LED vs LCD TVs

[Moniker]

Anyone have experience using LED TVs as opposed to LCD? My folks are picking up a new TV today - using it for movies and cable, not gaming.

[Raytrace]

I dunno - I kinda think they're hyping the term 'LED' in order to blind the 'public' untill real 'LEDs' i.e. OLED's become cheap enough for mass market (much like the ridiculous term 'HD Ready' before it) - from what I've seen yes the blacks do seem to be a bit blacker as they can turn off the backlight behind sections etc., but it still doesn't look like a MASSIVE difference from my 'normal' Samsung Series 6 LCD - put it this way, I'd still rather a bigger LCD than a smaller LED (if that makes any sense).

[Ex-Cyber]

Yes, calling them "LED TVs" is a marketing gimmick. From what I've heard, the main advantages are that they are a bit more power efficient and reach full brightness faster than CCFL-lit sets. Looking at them side-by-side in a store I never saw a major difference. In principle they can get better contrast (particularly if full-matrix as opposed to edge-lit), but that is always going to depend heavily on implementation quality and on the performance of the set's LCD panel.

[brentsg]

LED simply means that it uses some manner of LED for a backlight rather than CCFL.

Both are still LCD.

What really matters is it edge lit, back lit, or even local dimming LED.. Also, is the LED source white or RGB?

It is actually quite a bit to cover for such a simple question.

[Raytrace]

LED simply means that it uses some manner of LED for a backlight rather than CCFL.

Both are still LCD.

yeh exactly and what proper pisses me off - is I don't think they ever tell you the resolution of the LED/backlight grid - or do they?

my phone has an OLED screen and seriously it REALLY is a big difference - actual blacks (i.e. not 'on')

[PinkSweets]

I find that most LED TV's have absolutely horrendous sound. They try to cram tiny speakers into too slim of a TV. The smaller Samsung and Toshiba TV's especially, from my experience, have disgusting sound.

However, if you don't mind listening to people that sound like they're trying to talk through tin cans connected by string, then go for it.

I recently purchased a new TV and went with a 22'' Sony LCD. Fine for me.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

What's interesting about the USA's off-the-air free HDTV programming, is there's support for a robust 5.1 surround sound setup if you have the proper stereo reciever gear. Surely sounds alot better than going with a TV's built-in speaker setup or even using an 2.1 external speaker (or sound bar) setup indeed.

Sounds awesome with them Nascar racing events in 5.1 surround sound setup.

Just gotta use an Toslink cable coming from said HDTV's digital optical output jack & you're good to go.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Blackbird]

Yeah, LED is just a marketing buzzword used to describe the manner in which an LCD is backlit. Most LCDs are backlit by CCFL lights, but newer models can be lit by a variety of LCD configurations. The best backlighting solutions use RGB LEDs and local dimming to give a vibrant picture with darker blacks.

[neorichieb1971]

I find that most LED TV's have absolutely horrendous sound. They try to cram tiny speakers into too slim of a TV. The smaller Samsung and Toshiba TV's especially, from my experience, have disgusting sound.

However, if you don't mind listening to people that sound like they're trying to talk through tin cans connected by string, then go for it.

I recently purchased a new TV and went with a 22'' Sony LCD. Fine for me.

I have logitech PC speakers with a small subwoofer hidden away plugged into the headphone socket. In most TV's that I've seen there is an option in the sound menu to select control for audio on an external device. Therefore I get booming great sound from any source connected to the TV and it works from the volume control of the TV remote. I only paid £30 for the speakers brand new. It is a cheap serious upgrade that doesn't take much room. You just need room for PC speakers either side of your TV. The only problem is that both speakers are connected together by a cable. So if your TV is bigger than 40" you may struggle to make each speaker reach either side.



That is my setup from a few years ago. As you can see a 40" TV still leaves a bit of room either side.

[maxlords]

As stated, the real difference is going to be waiting for an OLED. That will be my next upgrade when the prices get less than monumentally insane.

And I believe that "LED" TVs are a little more power-efficient than LCD TVs. I know so many people that have fallen for this LED as an upgrade from LCD thing.... *sigh*

[neorichieb1971]

LED is slimmer, thats the sales pitch right there.

When people buy TV's they mostly go for size, thinness and price.

Reason being (in the UK anyway for people with no clue) is that they all look the same. There are quite a few things people overlook when buying some types of things.

[Raytrace]

LED is slimmer, thats the sales pitch right there.

When people buy TV's they mostly go for size, thinness and price.

Reason being (in the UK anyway for people with no clue) is that they all look the same. There are quite a few things people overlook when buying some types of things.

yeah I just never understand why 'normal' people give such a shit about thinness - I had a big Diamondtron CRT till the bitter end, and it's picture was definitely better than plasmas and crap out at the time (pre HD), but people were there going to me 'look how great my screen looks' and I was like - 'hmm horrible JPEGy blocks everywhere, ridiculous contrast, really bad trails left by any movement of contrasting coloured objects and horrible blurry text? I think I'll stick to my CRT for now' :p

then again I'm not a big fan of miniaturisation in general - I'll always prefer a desktop to a laptop (as long as they still make them :'( )

[Phellan Wolf]

By the way now that this topic was stated I wanted to ask some of you (Fudo please) what kind of Tv set will be the best for a 55" display. I was thinking off plasma since the have better contast but I am not sure if is going to be the best option since it is too power hungry. I'll be using it for watching films and playing Videogames(TC 4 is gonna look awesome on a 55" screen ).

[Estebang]

Who needs 2 PS3s when they're region free?

[Ex-Cyber]

Who needs 2 PS3s when they're region free?

PS3 games are region-free. PS3s are not.

[shmuppyLove]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/ ... 100433.jpg

That is my setup from a few years ago. As you can see a 40" TV still leaves a bit of room either side.

DAT SHELF

[Leader Bee]

LED is slimmer, thats the sales pitch right there.

When people buy TV's they mostly go for size, thinness and price.

Reason being (in the UK anyway for people with no clue) is that they all look the same. There are quite a few things people overlook when buying some types of things.

yeah I just never understand why 'normal' people give such a shit about thinness - I had a big Diamondtron CRT till the bitter end, and it's picture was definitely better than plasmas and crap out at the time (pre HD), but people were there going to me 'look how great my screen looks' and I was like - 'hmm horrible JPEGy blocks everywhere, ridiculous contrast, really bad trails left by any movement of contrasting coloured objects and horrible blurry text? I think I'll stick to my CRT for now' :p

then again I'm not a big fan of miniaturisation in general - I'll always prefer a desktop to a laptop (as long as they still make them :'( )

You sir, have just earned yourself rep. Miniaturisation, touch screens, voice activation... I wouldn't mind people going crazy over all this stuff if it actually worked but in my experience tiny buttons, smudgy fingerprinted screens that are scratched and you cant read because your finger is in the way and innacurate voice recognition still needs a lot of work before you stick it in a commercial product.

[undamned]

LED simply means that it uses some manner of LED for a backlight rather than CCFL.

Both are still LCD.

yeh exactly and what proper pisses me off

Was talking to a friend about this the other day. He was telling me about some store employee trying to sell him on an "LED" TV, who was just making up crap about why it was better, totally oblivious to it's purely backlit context. 99% of Best Buy employees need to be fired for their propagation of misinformation.
-ud

[StarCreator]

A lot of Best Buy employees are just victims of misinformation themselves. Marketing people are good like that.

The biggest problem with most LED sets out there is that it's being used to make the sets as thin as possible, because that's the direction the market is going. So the market is being flooded with edge-lit LED sets where you can literally see the edge light torches if the scene is dark enough. True LED backlighting with local dimming is a pretty big advance in the technology, but you're unlikely to ever see it because any TV implementing it isn't much thinner than its CCFL counterpart --;;

On LED vs plasma, there's definitely a significant difference in power consumption. It's part of the reason we own one of each - the plasma is just too power hungry to run on a daily basis.

[Raytrace]

You sir, have just earned yourself rep. Miniaturisation, touch screens, voice activation... I wouldn't mind people going crazy over all this stuff if it actually worked but in my experience tiny buttons, smudgy fingerprinted screens that are scratched and you cant read because your finger is in the way and innacurate voice recognition still needs a lot of work before you stick it in a commercial product.

- yeah I dunno I just am so luddite in some ways - I don't like to jump to something just because it's 'new'..

[brentsg]

On LED vs plasma, there's definitely a significant difference in power consumption. It's part of the reason we own one of each - the plasma is just too power hungry to run on a daily basis.

I see this claim a lot and it's been a while since I've been really into the AV scene. I'd have to dig for the numbers, but a properly calibrated display won't vary all that much between plasma and CCFL LCD power consumption. I would expect LED to widen the gap for sure, but even then you're probably talking less than $100/year difference (totally made up on the spot).

Maybe I'll snoop around for data.

Of course if you decide to put the displays in some ridiculous vibrant mode then all bets are off.

[Kiel]

Bunch of crazy talk about power consumption on plasmas. I just bought one and the average cost per year at 5 hours of use a day is around $28.

[StarCreator]

I see this claim a lot and it's been a while since I've been really into the AV scene. I'd have to dig for the numbers, but a properly calibrated display won't vary all that much between plasma and CCFL LCD power consumption. I would expect LED to widen the gap for sure, but even then you're probably talking less than $100/year difference (totally made up on the spot).

Maybe I'll snoop around for data.

Of course if you decide to put the displays in some ridiculous vibrant mode then all bets are off.

I should probably also mention there's a significant size difference between the two sets - the plasma is 18" larger (diagonally) than the LED. I trusted my dad on this because he's the one that watches the power bill like a hawk. I don't actually use either television myself.

[brentsg]

I see this claim a lot and it's been a while since I've been really into the AV scene. I'd have to dig for the numbers, but a properly calibrated display won't vary all that much between plasma and CCFL LCD power consumption. I would expect LED to widen the gap for sure, but even then you're probably talking less than $100/year difference (totally made up on the spot).

Maybe I'll snoop around for data.

Of course if you decide to put the displays in some ridiculous vibrant mode then all bets are off.

I should probably also mention there's a significant size difference between the two sets - the plasma is 18" larger (diagonally) than the LED. I trusted my dad on this because he's the one that watches the power bill like a hawk. I don't actually use either television myself.

They will typically rate the plasmas for maximum consumption, which you won't approach since power scales dynamically depending on what you are viewing and how you are viewing it. Basically if you stare at the brightest scenes all the time on dynamic mode then you will utilize what it's rated for.

But no, you won't actually experience that by using it as a normal TV. LCD on the other hand is pretty static in terms of consumption, since your backlight (typically) is constant and you're trying to conceal this to achieve blacks (typically). YUCK!

Anyways I bet your dad is looking at the plasma's rating, which is essentially a worst-case scenario.

[neorichieb1971]

Who needs 2 PS3s when they're region free?

Blu ray region A playback, PS2 US compatibility.

I've got 3 PS3's now. Gave one to my mother.

[Raytrace]

Who needs 2 PS3s when they're region free?

Blu ray region A playback, PS2 US compatibility.

I've got 3 PS3's now. Gave one to my mother.

ahh I c - and one of them is the ORIGINAL original with the card readers, and as it is a US one, it actually has the PS2 chips within! V nice - even by the time that model came to europe, it only used soft emulation I think

[D]

Bunch of crazy talk about power consumption on plasmas. I just bought one and the average cost per year at 5 hours of use a day is around $28.

Yeah I never understood those arguments either.
So the marketing people have the zombies, eh I mean customers craving a thin tv with a bit lower power consumption. Amazing.
Plasma 4ever!