The document discusses the differences between LED and LCD televisions. While they appear similar, LED TVs use LED lights for the backlight while LCD TVs use cold cathode fluorescent lights. LED TVs are thinner and have clearer pictures with brighter whites and darker blacks. However, LCD TVs are cheaper and more widely available. Ultimately, there may be minor differences but no clear winner between LED and LCD TVs when considering features alone.

1. The buzz of LED VS LCD in the market is actually the brainchild of clever marketing
strategies from large TV manufacturers, to promote the sale of their new LED televisions and
also push the sale of LCD televisions even further. However, these LED televisions in reality, are
not a new kind or new generation TV. They are almost similar to the LCD televisions where they
share almost a similar screen in which we see the picture. The main difference between these two
televisions is that LED televisions use LED or Light Emitting Diodes to light the screen while
LCD televisions use cold-cathode fluorescent lights or mostly known as CFL lights to light the
screen on it. Therefore, you can see that there might not be that much of a difference in the
feature evaluation of LED VS LCD and it might also be a big waste of time thinking about the
winner in an LED VS LCD encounter.
However, there are a few differences between the LED and LCD televisions which are still
adding fuel to this burning clash of LED VS LCD television. Among them, the most important
one is the thickness of these televisions. LEDs, since they use LED lights, can be thinner than
other LCDs as well as the plasma televisions. So, this is a winning blow from the new LED
televisions. In addition to that, since LED televisions use LED lights, the picture is more clear
and crisp in an LED television. According to this, pure white is brighter and dark black is deeper
in an LED television compared to the LCD televisions. This is not the end of LED VS LCD war.
Compared to LEDs, LCD televisions are quite cheaper; at least by 100 to 200 dollars. So, people
on a budget always pick the LCD from an LED VS LCD dilemma and to be honest, this is an
easy decision for them considering the price. Besides that, the LCD televisions are available in
almost any departmental store and are very easy to fix or replace. So LCDs have again got some
advantages over the LEDs in the battle of LED VS LCD.
However, these features are not enough to make the verdict on the LED VS LCD. It is evident
that in the fight of LED VS LCD, it will be very difficult to declare the universal winner that
everyone will accept and it will be a waste of time arguing which is the best between these two.
While the giant display in a sports stadium, for example, is made up of thousands of LEDs that
are used to directly produce a picture, "LED" TVs are actually LCDs. That's right, they're not
LED TVs at all. These so-called LED TVs use a series of LEDs to light up the panel. But what is
backlighting anyway?
LCD - screens
Introduction to LCD screens
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a flat panel display that uses the light modulating
properties of fluorescent liquid crystals (FLCs). Fluorescent Liquid Crystals do not emit
light directly and the first types of LCD screens had low contrast levels. LCD panels
create dark tones by blocking the backlight passing through the panel and whilst this doesn't
always create true blacks, newer LCD's employ different types of technology allowing for better
contrast and better blacks through the use of LED (light emitting diode) backlighting.

2. So LCD screens and LED screens are the same types of screens, but they employ different types
of technology.
LCD - Colour Accuracy
The LCD picture quality has historically suffered from poor black levels, but the newest
(and often more expensive)versions are much improved. Typically price and quality go
hand-in-hand and this is true in regards of most hardware.
LCD - Contrast and Black levels
LCD panels create dark tones by blocking the backlight passing through the panel. This
method of displaying the colour black suffers due to the issue of light leakage. Newer and
higher end LCD's do however produce good black levels whilst entry level units should
not be your first choice. Also take care buying second hand LCD screens as the possibility of
them having dead pixels is also higher.
LCD - Viewing Angles
LCD screens are known to have issues regarding viewing angles, as light and other
colour changes occour if you are not placed solidly in front of the screen. Higher-end
models based on In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology, Super-IPS and Alpha-IPS are
known to perform dramatically better in this area and should be considered when looking into
buying a LCD screen.
LCD - Gaming
LCD screens are also rumoured to have response time as being an issue, but almost all
newer LCD screens have adequate response time to deal with fast motion and have
software that also deals with this issue. “Ghosting” is therefore only often an issue in the
lowest end models. To further boost image fluidity, many vendors have also introduced 100Hz to
800Hz motion engines. Some of them are implemented using frame interpolation and/or
backlight-scanning processing.
LCD - Longevity
Most manufacturers are claiming approximately 100,000 hours lifetime for their screens
and this seems to be independent of what type they are, however it is rumoured that LED
screens have a habit of outliving LCD screens.
LCD - Conclusion

3. LCD screens are very mainstream and newer models boast better performance but at a
higher price tag. However with LED screens to complement gamers and plasma screens
to suit movie enthusiasts, it is worth taking a deep breath and considering if the low
prices of LCD screens will satisfy you in the long run. Simply stated quality and price often go
hand-in-hand.
LCD screens are the most inexpensive flat screens you’ll find on the market
Higher resolution than comparable-sized plasmas
No danger of Burn in
Typically weigh less than LED and plasma screens
Entry models often have bad black levels
Contrast rates are not as prominent as LED and Plasma screens
Energy usage is high and they are not as environmentally friendly as LED screens
Limited viewing angle, causing colour, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary
Smearing and ghosting artifacts caused by slow response times
Many cheaper LCD screens are only able to display 262,000 colours.
“Dead” or “stuck” pixels may occur in low end-models
ntroduction to LED screens
LED screens are simply LCD screens that use tiny light emitting diodes (LED) for back
lighting instead of the cathode fluorescent lamps (CFL) lighting traditionally used for
LCDs. Both types of screens employ the liquid crystal diode (LCD) technology front
panel containing the “twisting crystals” which define LCD technology.
LED screens feature two main forms of back lighting, edge lighting and local dimming. Edge
lighting has LEDs around the edge of the panel and this allows for extremely thin construction.
Local dimming back lighting features banks of LED lights behind the panel and these banks can
be controlled to lower the amount of back lighting in dark areas of the screen and raise it in
bright areas for higher contrast and more realistic blacks.
LED - Colour Accuracy

4. LED screens with RGB coloured lights or a colour wheel to affect the backlight colour,
have an advantage in displaying realistic colour.
LED - Contrast and Black levels
Local dimming LED screens employ back lighting to dim the back light in areas where
the screen should be dark, resulting in more depth and a more “true” black colour, than
that of many LCD screens.
LED - Viewing Angles
What seems to have the greatest impact upon the viewing angle is the quality of the clear
glass panel on the front of either LCDs or LED screens. The thicker and higher quality
glass panels offer a better viewing angle and less glare.
LED - Gaming
The biggest difference here is somewhat unrelated to the technology but rather dependent
upon whether or not the screen has a game mode, that cuts down on the amount of picture
processing. Without the game mode there can be noticeable input lag, since the screens
processing ability is not able to keep up with the speed of the game, resulting in what is
commonly known as “ghosting”. Since LED screens often cost more, they often have a gaming
mode feature.
LED - Longevity
Most manufacturers are claiming approximately 100,000 hours lifetime for their screens
and this seems to be independent of what type they are, however it is rumoured that LED
screens have a habit of outliving LCD screens.
LED - Conclusion
LED screens will eventually become more mainstream since they seem to outmatch LCD
screens in many ways, but at a slightly higher cost.

5. Very high picture quality
Deeper levels of colour and darkness
Around 30% less energy usage than traditional LCDs
Environmentally friendly due to them being mercury free
Slimmer design
Currently LED screens Cost about 15-30% more than traditional LCDs
Slightly heavier than LCDs
LCD Screens
LCD screens are very mainstream and newer models boast better performance but at a higher
price tag. However with LED screens to complement gamers and plasma screens to suit movie
enthusiasts, it is worth taking a deep breath and considering if the low prices of LCD screens will
satisfy you in the long run. Simply stated quality and price often go hand-in-hand.
LCD screens are the most inexpensive flat screens you’ll find on the market
Higher resolution than comparable-sized plasmas
No danger of Burn in
Typically weigh less than LED and plasma screens
Entry models often have bad black levels
Contrast rates are not as prominent as LED and Plasma screens
Energy usage is high and they are not as environmentally friendly as LED screens
Limited viewing angle, causing colour, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary
Smearing and ghosting artifacts caused by slow response times
Many cheaper LCD screens are only able to display 262,000 colours.
“Dead” or “stuck” pixels may occur in low end-models

6. LED Screens
LED screens will eventually become more mainstream since they seem to outmatch LCD screens
in many ways, but at a slightly higher cost.
Very high picture quality
Deeper levels of colour and darkness
Around 30% less energy usage than traditional LCDs
Environmentally friendly due to them being mercury free
Slimmer design
Currently LED screens Cost about 15-30% more than traditional LCDs
Slightly heavier than LCDs
Plasma Screens
Plasma screens are aimed at a public that enjoy high quality and perhaps more specifically, films.
Due to their often large sizes and high costs, it is not recommended getting a plasma screen for
gaming but rather focussing on a LED or LCD screen.
Very high picture quality
Deep levels of colour and darkness
Great viewing angles
Perfect for the home-theatre enthusiast
Low entry models often have a low resolution compared to their LCD and LED counterparts
Slight threat of “burn-in” (in which an image “burns” into the screen)
High cost and often high energy expenses
Reflective screen (roll down those curtains)