ust when you thought you had researched all the possible options for a new HDTV another one rears it head. It promises to be completely different but one thing that is different is the price tag. They are quite a bit more. Yes, I’m talking about LED TVs.
What exactly are LED TVs and how do they differ from the existing options? To start, the name LED TV is really a misnomer. It’s not a completely new technology that uses LEDs to display the picture. It actually refers to the type of back lighting that is used. Typical LCD HDTVs aren’t very good at displaying complete blackness so your picture may not appear as clear as it could. With LED back lighting there is much more contrast because the LEDs can turn completely off which makes the blacks very black and it gives an incredibly crisp picture compared with the standard LCD technology.
There are two different types of LED TV back lighting. Edge lit and local dimming. Edge lit TVs have the LEDs placed around the edge of the TV which allows the manufacturer to make the TV even flatter. Local dimming contains LEDs localized behind the screen of the TV. In my opinion, local dimming gives a much better picture and much higher contrast than edge lit screens. As with everything you have to consider the feature per cost ratio. Edge lit TVs are less expensive than local dimming but you may notice a slight difference in contrast.
In the future, you’ll be hearing about OLED technology which stands for Organic Light-emitting Diode. There’s no lack of new technologies but as a teacher of mine used to say, “technology is like a river passing by, you just have to decide when to grab your bucket and fill it up.”
Tags: hdtvs, lcd hd, lcd hdtv, led tv, led tvs