LED televisions are widely regarded as the best high definition sets available. The dynamic nature of the LED’s used for backlighting means that they offer a higher contrast ratio with whites appearing brighter and blacks appearing darker.
Two separate methods of LED backlighting are used by this technology. Edge lighting and full backlighting.
Fully backlit LED TVs use a grid of LEDs placed behind the LCD panel to illuminate the image, these LED’s can then turn on and off individually to affect the brightness of individual parts of the image displayed.
The effect this brings is stunning as the lighting constantly adapts to the image being shown making high definition visuals appear brighter and more crisp.
Edge-lit LED sets still utilise LEDs although they are located around the edge of the LCD panel. While the contrast ratio is still extremely high, edge-lit devices aren’t capable of changing the brightness of individual areas of the screen.
Due to the nature of dynamic backlighting, these displays can also be susceptible to a halo effect. This is where an individual LED stays on too long and causes an image to be backlit that doesn’t require it.
Thankfully this problem is rare and only noticeable to the most eagle eyed viewer.
Whilst the picture quality of edge-lit displays is slightly worse than backlit they do tend to be much slimmer and lighter. This provides a more aesthetically pleasing television and means an edge-lit set is easier to install as part of a wall mount.
Backlit televisions tend to be more expensive than their edge-lit counterparts as manufacturers know customers are willing to pay a premium for the dynamic backlighting not available with any other technology.
For those wanting the very best display available on the market, a backlit LED TV is definitely a necessity.
However, an edge-lit display brings much of the same benefits to the table at a lower price and could be an attractive proposition to many.
