LED sets are still LCD!!

[matthewpiano]

More a bit of info for any newbies out there really. It has come to my attention through talking to customers that, in some retailers, LED sets are being sold as something completely seperate and different to LCD. This is incorrect.

The LED technology refers to the backlight technology, NOT the actual screen itself. The screen is still an LCD screen.

Conventionally, LCD screens are backlit using flourescent lamps. LED sets use rows of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) instead. One of the major advantages of this is that more flexibility is available so that the backlight can change dynamically in much smaller zones to suit the needs of each particular area of the picture. On the cheaper LED sets the LEDs are clear, but on the more expensive ones (such as the Sony X-series) they are coloured red, green and blue (RGB) to enable more accurate colour reproduction.

On the very thin sets (Eg. the Sony KDL-40ZX1), the LEDs are fixed at the edges of the screen and the light is then bounced off a reflective layer behind the LCD screen.

To many on here this will be old news, but I can't stand technology being mis-sold and hope that this post helps some of the newer entrants into the market understand the technology a little better so that they can buy with their eyes open.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, but are they better/comparable to plasma? I've been told by various salesmen that they indeed are? But based on the prices of the LED sets, I'll take a Kuro anyday.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info, very interesting.

 

[matthewpiano]

seakingadvice:Yes, but are they better/comparable to plasma? I've been told by various salesmen that they indeed are? But based on the prices of the LED sets, I'll take a Kuro anyday.

As always the overall performance of any TV set is down to far more than just the screen and backlight technology being used.

All things being equal, the very best LED backlit LCD sets can now challenge the best plasmas in many ways but you are talking about products like the X4500 Vs the Pioneer Kuros here, and both represent the more luxury end of the market.

Overall, you need to look at each set on its own terms, irrespective of the technology it uses. Far too often there is a focus on a particular technology being the cure-all, rather than a consideration of the actual performance of a particular set.

The TV market is very competitve and there are a number of brands making excellent sets which utitlise a range of different technologies. My only concern is that people are armed with enough knowledge to be able to make their own, informed decision about what represents the best choice for them.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:seakingadvice:Yes, but are they better/comparable to plasma? I've been told by various salesmen that they indeed are? But based on the prices of the LED sets, I'll take a Kuro anyday.

My only concern is that people are armed with enough knowledge to be able to make their own, informed decision about what represents the best choice for them.

Very nobel indeed... I do believe that folks who read the mag and browse this site do have sufficient knowledge to make an informed decision. However, I've come across so many friends who have made purchases based on the BS that they were told by the salespeople and I guess that's just the way the world works - most people don't have the time to find out the facts so the easiest route would be to believe the salesmen or if they are lucky enough, a friend who knows a bit more about this topic.

Good summary on the facts!

 

[Andrew Everard]

seakingadvice:Very nobel indeed...

Almost - but only almost - worth a prize, in fact...

 

[Anonymous]

What's that other technology on that 11 inch Sony TV? I've forgotten now... also remember reading some news articles on some manufacturers halting development on some type of technology recently...due to the economy???

 

[matthewpiano]

seakingadvice:What's that other technology on that 11 inch Sony TV? I've forgotten now... also remember reading some news articles on some manufacturers halting development on some type of technology recently...due to the economy???

The 11" uses OLED (Organic LED) technology which IS a completely different thing. I've still not seen one in the flesh as, for most of us, its rather too much to invest in having such a small TV on the shop floor, especially with so many other sets to find space for.

 

[matthewpiano]

The other technology was Field Emission Display, which is something I know very little about.

To be honest, I think a period of consolidation will actually be a good thing and provide the opportunity for all manufacturers to ensure that they are getting the best possible performance out of existing technologies.

 

[Andrew Everard]

It's FED that's been ditched - see here.

 

[Anonymous]

I've seen the 11 inch Sony OLED TV. Picture looked good but then again, it was such a small screen... Pity about the FED. Looks like LED LCD and maybe plasma will still be around for many more years...

 

[The_Lhc]

Andrew Everard:It's FED that's been ditched - see here.

Is that what they were initially calling SED? It was basically supposed to be a cross between CRT and plasma, each pixel being a single electron emitter, so it was supposed to combine the picture quality of CRT with the flatness of plasma. I had thought a handful of the best prototypes were already available in Japan?

 

[Anonymous]

Does this mean that LED/LCD is the future as far as high end (higher picture quality) LCD tv's are concerned? Should I put off my purchase of a TX-L37V10 on the basis that I might be buying a betamax !!

 

[matthewpiano]

gregorian_chant:Does this mean that LED/LCD is the future as far as high end (higher picture quality) LCD tv's are concerned? Should I put off my purchase of a TX-L37V10 on the basis that I might be buying a betamax !!

Why would you be buying a betamax?? Its not as if a particular TV technology depends on particular software being available for it!

If the TX-LV37V10 is the TV that you like the best with the budget that you have to spend I'd purchase it without worrying.

 

[Anonymous]

A true LED screen would be prohibitively expensive and large for anyone but the truly filthy rich.

Todays LED screens go down to about 4mm pixel pitch today. For a full HD screen that means about 7.6m wide and 4.3m high.

The cost for such a screen would be in the region of 1.5 Milllion Pounds.

Power consumption running at 25% brightness would be approx 9000W.

Any takers?

Mr K

 

[professorhat]

Have seen the Sony 11" OLED TV and to be honest I wasn't particularly impressed. Mind you, it was a brightly lit room and there was no ability to tinker with the settings...

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, it's impossible to be impressed by such a tiny screen. Wonder why Sony even bothered to put this on the market at some outrageous price...

I don't think we've seen any big leaps in picture quality since the 8G Kuros were launched >2 years back.

 

[matthewpiano]

I think the 11" OLED was really intended as a showcase for the technology (though I agree with the points about the size hindering this) and as a footfall driver for stores. The latter point has become a bit moot because we're all keep tight control of stock and can't justify tieing up that sort of money in a tiny screen when there are so many other models available that, given the demonstration space, sell in much larger numbers.

I believe Harrods has had some success with the 11" OLED and that they have sold quite a few units.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

I saw the OLED whilst in Harrods and to be honest thought it rather pointless, it is wat to expensive in relation to what you are getting and the fact the screen is extreamly thin is lost buy the fact that it only works in conjunction with its bulky stand. Also IMHO the PQ was in no way better than the other sets of simular size.

As to LED LCD almost every shop I have seen these sets in are refering to it as a NEW type of TV rather than a progression on a existing one. IMHO if you watch the Samsung TV advert for the 7020 they refer to it as a LED TV rather than a LED backlit LCD TV which is what the TV actually is.

And does the fact these LED models are super thin have any real wourl benifits unless you intend to wall mount it?

 

[laserman16]

D.J.KRIME:

And does the fact these LED models are super thin have any real wourl benifits unless you intend to wall mount it?

My TV is on a glass stand so "super thin" would not make the slightest bit of difference to me.

 

[matthewpiano]

D.J.KRIME I agree with you completely. I think the thinness becomes irrelevant the minute you mount the set on a conventional stand. Far more important to get the performance of the product up to the highest possible standard than seek such extreme slimness.

 

[laserman16]

So spot on.IMO I think they are just trying to create a status symbol.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

Also to me rather silly when the wall bracket is thicker then the TV!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Indeed: which is why at least one manufacturer (LG) has an ultra-slim bracket for its TVs, which I was shown when in Korea at the end of last year. It's just 1in (2.5cm) thick.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi my father in law has just bought a samsung of which he says is better than plasma/lcd as the salesman says it is LED for the future, has he been conned?