Understanding LED Television Technology

By Wayne Torres

The battle between plasma and LCD televisions was won some time ago by LCD of course; providing a comparable picture, at a lower cost, with lower energy consumption and with greater longevity. Job done you would have though then. But things are never that simple, and now we have the LED television to consider.

Cynics out there, (of which I am a fully paid up member of the club), will snort at such an announcement and claim it is nothing more than a money making exercise. And whilst this holds some water; the technology in an LED television is a step in the right direction, so should not be dismissed too readily.

Essentially, LED television, (light emitting diode), technology is no different to that already seen with their LCD televisions. It is simply another way of lighting the screen itself. Simply put, an LED television creates an image using back lighting, (or side lighting), from the diodes within the unit, as opposed to relying on liquid crystal displays to produce the same effect.

Having the lights set up in this way allows for greater control of the picture; lights can be dimmed and brightened independently of their neighbours; creating a richer content and feel and most important of all, creating true image black scale; they key to picture quality.

Whilst the benefits are far reaching with LED television technology being able to produce better quality images with high brightness and contrast levels, the benefits do not stop here. This better quality image is produced using less power and creating less light and heat wastage. This of course also allows the lifespan to be much longer than even the most robust of LCD TV currently on the market.

They are also a great deal thinner than there predecessors. Whilst regular LCD TVs are very slim; at just mere inches, an LED television will be measured with a depth given in millimetres. Indeed, the leading manufacturers are producing units that are a mere 6mm in depth.

However, new technology does of course command a higher price; and whilst quite sizable LCD screens can now be purchased from six hundred dollars, you will not find many LED screens bigger than fifty inches for much less than two thousand five hundred. The savings on energy consumption, (estimated to be around forty percent), will offset this somewhat of course.

The price of course is easier to swallow, when you look at the bigger picture, (no pun intended), and consider the up to forty percent saving to be made on energy costs. Though this will not sit well with some of course.

However, as with any new concept, the price will be high initially, to pay for investment that the manufactures have had to spend on research and development. The price of an LED television may be out of the reach of many for the time being, but over the next few years this will come down to realistic levels. Just in time for the next advance probably! - 29967

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