Are LED TV’s A Useful Purchase?
What makes LED TVs different from LCD TVs? Fundamentally they are not too far removed, the difference being that LEDs rather than fluorescent lamps are used to provide the lighting source to the LCD display. It might not be a giant technological leap, but the benefits that come with using LEDs as the lighting source have the result of improved picture quality along with other side benefits.
Firstly and with regards to picture quality, how does using light emitting diodes rather than fluorescent lamps improve matters? With LEDs there are at least two factors that benefit picture quality, firstly LEDs can produce brighter and better quality white light than previous methods could. Because of the whiter light that is produced the colours viewed on the LCD display are said to be more natural and intense, and because LEDs are brighter the contrast ratios are improved.
Secondly, a problem with older LCD televisions was that they were not able to display truly intense blacks. This was because the fluorescent lamps are always lit and the methods for blocking the light to produce blacks were not totally effective. However with LED TVs the lighting is provided by many LEDs which either come in side or back-lit configurations. Each LED can be controlled individually to produce areas of darkness on display (or local dimming as it is known), the result is that better blacks are reproduced.
There are other characteristics of LEDs that produce secondary benefits to their use in LED TVs. LEDs are far smaller than fluorescent lamps and allow for the production of ultra thin displays, some models on the market measure in at a mere 1 inch thick.
Also LED televisions consume up to fifty percent less energy than previous equivalent LCD and plasma televisions. Over their lifetime this will make real savings on your electricity bills whilst doing their bit for the environment also. Coupled with the fact that LEDs are more reliable and last longer than do fluorescent lamps whose performance deteriorates over time, owning a LED TV might initially involve paying a premium price to buy but over the long term will be a wise investment at the same time as producing great pictures.