What's the Difference Between an LED and LCD TV?

Between the many terms thrown about pertaining to LG televisions you may be left dazed and confused as to what the difference is between an LED and LCD television. While both operate using liquid crystals to produce the images you see before you, LEDs use back lighting techniques and this will lead to a few distinct differences.

LED's are in fact a sub category of LCD's and will create a darker image through what is knowns as a 'local dimming' effect. When the images on an TV's panel screen are further infused with LED lights located behind it the images you see will be given a higher contrast as well as better black levels. This is a characteristic that is lacking from regular LCD televisions.

So what this means to you, the viewer, is that in terms of contrast and viewing darker pictures an LED will rank superior. This is because of the unique ability to control the amount of back light and then allowing for dimming in areas that are darker. This will result in more vivid details for dimmer scenes and richer black tones.

However at the same time LCD's will provide you with a brighter picture. Should the LED television be one that is equipped with RGB coloured lights the difference between it and an LCD's will be even greater in that a more vibrant and richer colour tone will be present with the LED. As LCD televisions are known to be a bit slower in terms of playback when compared to plasma screens simply because of the liquid crystals they work off of, you may wonder if an LED is able to move at a faster rate. The answer there is sadly no, and in terms of video playback both LED and LCD televisions are relatively comparable. In this case you will want to check on the individual makes and models of the TV's to find out what each of their refresh rates and response times are as they can vary between each.

A short coming in the way of LCD technology when compared to plasma screens is that the viewing angle can be much less. Certain LCD televisions may have a poor view from more than 30 degrees from the centre, but with the back lighting on LED televisions you will note that this has done much in the way of expanding the viewing angle of the TV. In fact an LED screen is almost comparable to plasma screens in regards to the angles that it can be viewed from. Additionally, LED televisions boast a longer lifetime than their standard LCD counterparts, with estimations of about 100,000 viewing hours.

So it seems that LED televisions certainly have their advantages, yet all of that does come for a price. LED's will typically be more expensive than standard LCD's and they will also consume much more power. In fact, LED's with their advanced technology will come in at nearly the same amount of energy usage as a plasma TV which in turn can be almost double that of a regular LCD television.
 
When you are faced with choosing between an LCD and LED television you can definitely benefit from the added back light features of the more advanced LED. This is especially true if you will be doing much of your viewing in a dimmer atmosphere and still want a great amount of detail in your picture quality.

Other guides you might like

Top 6 Tips When Buying Your New TV

Televisions - Making The Right Choice: LCD or Plasma?

Getting The Best Out Of Your TV

TV Ratios And Other Terms Explained

Which LG Plasma TV is Best For You?

How to Calibrate Your New LG TV