When considering new televisions today, it typically comes down to LED vs LCD because these are the two dominant technologies on the market. Both of these technologies are able to display amazing pictures and are great for HDTV. Some people still consider purchasing plasma TVs but they have begun to fall out of favor because of the significantly higher power requirements compared with either an LCD or LED TV.
If you are shopping for a television, it is important to know a little bit about the technology difference between LED and LCD. Both types use a liquid crystal gel which is put in between two pieces of glass. It is this gel which creates the colors that are displayed on the television. The primary difference between LCD TV and LED TV is how those colors are lit up. LCD televisions have a fluorescent lamp in the back providing the light and LED screens are lit up using hundreds or thousands of tiny light emitting diodes. Each pixel has its own light emitting diode to light it up.
LED Vs LCD TV – Advancements in LCD TV
When asked to compare LCD vs LED TV sets some people will have a strong opinion about one being better than the other but the truth is they both make great televisions so the choice often comes down to personal opinion. Many of the things people say about the different TVs are actually no longer valid because of some advancements in the technologies. For example, LCD screens used to have a problem with viewing them at angles. The picture would be great when looking right at the screen, but when viewing it from off to the left or right it would be virtually unrecognizable. The new In Plane switching technology has eliminated this problem entirely so you can now view a crisp and clean picture from any angle.
People suggesting that the refresh rate of LED vs LCD is different are also discussing an old problem. It used to be the case that the refresh rate for LCD televisions was not as fast as for LEDs or even plasma. This made it preferable for people who enjoy watching sports, action movies or games with very fast moving images to choose something other than LCD. Fortunately, LCD has improved in this matter and can now have refresh rates which are just as high as those on other types of TVs. For most uses, many people won’t even be able to tell the difference in the two pictures. This is especially true if you’re not watching movies on Blu Ray, or have the 1080P HDTV as a picture source.
The primary advantage to purchasing an LCD television today is that they have been around for longer and are a more established technology. Because they are a proven technology and have been around for several years, they are also cheaper than the newer LED options. While that price difference is shrinking, it is still going to be a significant savings to go with the LCD option.
In the past people could only get the very large screens by going with a plasma screen, but that is no longer the case. Both types of TVs are available in just about as big of a television as you would want. They are both also able to display amazing images on these large screens without any degradation in quality, so there is no worry here.
LED Vs LCD TV- Advantages of an LED TV
Due to the fact that each pixel gets its own light source, the LED televisions do outperform LCDs in most categories including fast motion, length of viewing angle, contrast ratio and color palette. The LEDs also use less power than LCDs and significantly less than a plasma. The fact that LEDs outperform LCDs may or may not be enough of a reason to spend the money, though. If you are not viewing your shows, games and movies in HD, then the picture quality of the TV won’t be much different at all. With regard to electricity use for an LCD vs LED TV, there is not a very noticeable difference and it is certainly not going to save you as much money as it will cost you to get the LED model.
It does seem clear that LEDs are going to be around for quite a long time and as they continue to gain in popularity, their price will continue to drop. LCDs, however, also offer an amazing television viewing experience and have a proven track record of long lifespan and excellent quality.
LED vs LCD TV – Side By Side Comparisons
It may seem difficult when you compare LCD vs LED TV sets because there are valid arguments for both technologies. One of the best things to do when comparing LCD vs LED is to see if you can get a side by side comparison on the picture. Make sure when comparing the two that you are watching a movie or show that you would typically watch. It is best if this is either a sporting event or an action movie with lots of fast moving scenes. This will help you to tell if you can see any difference in how the picture looks.
When running this comparison, it is also key to make sure they are both set the same for settings like brightness and contrast, or you won’t get a fair comparison. Once you see the two televisions side by side, most people won’t notice a huge difference between the two. If you like the look of one over the other, then that may be a good way to choose. If you really can’t see any difference in picture quality when you compare an LED vs LCD TV, then going with the less expensive LCD may be the right choice for you. Here’s a video that may also provide a little more insight: LED vs LCD TV comparison video.