LCD television?

LED televisions consume about 10% less energy – so they will help cut your electricity bills, produce better colours and contrast, and though they currently cost about 60% more than a cheap 42 inch LCD TV, because they are thinner and lighter they will over time save resources and money as they drop in price.

Updated May 19, 2012. Published May 30, 2011. Paul Hixon