LCD Vs LED
- Thread starter Al69
- Start date
LCD is Liquid Crystal Display, a type of panel found in PC monitors, typically backlit by a CCFL.
LED is Light Emitting Diode, a type of technology now used as a backlight to LCD panels instead of CCFL. It boasts higher brightness and increased efficiency. Depending on the LCD panel, some manufacturers claim vastly enhanced contrast ratios too.
I think your question is more, 'to get an LED backlight screen or not?'
What is your budget?
LED is Light Emitting Diode, a type of technology now used as a backlight to LCD panels instead of CCFL. It boasts higher brightness and increased efficiency. Depending on the LCD panel, some manufacturers claim vastly enhanced contrast ratios too.
I think your question is more, 'to get an LED backlight screen or not?'
What is your budget?
Just to seperate fact from marketing magic-->
To keep costs down and to fit the thin aesthetic that people find pleasing these days, LED backlighting is predominantly a case of placing a border of LEDs around the bezel. Compared to equivalent CCFL lamps they are considerably more energy efficient and the purity and precision at which they can be controlled can give a (dynamic) contrast and luminance (brightness) advantage over CCFL backlit LCDs. The improved efficiency of LED backlights over CCFL lamps, lower heat emissions and mercury-free status are attractive environmental benefits.
An alternative type of LED backlight, which is rarely implemented for the afforementioned reasons, involves the use of coloured (red, green and blue) LEDs to illuminate the screen. Because the intensity of LEDs can be individually controlled (as well as with high precision and evenness), differential contrast can be used across the screen and superior contrast can theoretically be obtained. The use of RGB LEDs also broadens the colour gamut considerably, taking it beyond NTSC (up to about 114% NTSC). There is little point in using RGB backlighting on a TN panel (i.e. the cheaper panels which the vast majority of modern LCDs are), as the broad colour gamut is wasted on the "filter", so to speak. You are unlikely to consider this particular implementation.
Unfortunately - you'll find that so far a lot of LED-backlighting solutions have been poorly implemented and the monitors poorly calibrated. What this means is that you can get some some pretty off colours (even for comparable TN panels). On the flipside, there are certain edge-lit LED screens I have been impressed with (namely the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370). The colours were actually exceptional for a TN panel and the contrast was excellent - all in all it had very pleasing image quality. But this screen was also fairly expensive compared to other TN panels (newer 120Hz models notwithstanding) and for that price you could be looking at a nice broad-gamut IPS panel with a nice WCG-CCFL backlight. The most impressive LED panel I have used is probably the Samsung XL20, but this uses RGB backlighting behind the display and is infact an MVA panel.
If you have a sub-£160 and like gaming and don't have a requirement for super accurate colours (especially at off-centre viewing angles), I would recommend you consider the BenQ G2420HDBL. It is a budget LED-backlit panel with considerable positive coverage on Overclockers who find the image vibrant and pleasing for games.
To keep costs down and to fit the thin aesthetic that people find pleasing these days, LED backlighting is predominantly a case of placing a border of LEDs around the bezel. Compared to equivalent CCFL lamps they are considerably more energy efficient and the purity and precision at which they can be controlled can give a (dynamic) contrast and luminance (brightness) advantage over CCFL backlit LCDs. The improved efficiency of LED backlights over CCFL lamps, lower heat emissions and mercury-free status are attractive environmental benefits.
An alternative type of LED backlight, which is rarely implemented for the afforementioned reasons, involves the use of coloured (red, green and blue) LEDs to illuminate the screen. Because the intensity of LEDs can be individually controlled (as well as with high precision and evenness), differential contrast can be used across the screen and superior contrast can theoretically be obtained. The use of RGB LEDs also broadens the colour gamut considerably, taking it beyond NTSC (up to about 114% NTSC). There is little point in using RGB backlighting on a TN panel (i.e. the cheaper panels which the vast majority of modern LCDs are), as the broad colour gamut is wasted on the "filter", so to speak. You are unlikely to consider this particular implementation.
Unfortunately - you'll find that so far a lot of LED-backlighting solutions have been poorly implemented and the monitors poorly calibrated. What this means is that you can get some some pretty off colours (even for comparable TN panels). On the flipside, there are certain edge-lit LED screens I have been impressed with (namely the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370). The colours were actually exceptional for a TN panel and the contrast was excellent - all in all it had very pleasing image quality. But this screen was also fairly expensive compared to other TN panels (newer 120Hz models notwithstanding) and for that price you could be looking at a nice broad-gamut IPS panel with a nice WCG-CCFL backlight. The most impressive LED panel I have used is probably the Samsung XL20, but this uses RGB backlighting behind the display and is infact an MVA panel.
If you have a sub-£160 and like gaming and don't have a requirement for super accurate colours (especially at off-centre viewing angles), I would recommend you consider the BenQ G2420HDBL. It is a budget LED-backlit panel with considerable positive coverage on Overclockers who find the image vibrant and pleasing for games.
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