LED vs LCD
Which One’s Winning?

The competition between LED vs LCD, contrary to popular belief, is not a competition at all. Basically, LED is a type of LCD TV. LCD TVs get its namesake from its liquid crystal display or LCD, which is also used in LED TVs.

The main difference that sets the two apart as two different TV technologies is the backlighting method. Just one seemingly small difference, but TV enthusiasts recognize what a big difference this can make on the picture quality of any TV.

LED vs LCD: The LED Story

To understand the difference between LED vs LCD, it is important to first know exactly what LED is. LED refers to light emitting diodes. These are materials used in the backlighting system of any LED TV. These diodes emit light of their own and appear in various structures as well.

Some use an entire panel of LED lights, while some employ RGB LED arrays. The beauty of this technology is that the LEDs can create deep rich blacks when they are turned off, but when they are turned on, they offer high brightness levels. As a result, LED TVs are usually associated with deep perfect contrasts and vivid color captures.

LED vs LCD: The LCD Story

The LCD TV is a TV that uses a liquid crystal display for its screen, which is also what most LED TVs are. The only difference between the regular LCD and the LED LCD is that the former does not feature the LED backlighting system of LED TVs.

But since there is no backlight, LCD screens require that a light be placed behind it so it can produce bright whites and dark contrasts can be quite dull, particularly since the LCD TVs without LED support does not emit any light of its own, which means it has to be supported by additional lighting.

LED Leads

When it comes to picture quality, the contest between LED vs LCD is not even worth discussion. There is no question that the deep blacks and bright whites and the various shades of grey captured by LED TV sets are exceptionally better than what LCDs are capable of offering.

Aside from that, most LED TV sets now offer controlled backlighting and Local Dimming technologies, which means the backlight can be switched off in areas where no light is needed. So with the light turned off, you can achieve deeper and truer blacks. This is not possible with LCD TVs. Due to this, LED TVs are known to have higher contrast ratio and better black levels.

Some LED TVs also feature RGB LED arrays or colored LEDs. This helps in achieving sharper and more accurate colors for your images, which means you get vivid and brilliant colored images every time. This kind of colored backlighting is not possible with regular LCD TVs.

Aside from that, LED TV sets also offer better viewing angles. Since they have their own backlighting system, it does not matter where you place your TV and where you sit to watch it. You will get bright and vivid images at all times. Viewing angles of traditional LCD TVs, however, are quite limited since the LCD will experience degradation in the picture contrast. So when it comes to viewing angles, LED, once again, leads.

LCD Leads

It may seem like LED TV just might topple LCD TV from its current industry standard seat. However, LCD TVs offer basic and affordable TV packages that offer decent viewing and a varied collection of features for those who are on a budget and for those who are simply looking for a basic TV set.

In fact, LCD TVs still offer certain benefits. For one, LCD TV technology is not vulnerable to screen burn-in, so you can easily use your LCD TV for computer use.

There are also some factors that are not affected by the type of backlighting. For example, and LCD TV and a LED TV can have equal response times and refresh rates, and both can capture fast video movements perfectly.

So if you need a TV set that you can use for watching action and fast-moving scenes in movies or for gaming purposes but are working within a budget, you can get an LCD model rather than a LED model.

However, in some factors, LCD still leads, especially since LCD TVs have been around for quite some time now. This means they have been tried and tested, so you can rely on them to last you a long while without any problems. Although LED lights are basically long-lived, traditional LCDs tend to last longer because they do not have to deal with weakening backlights.

And when it comes to maintaining and using your TV, LED offers an overall more economical package. Despite higher price tags, LED TVs noticeably use more energy since the LEDs need to emit light on their own. So overall, you get to save even more.

LED vs LCD: When You’re About to Buy

When you are about to invest in a TV set, your choice between LED vs LCD becomes all the more important. Remember that if you prefer to go for a LED TV, you have significantly less choices to select from. LCD TVs, due to their longer market history, offer a greater selection.

Take note, as well, that between two TVs of the same size, one of which is a LED and the other an LCD, the LED backlit model will definitely be more expensive. Although LED TVs offer exceptional contrasts and stark colors, it turns out that these all come with a price.

You’ll also be glad to know that LCD TV sets will continue to survive despite the presence of LED TVs. LCD TV sets are recently falling in prices as more people turn to LED TV technology.

As a result, if you are looking for an affordable TV set with good picture quality and motion capture, you should check out the existing LCD offers.

On the other hand, if you are out for an exceptional picture quality and price is no object, the advanced backlighting of LED TVs are definitely worth the added price.

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