LCD TVs versus LED TVs

MrClass

Hello everyone. So after 3 years of usage I decided to get rid of my Samsung 22" LCD and get a bigger display. According to what can fit in my room, 32" would be the best option. Now of course I have searched and have viewed tons of reviews about new LCD and LED Tvs to decide what to get. I am now more confused not only because there are tons of vendors to choose from, but also what technology to choose. Is there a real difference between a 32" FULL HD LCD TV and a 32" FULL HD LED TV? I have spotted nice Sony and Samsung LCD and LED TVs. The full HD 32" LCD TVs (with motionflow) cost about 750$, and the full HD 32" LED TVs cost 200$ more. Is the LED TV worth the extra money at 32" display size, or should I forget about LED and just go with LCD?

Bassem

In general, LED-backlit LCD displays produce richer colours, have a higher contrast ratio and consume less electrical power. This still comes down to individual makes and models, as well as the screen's calibration.

Personally I find it worth it, for the improved image and power savings in the long run.

BashLogic

LED-backlit are the best, the dilema that remains is with the type of chipsets rendering the image because you have to remember that most of the broadcasts are still 50hz based.

in short, you criterias need to be based on:
- led/lcd/plasma = your budget ? (led generates a crispier image, there are several implementation of it where the backlit is the best. there are even variants of how the backlit is implemented.
- image rendering quality = your media source, blueray movies, dvd, cheap torrent rips and tv broadcasts
- size = distance from which you will be vieweing
- sound system = must be at least 5.1 surround, otherwise there is no fun watching stuff on big screen (note i have a 46")
- comfort = plasma generate lots of heat, some of my relatives have those and they have had to turn their room heating off, no kidding!

mesa177

Boudi, why didn't you ask me?!? The LED TV (or even better the OLED LCD TV, which is based on the Organic Light-Emitting Diodes and does not require to work with a backlight) is better because the resolution is better, mostly because the LEDs produce light waves with wavelengths that are closer to the range of the wavelength of the green color. What does that have to do with anything? Allow me to explain:

The current LEDS produced emitt buish-green light waves (wavelength of light wave produced is still closer to blue than green), which are like the sibling of ultraviolet laser light waves used in Blu-ray players. As you all are aware, the best DVD players nowadays are Blu-ray. Why? We need to expalin the theory behind LEDs to understand that:

Lasing happens when a free electron in the crystalline of a semiconductor chip moves from a higher to lower energy level, thus emitting a photon with certain wavelength. As this photon oscillates between both reflective ends of the chip, more photons will be stimulated and they will be emitted with similar wavelengths and phases. These cascading photons compress energy to form a coherent, monochromatic light. However, this can only be acheived if a great fraction of the free electrons we began with are found on higher energy bands (like gallium nitride). Normally, some of the free electrons within the conducting part of the material (in case of gallium nitride, they come from the silicon which is added to the crystall for conduction of electricity) form what is known as the conducting band. On the other hand, there are electrons that are chemically bound to the gallium or nitrogen vallence shells. These electrons form what is known as the valence band. The electrons in the valence band have less energy than those in the conducting band, hence generating and energy gap. This gap determines how much energy will be carried by the photons which are emitted when the free electrons "jump" across the energy bands. This energy, consequently, determines the wavelength. The higher the gap, the shorter the wavelength. Green light is characterized by short wavelengths, so the photons would be carrying much more energy. More energy means that the photons can maintain their characteristis for longer distances (less attenuation).

So the light waves emitted by the Blu-ray player and the LEDs as well can propagate at longer distances than any other form, hence maintaining the properties of the particles traveling with minimum attenuation acheived. This allows the retina in the human eye to perceive the colors better, and voila: dazzling pictures with blazing fast response times, wide viewing angles, exceptional color reproduction, outstanding contrast levels, and high brightness.

Needless to say, the LED TVS are better than regular LCD TVs, but of course way more expensive. Even better, the OLED TVs. Why? Because the organic compunds used allow more levels of black and more contrast.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the guys at Sumitomo Electric Industries can make their 531 nm - green laser shooting gun much more affordable so we can use them on nice big TVs!!

MrClass

well mainly the TV will be connected to my computer. I have a GTX280 and it is time to play games on full HD resolution. so full HD is an important requirement of the TV and I am sure that moves plasma aside. Now regarding the fight between LCD and LED, the distance of watching will be about 1.5 meters. for gaming, high refresh rate and low latency times are important too. so, 100HZ and 2ms-5ms would be fine. Dont worry about sound. I have a Creative Titanium Champion Series sound card capable of 7.1, and I have the proper headset for it. Regarding power consumption, I aid the LED cause of its nice low power requirement. For budget, well, I am not very excited in spending 1000+ dollars for a TV. And anyway I can wait till christmas, lots of nice sales on TVs during that time. I found this nice sony 32" LED TV with nice features: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6688679&CatId=5988 . I dont know if we have this in Lebanon, have to wait and see khoury home or some place (lol called khoury home, they told me sony doesnt do 32" LED Tvs, I was like: uuh? huh?). Thank you mesa for your "detailed" explanation, but that's exactly what I trying to avoid. The human eye may be deceived by what he sees. I want a TV that looks great and has brilliant display, and not by only judging on the technical specs of the TV, but by also judging on what have you seen. Has anyone of you ever seen an LED and LCD tv of the same size just put side by side and just starred at them for a sec?

Kassem

I would say the LED LCD is worth every extra cent you pay for it. I actually asked the same question when I wanted to buy my PC. The guys here on the forum recommended the LED and I have to thank them for that! The display is awesome! Now I try to avoid using my laptop because I feel its display is kinda "dull". There's a huge difference in brightness and overall performance between my PC's LED and the laptop's LCD screen.

MrClass

Kassem wroteI would say the LED LCD is worth every extra cent you pay for it. I actually asked the same question when I wanted to buy my PC. The guys here on the forum recommended the LED and I have to thank them for that! The display is awesome! Now I try to avoid using my laptop because I feel its display is kinda "dull". There's a huge difference in brightness and overall performance between my PC's LED and the laptop's LCD screen.

Thank you all for your posts, and specially Kassem. That's exactly what I was waiting to hear. Well yeah looks like LED TVs win hands down. Patiently waiting for christmas :P

kareem_nasser

Dont rush it.
Don't believe all the marketing blah about contrast ratios because contrast ratio is tested on different conditions and circumstances depending on the light around you or if it is dark.
The LED sign on some Samsung TVs are for Edge LED which is not much of an improvement only if you are a keen eyed vidoephile of course.
Read this article from CNet for more info: LED TVs: 10 things you need to know
Also this: TV Buying Guide
There are many more useful links on the site but check them yourself, or i will be flamed if i put them here.
P.S: Even Dynamic RGB LED has its disadvantages.

Flakk

The link Kareem Posted is the best explanation for this.