The Led Tv Need-to-know Guide

By Author: Lucy Carter
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LED TV's seem to be all the rage these days. These are a category of HDTV's that are fast gaining in popularity because of the fact that they're built using LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlights to illuminate the display screen, rather than the traditional fluorescent tubes found on other types of LCD TV's. This makes all the difference - from enhanced colours, brightness and contrast to being super sleek and thinner than most other flat screens in appearance.

The following guide will help you understand this technology and what's available on the marketplace so you can be sure to make the right choice.

Types of LED TV's

As with the different styles of fluorescent lights in traditional LCDs, it's important to know that there are two main types of LED TV's that differ in how the LED backlighting is placed:

Edge-lit

These models have a row of LEDs around the edges of the screen panel which create a uniform light source by shining into a multi-layered diffuser panel. Because the lighting elements are around the perimeter and not behind the screen, it permits a very slim and stylish design.

Full-matrix ...
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This type of LED TV has its lighting elements fitted across the back of the display and use a diffuser panel to make the backlight uniform. Although it's not the case for all models, many offer 'local dimming', which lets you switch off or dim certain lighting elements while other areas are at full brightness. This allows for excellent picture contrast - an improvement on earlier versions of LED TV's that suffered from poor black levels. The technology goes by different names depending on suppliers - other titles for this functionality are 'smart dimming' and focal light'. Without this feature, LED TV's are generally very similar to traditional LCD TV's.

Cost and Size

LED backlight televisions are currently on offer in sizes that range from 46 to 70 inches and tend to cost a significant more than the traditional LCD television versions, although they are increasingly popular for the best picture quality possible. The LCD models range in size from 15 to 65 inches.

Picture Quality

Colour

For perfect colour accuracy, LED TV's with coloured backlighting are top. The other type of LED's which have white backlights still offer an impressive display however.

Contrast

As mentioned above, while it's generally not a problem for the average viewer, it's been noted that uneven backlighting in LED TV's causes some areas of the screen to be better lit than others. Local dimming LED TV technology allows you to control the backlighting exposure to rectify this - your picture quality will be an improvement on earlier LED TV models because by dimming certain areas you can create darker blacks and better detail in dark scenes.

Viewing Angles

It must be said that a shortcoming of LED technology is that even the best LCD TV's suffer from contrast degradation when viewed from angles more than about 30 degrees from the centre. This issue has been significantly improved over the years however and now boast viewing angles better than plasma TV's.

Longevity

Most manufacturers set the lifetime of LED TV's at approximately 100,000 hours. While these types of backlit televisions don't as yet have much of a track record due to being fairly new on the market, LED lights generally last long. Traditional LCDs experienced a mild change in colour over time whereas LED lighting technology is said to suffer less degradation in that area.

Power Usage

Local dimming LED TVs will use more electrical power than a traditional or edge-lit LCD TV of the same screen size. They use slightly less power than plasma TV's however. All in all, the energy consumption in LED edge-lit models is usually the best among all TV technologies.

If you're looking to buy a LED TV, the above information will help you make the right choice. As with anything important, it's crucial to shop around and compare then range of products on offer. It's also wise to read a fair amount of user reviews on different brands so that you can find the model that suits your needs and delivers excellent value for your money.
Barry Knightly owns a LED TV and electronics repair business.