Wondering what the difference is between an LCD and LED TV? Here’s all you need to know.
What is an LCD TV?
LCD TVs, or liquid-crystal-display TVs, are television sets using liquid-crystal displays to produce images. These TVs are thin and light but have a few disadvantages compared to other display types like higher power consumption, poorer contrast ratio, as well as an inferior color gamut.
What is an LED TV?
Flat-panel LCD TVs that use LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, for their backlight source rather than the earlier cold cathode fluorescent lamps, are called LED TVs. These are smaller, more power-efficient, and have a greater optical range than the fluorescents, producing deeper blacks and more saturated color.
A comparison
LED TVs use much less power and provide a much brighter display with better contrast with a thinner panel, and lesser heat dissipation than a usual LCD TV. This is because LED TVs use light-emitting diodes for backlighting as opposed to the CCFLs.
Picture Quality
Though many customers say that the picture quality of an LED TV is much better than an LCD, there isn’t a straight answer for which produces better picture quality. Both TVs use the same type of screen.
Color
LED TVs offer a larger variety and saturation of colors, especially TVs that use RGB-LED backlighting.
Dynamic Contrast
RGB Dynamic LEDs show darker blacks and brighter whites, thus getting a higher dynamic contrast ratio which is very desirable in a TV, at the cost of much less detail in small bright objects when displaying a dark background.
Slim Frame
The edge-LED backlight technique allows an LCD TV to be extremely thin, with some LED televisions that are only 1 inch thick also being available in the market.
Power Consumption
LED TVs use an energy-efficient light-emitting diode, or LED, for backlighting. These TVs consume much less power than the cold cathode fluorescent lamps that are used in traditional LCD televisions. The power savings for LEDs are typically 20-30%.
Price
LED TVs on average are priced much higher than traditional LCD TVs using CCFLs for backlighting. You can find a wide range of TVs ranging from $100 all the way up to a few thousand dollars online and in-stores, sometimes at discount.
LED TVs are also the most popular and come in a wide range of prices starting from $120.
