lcd screen vs led screen pricelist

The LED chip’s role is to ensure the display stability of the LED display, eliminate the LED flicker phenomenon, and provide a high-quality content display.

Even though some say the picture quality of an LED TV is better, there is no straight answer for which has better picture quality since both TVs use the same kind of screen. For instance, a higher-end LCD TV can have a better quality than a low-end LED TV, but if you look at high-end models of either TV, the picture quality will be comparable.

RGB Dynamic LEDs show truer blacks and whites and thus get higher dynamic contrast ratio (which is desirable in a TV), at the cost of less detail in small bright objects on a dark background (such as star fields)

LED TVs use energy-efficient light emitting diodes (LED) for backlighting. These consume less power than cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) used in traditional LCD televisions. Power savings are typically 20-30%.

Edge-LEDs (the most common) are positioned around the rim of the screen and use a special diffusion panel to spread the light evenly behind the screen.

Flat Screen LCDs, about an inch or two thick are more expensive, but also more popular because of their sleek look and the flexible options of standing on a surface or mounting on a wall.

Front projection LCDs or projectors, which project an image onto the front of the screen. The TV itself is just a box installed anywhere in a room, which projects the image onto a flat screen hung on the wall as large as 300 inches.

Rear projection LCDs, where the image is sent from the rear of the TV to the screen in front. Rear projection LCDs are wide, heavy and only available in large sizes (60" and up).

While you’re considering the addition of LED products in your space, you may be wondering what the pricing will look like and what factors contribute to the cost. If you’ve asked yourself this question in the past, we’re breaking down the four factors that influence the cost of LED products for people like you!

Probably not all that surprising, the size of your LED products’ screens will influence the cost of your project. If you’re unsure what size you need in the space, businesses like RefreshLED are happy to help and make recommendations. Based on the size of your room or venue and the number of seats in that space, we can nail down a screen or panel size specifically for you that fits the room and allows for your audience to easily view the screens. In addition, we consider your organization’s goals and needs to help you find the perfect products.

Most panels we use for clients are 1.5 ft X 1.5 ft and can be “built” together in many designs and layouts. Some projects utilize these panels for design, while others build a larger screen. There is no limit to the creativity you can have with your LED panels. If it fits in your space, we can help you create it. Some clients opt for 6 ft X 60 ft, while others are 5 ft X 8 ft..

For screens under 100 inches, we often encourage customers to consider televisions in their design. When it comes to TVs and LED walls, pricing and value for the technology directly correlate. TV screens under 100 inches are generally cheaper than LED panels. The price jumps drastically for TV screens over 100 inches, and LED panels have become a more cost-effective technology.

The quality of your product is a major factor in your overall price. If your LED Wall quote is the lowest of all you’ve received, I would be asking yourself, “why is that?” If you think the company is just filled with friendly people who want to give you an unbelievable deal, that just isn’t the case.

Refresh Rate: Refresh rates matter with LED panels, especially if you do any sort of broadcasting or online live streaming. Standard Panels come in refresh rates of 1920hz. Upgraded Panels come in refresh rates of 3800hz or higher, thus giving you a greater quality image when being seen online or TV.

Receiving Card: To put it simply, this multi-function card is the overall control system of the LED panel. This collects and transfers data to the LED screen. A poor-quality card or a high-end receiving card will undoubtedly determine the output quality of your LED Wall. Our recommendation is a Novastar A5S card or higher.

Serviceability: Can your LED Panels be serviced entirely from the front? If so, then your modules, power supply unit, receiving card, and HUB board should all be able to be accessed from the front side of the LED Wall. This is an important feature for future servicing and maintenance.

Lifespan: How many hours is your LED panel rated for? Most panels are rated for at least 50,000-100,000 hours. The higher the rating, the higher the price point.

Added Features: Manufacturers can add (what we call “bells & whistles”) features to LED panels. Features include rear display screens, temperature gauge, corner protectors, detachable cabinet doors, curvable latches, and extra handles.

The design, goals, and needs of your project will all influence the final cost. Although custom sizing doesn’t necessarily make the cost of a project more, understanding how custom sizes affect the user experience is really important. If you’re unsure of what sizing or dimensions you need, we recommend engaging with an organization like Refresh LED that can offer insight.

The installation of your project will also influence the final cost. Our LED products can be hung, ground supported, or mounted directly to a wall. Whatever the design aesthetic you’re looking for, these options are available, and prices can vary for each.

Have you ever driven past an electronic billboard at night and saw an advertisement or graphic? From 50 feet away, the image looks great! But if you were to walk up 5 feet from a billboard and try to read it, the pixels in the screen become extremely blurry and hard to make out. This is called the viewing distance. With LED walls, Pitch Pixel and viewing distance are important in designing your project.

The pixel size for most LED walls or panels is a standard 3.9 mm. This means that the pixels within the screen are 3.9 millimeters from one another. This screen size is great for viewing from 10-15 feet away from the screen. Much like the billboard, when you look at the screens from a closer distance, the content begins to get pixelated and blurry.

3.9 mm LED screens are the best value in the market currently. When you choose a pixel pitch smaller than 3.9, the project"s cost becomes considerably more expensive. For viewing distances less than 5 feet and dimensions smaller than 100 inches, we encourage our customers to look into a TV.

Our team of experts is more than happy to help organizations find the right size, dimensions, viewing distance, and overall design for their vision with LEDs. We also have a guide with more information on LED quotes and what to look for when comparing businesses.

And if you have reservations about purchasing a technology that is always changing, RefreshLED has in place a consignment program for people like you. If the cost of the technology changes in the next few years, we offer past clients the opportunity to find a new home for their current panels and upgrade their space to the newer technology. For more information on this program, feel free to contact our team.

LCDs are straight from the side and are used to display information that a specific screen may be. The first type of LED display is the easy-to-use LED display, which has a wide range of parameters depending on the needs and budgets. LED display is easy to use as a light-emitting diode (LED), which can be different from the other ones.

displaying large screens is another common type. LED displays are used to display content that is relevant to the time of day. For displaying ads without dynamic spending, they might be a good option.

LED lights contain no toxic gases like argon or mercury, and they are recyclable. LED lights are easy to clean and have no toxic gases like argon or mercury, and they are recyclable. LED display are easy to clean and aesthetically pleasing for the brightness of LED light, LED lights contain no toxic gases like argon or mercury, and they are recyclable. Hence a LED display for sale at Alibaba.com and it has no toxic gases like argon or mercury- recyclable.

LED, its longevity, and overall quality of life. LED displays have fewer replacements and less maintenance. Another reason is that the LED display screen requires fewer replacements and less maintenance.

The first step in determining the price of a LED screen is to know how large it will be. For this we must use a tape measure and physically measure the space that your screen should occupy. We will take the measurements in millimeters knowing that 10mm = 1cm. We recommend you check prices by testing with several possible measures for your LED screen.

Outdoor screens are installed in areas exposed to rain and outdoors. This implies that they require protections to improve water-resistance and therefore they are slightly more expensive than indoor screens

These screens are installed in covered areas, they are not exposed to rain or the weather. They do not require specific sealing protections and therefore can be more economical.

At Visual Led we have been in the world of giant LED screens for advertising for more than 15 years; working on national and international projects with thousands of square metres operating daily. That is why we are obliged to offer quality screens, as our clients are professional advertising companies that are expanding their fleet of advertising screens and need reliable and durable screens.

As a comparative example, this is what happens in tourist areas where the “fares” of a bar vary if the client is a tourist or a local, taking advantage of the supposed lack of knowledge the occasional visitor has. Do they treat you like a tourist when you ask for a LED screen budget and offer you high prices with great eloquent speeches about quality?

In Visual Led we want to be transparent and DO NOT hide our prices to asses them individually. With our price simulator you can quote your online LED screen and ask us any questions or personalization about it.

Our automatic price calculator allows you to obtain detailed estimates of the vast majority of Visual Led products. On the web you can see the description of the product, its price and also its technical sheet. The products available in the LED screen price calculator are:

CLICK on the option “RECEIVE DETAILED QUOTE” and we will send you a complete technical sheet to your email, with all the detailed information about the features of the advertising led screen.

If LED screens are simply defined, they are screen systems similar to TV monitor. LCD screens can be considered as the ancestor of LED screens In this text, we will mention the differences between LCD and LED screens. The most basic and significant distinction is that fluorescent lamps are used for illumination goal in LCD screens. However, LED’s, a more up-to-date technology, are used for backlighting in LED monitors. We can list the other distinctions between the two screens as follows;

The picture grade is much clearer than other televisions. The cause for this is that it reflects less than classical televisions even when exposed to highlight. The fact that LED screens are not affected by sunlight is a unique opportunity for effective advertisement.

LED screens and small LED screen panels are extensively used today. Therefore, its usage fields are also very large. LED screens are used in football fields, malls, hospitals, openings, hotels, competitions and many more. As can be seen, the wide usage areas of LED screens provide convenience to people in many aspects. It is preferred because of the nominal cost of some LED screens. And for this reason, its usage area is also wide. LED panels are preferred in the fields of art and culture, visual presentations, classroom boards and logos.

The point of view limitation of LCD screens panels is greater than that of LED screens panels. That is to get a quality view on LCD’s, the screen should be viewed directly from a vertical angle. If viewed from different angles, the view loses its authenticity. LED screens preserve view grade and maintain the wanted realism from whatever angle they are viewed. Therefore, LED screens panels outdoor are more preferred. Because natural color transitions and realistic appearance from all angles are clearly visible.

What resolution should I choose for LED screen variants? For example, a nominal resolution LED screen can be seen clearly from afar. But when you look closely, you will notice that the image is not clear. For this reason, low resolution should be preferred for outdoor large LED screens. In indoor LED screens, high resolution should be preferred so that the viewers look at the screen at eye level and obtain a clear image.

LED Screen Panels has a wide range of products and exports these products to France, Italy, Greece, USA, England, Bulgaria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Romaniaand many more countries. Of course, we recommend you to select the LED Screen Panels for safe and quality shopping. You can reach us at any point you want to get information. Our expert team is at your service 24 hours a day. If you wish, you can fill out the form below to get detailed information and especially to unpaid price information about the best outdoor LED screen.

You"re likely reading this article on a liquid crystal display (LCD). "LCD" refers to any display type that uses liquid crystals, including TN, IPS, and VA (which we"ll get into shortly). Even an old-school calculator or digital watch can use an LCD. But a simple "LCD" designation doesn"t tell you how a screen will perform. You need more information, like the backlight type the panel uses—usually LED, followed by the more expensive Mini LED.

LCDs long ago ousted cathode ray tube (CRT) and plasma displays as the dominant consumer display tech. In the past, it was common to find LCDs with cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlights, but most LCD displays today use LED backlights (more on that below).

When electricity is applied, the crystals morph to allow or block light from going through color filters, depending on the image, to form what you see on the screen.

TN, IPS, and VA are the three primary types of LCD displays you"ll find in TVs, monitors, and laptops. They all vary in how they use their liquid crystals. Each could warrant its own article, but we"ll keep it simple here by focusing on the differences you can expect to see in real life. Advertisement

A Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) is one of the most enduring and fundamental technologies found in monitors, televisions, tablets, and smartphones. TVs and monitors once used cathode ray tubes (CRTs) to provide the image on your screen. But CRTs were bulky and contained dangerous chemicals. Once LCDs became affordable, they replaced CRTs.

An LCD features a panel of liquid crystal molecules. The molecules can be induced using an electrical current to take certain patterns which either block or allow light to pass through. An LCD TV or monitor has a light source at the rear of the display, which lights up the crystals. LCDs commonly use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL) to provide the TV or monitor backlight.

To provide a color image on your screen, the LCD has red, green, and blue sub-pixels in each screen pixel. Transistors within the display control the direction of light each pixel emits, which then passes through either a red, green, or blue filter.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are small semiconductors that emit visible light when an electrical current passes through them. LEDs are typically more efficient and longer-lasting than traditional lighting.

While manufacturers often use "LED" in place of "LCD," an LED TV is also a type of LCD. Instead of CCFL tubes to provide the LCDs backlight, rows of LEDs provide the backlight. The LEDs give better control of the light, as well as greater efficiency as it is possible to control individual LEDs.

For accuracy, a TV or monitor description should read "LED-Backlit LCD Monitor." But that is a) a mouthful and b) doesn"t allow for the creation of a separate marketable product. That"s not to say there aren"t differences between the two.

However, both LED and LCD monitors have different technologies that make certain panels more appealing to gamers, film buffs, designers, and so on. You should also note that on older screens, the difference between an LCD and LED TV or monitor is more pronounced, due to the relative age of the two lighting options.

There are several different types of LED and LCD monitors. When you"re trying to buy a new TV or monitor, understanding the differences and the terminology will help you bag a better deal. Here are some of the most common variations of the LED and LCD panels.

An Edge-Lit LED TV or monitor has its LEDs arranged around the rim of the display, behind the LCD panels facing the screen. The Edge-Lit option allows for slimmer designs, uses fewer LEDs, and can bring the cost of a new screen down. Light reflects across the screen uniformly to create the image.

One downside to an Edge-Lit screen is the dark contrast. Because the Edge-Lit LED display is brightest closer to the edges, color uniformity and black levels can become an issue, with some areas appearing darker than others.

A Full-Array LED display uses a grid of LED lights behind the LCD. The LEDs shine outwards directly towards the LCD, creating a bright and uniform picture. Full-Array LED panels enjoy the efficiency benefits of LEDs.

For the best image reproduction, a Full-Array LED display may include local dimming. Local dimming means that groups of LEDs can switch on and off as required to provide better overall control of the brightness level.

LEDs are often referred to as emitting white light. Actually, LEDs produce light closer to yellow than a pure white. That difference can create a color shift in the image you see on your screen. To improve on this issue, some manufacturers replace white LEDs with groupings of red, green, and blue (RGB) LEDs.

The display uses advanced electronics and programming to control the RGB LEDs accurately, along with more LEDs. The combination increases the cost of an RGB LED screen significantly for what most viewers would consider a marginal improvement. RGB LED displays never became mainstream because of their higher cost.

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLED) are an advanced form of LED lighting found in some LED monitors. Each pixel of an OLED TV can glow or dim independently, resulting in much better black levels, extremely sharp colors, and better contrast ratios. The majority of OLED TVs and monitors have excellent viewing angles and color quality.

Without a doubt, OLED TVs and monitors (and even smartphone screens) have incredible color depth. But that does come at a cost. The latest generation of flagship smartphones all feature OLED screens, and it is a contributing factor to their massive cost. Another consideration is power. An OLED screen consumes more power than other LED-backlit screens and standard LCD screens.

The acronyms continue with QLED, which stands for Quantum Dot LED. Samsung"s QLED improves color accuracy as much as 90-percent from a regular LED TV or monitor and can hit the high levels of brightness and color depth that HDR requires.

So, what is a quantum dot monitor? In short, quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals that absorb light at one wavelength and output it at a different wavelength. The LEDs in a QLED emit all of the blue shades the picture requires. But a blue picture isn"t what consumers want. The quantum dots refract the blue LED light into the green and red shades needed to complete the picture.

A single quantum dot monitor or TV contains billions of semiconductor nanocrystals. Those nanocrystals give QLED screens outstanding black range and color depth, as well as excellent color saturation and contrast.

Just as there are types of LED monitor technology, so is there LCD monitor and TV technology, too. The type of LCD tech powering your screen makes a difference to the final picture. Here"s what you need to look out for.

Twisted nematic (TN) was one of the first LCD panel types, dating back to the 1980s. TN panels have fast response time. Most of the fastest gaming monitors use a TN LCD panel to offer exceptionally fast refresh rates, up to 240Hz. That level of refresh isn"t necessary for most people, but it can make a difference for top-level gamers (for instance, in reducing motion blur and image transition smoothness).

While a VA LCD panel has a better color range than a TN panel, they also have a slower refresh rate. They also usually cost more and, as such, are rarely marketed toward gamers. Between TN panels and IPS panels (read below), VA is the least popular LCD panel technology.

In-Plane Switching (IPS) panels are considered the best LCD panel technology for a variety of reasons. An IPS panel offers very wide viewing angles with very fast refresh rates. They"re not as fast as a TN panel, but IPS panels are widely available at 144Hz. At the time of writing, the first few 240Hz IPS LCD panels are hitting the market, although they are extremely expensive for a marginal gain.

Color-wise, IPS panels are excellent. High-quality IPS LCD panel prices continue to fall. However, there are several reasons why you shouldn"t buy a ridiculously cheap IPS gaming monitor.

The type of LCD panel you need depends on its use. Gamers want fast response times and rich depth of color, which is why IPS panels are a great option. If you"re more concerned about picture quality for your favorite films, an OLED panel will perform extremely well.

Still, now you know the terminology behind LCD panels and the pros and cons to each type, you can make an informed decision for your TV or monitor upgrade. But wait, the type of LCD or LED panel isn"t the only thing to consider. Take a moment to learn about the differences between 4K, Ultra HD, and 8K screens.

If you’ve been looking around, you’ll notice that the LED screen rental cost will vary from provider to provider. The team at Xtreme is proud to offer the highest quality LED screen panels at the best prices possible. We offer a variety of rental packages, ensuring you find exactly what you need to pull off an event where everyone in attendance gets to feel like they have the best seat in the house.

Our LED screen rental prices include the cost to rent the screen size of your choice for an 8-hour period, this includes the 2-3 hours it will take for installation as well as the 2 hours needed for the breakdown. On average, you can expect to save around $300 by choosing Xtreme for your LED screen rental over the guys. And we all know that $300 can go a long way in your party budget, so every bit of savings counts!

We also offer the option to buy LED screens. If you frequently host events that require the use of a professional LED screen, you can save yourself time and money by purchasing one to own. Our LED screens for sale feature the same high quality and durability as the ones we rent, and we provide the same level of customer service that includes going above and beyond the call of duty for our clients to ensure they have everything they need. We also offer low-cost options for the permanent installation of your LED screens.

Now, one more note before I start breaking down options and prices. When I talk about video walls, I’m not referring to buying four TVs from a big box store and hanging them together. TVs are problematic as video walls for a number of reasons. Their bezels are usually larger and have logos, they’re usually not bright enough to serve as commercial displays, and they can’t meet the demand of 24/7 usage. You’ll hear me discuss LCDs and LEDs, but when I do, I’ll be referring to monitors, not TVs. It’s an important distinction.

While blended front projections and rear projection cubes are viable options for video walls, LED and LCDs are the most common display technology used for video walls.

Generally, LEDs are more expensive than LCDs (for models that deliver the same image quality), making the latter the budget-friendly choice. The major tradeoff is the LCD’s bezel lines for the line-free LED array.

When viewed from a distance, LED displays deliver a large seamless image presentation that’s ideal for stage presentation screens, corporate branding, and digital signage use cases. Using the correct pixel pitch makes LED display deliver a picture-perfect image that’s free of bezels or lines; however, they are not great for close viewing, though that is improving.

For simple video walls, a basic 2×2 high-quality LCD unit can cost as little as $4800, while larger, more elaborate setups with more advanced features (touchscreen capabilities) can go as high as $30,000.

A 1.2mm pixel pitch LED video wall costs approximately $2K sq./ft. This figure translates into $200K for a video wall with 160” x 90” outside dimensions. This includes the mounts, panels and installation costs without taking into account the cost of infrastructure, installation and programming and other ancillary costs (like tax and shipping).

While LEDs are more expensive than LCDs, they lend themselves to more customization in terms of size and shape, with the added benefit of being bezel-less.

It’s best not to scrimp on mounts. You should choose a mount that is sufficiently rigid to prevent sagging and able to provide alignment adjustments in all axes when needed. Most importantly, use mounts that permit front serviceability of individual panels. This prevents the need to remove other panels to service just one failed panel, thus reducing the cost of maintenance and repairs.

Also, custom content needs to be created (or scaled to fit) for video walls that don’t come in standard resolutions like 1080P, 2K,4K, etc. You might want to avoid such non-standard walls since it can be quite expensive to create such custom content. Instead, try to use a video wall layout that maintains standard aspect ratios. For LED walls, this means a 16:10, 16:9, or other cinema aspect ratios while LCD arrays should come in 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, and other standard array sizes.

The power consumption of computer or tv displays vary significantly based on the display technology used, manufacturer and build quality, the size of the screen, what the display is showing (static versus moving images), brightness of the screen and if power saving settings are activated.

Click calculate to find the energy consumption of a 22 inch LED-backlit LCD display using 30 Watts for 5 hours a day @ $0.10 per kWh. Check the table below and modify the calculator fields if needed to fit your display.

LED & LCD screens use the same TFT LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) technology for displaying images on the screen, when a product mentions LED it is referring to the backlighting. Older LCD monitors used CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) backlighting which is generally 20-30% less power efficient compared to LED-backlit LCD displays.

The issue in accurately calculating the energy consumption of your tv or computer display comes down to the build quality of the screen, energy saving features which are enabled and your usage patterns. The only method to accurately calculate the energy usage of a specific model is to use a special device known as an electricity usage monitor or a power meter. This device plugs into a power socket and then your device is plugged into it, electricity use can then be accurately monitored. If you are serious about precisely calculating your energy use, this product is inexpensive and will help you determine your exact electricity costs per each device.

In general we recommend LED displays because they offer the best power savings and are becoming more cheaper. Choose a display size which you are comfortable with and make sure to properly calibrate your display to reduce power use. Enable energy saving features, lower brightness and make sure the monitor goes into sleep mode after 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity. Some research studies also suggest that setting your system themes to a darker color may help reduce energy cost, as less energy is used to light the screen. Also keep in mind that most display will draw 0.1 to 3 watts of power even if they are turned off or in sleep mode, unplugging the screen if you are away for extended periods of time may also help.

For all the new technologies that have come our way in recent times, it’s worth taking a minute to consider an old battle going on between two display types. Two display types that can be found across monitors, TVs, mobile phones, cameras and pretty much any other device that has a screen.

In one corner is LED (light-emitting diode). It’s the most common type of display on the market, however, it might be unfamiliar because there’s slight labelling confusion with LCD (liquid crystal display).

For display purposes the two are the same, and if you see a TV or smartphone that states it has an ‘LED’ screen, it’s an LCD. The LED part just refers to the lighting source, not the display itself.

In a nutshell, LED LCD screens use a backlight to illuminate their pixels, while OLED’s pixels produce their own light. You might hear OLED’s pixels called ‘self-emissive’, while LCD tech is ‘transmissive’.

The light of an OLED display can be controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis. This sort of dexterity isn’t possible with an LED LCD – but there are drawbacks to this approach, which we’ll come to later.

In cheaper TVs and LCD-screen phones, LED LCD displays tend to use ‘edge lighting’, where LEDs sit to the side of the display, not behind it. The light from these LEDs is fired through a matrix that feeds it through the red, green and blue pixels and into our eyes.

LED LCD screens can go brighter than OLED. That’s a big deal in the TV world, but even more so for smartphones, which are often used outdoors and in bright sunlight.

Brightness is generally measured as ‘nits’ – roughly the light of a candle per square metre. Brightness is important when viewing content in ambient light or sunlight, but also for high dynamic range video. This applies more to TVs, but phones boast credible video performance, and so it matters in that market too. The higher the level of brightness, the greater the visual impact.

Take an LCD screen into a darkened room and you may notice that parts of a purely black image aren’t black, because you can still see the backlighting (or edge lighting) showing through.

You’ll often see a contrast ratio quoted in a product’s specification, particularly when it comes to TVs and monitors. This tells you how much brighter a display’s whites are compared to its blacks. A decent LCD screen might have a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, which means the whites are a thousand times brighter than the blacks.

Contrast on an OLED display is far higher. When an OLED screen goes black, its pixels produce no light whatsoever. That means an infinite contrast ratio, although how great it looks will depend on how bright the screen can go. In general, OLED screens are best suited for use in darker rooms, and this is certainly the case where TVs are concerned.

OLED panels enjoy excellent viewing angles, primarily because the technology is so thin, and the pixels are so close to the surface. You can walk around an OLED TV or spread out in different spots in your living room, and you won’t lose out on contrast. For phones, viewing angles are extra important because you don’t tend to hold your hand perfectly parallel to your face.

Viewing angles are generally worse in LCDs, but this varies hugely depending on the display technology used. And there are lots of different kinds of LCD panel.

Perhaps the most basic is twisted nematic (TN). This is the type used in budget computer monitors, cheaper laptops, and very low-cost phones, and it offers poor angled viewing. If you’ve ever noticed that your computer screen looks all shadowy from a certain angle, it’s more than likely it uses a twisted nematic panel.

Thankfully, a lot of LCD devices use IPS panels these days. This stands for ‘in-plane switching’ and it generally provides better colour performance and dramatically improved viewing angles.

IPS is used in most smartphones and tablets, plenty of computer monitors and lots of TVs. It’s important to note that IPS and LED LCD aren’t mutually exclusive; it’s just another bit of jargon to tack on. Beware of the marketing blurb and head straight to the spec sheet.

The latest LCD screens can produce fantastic natural-looking colours. However, as is the case with viewing angles, it depends on the specific technology used.

OLED’s colours have fewer issues with pop and vibrancy, but early OLED TVs and phones had problems reining in colours and keeping them realistic. These days, the situation is better, Panasonic’s flagship OLEDs are used in the grading of Hollywood films.

Where OLED struggles is in colour volume. That is, bright scenes may challenge an OLED panel’s ability to maintain levels of colour saturation. It’s a weakness that LCD-favouring manufacturers enjoy pointing out.

Both have been the subject of further advancements in recent years. For LCD there’s Quantum Dot and Mini LED. The former uses a quantum-dot screen with blue LEDs rather than white LEDs and ‘nanocrystals’ of various sizes to convert light into different colours by altering its wavelength. Several TV manufacturers have jumped onboard Quantum Dot technology, but the most popular has been Samsung’s QLED branded TVs.

Mini LED is another derivation of LED LCD panels, employing smaller-sized LEDs that can emit more light than standard versions, increasing brightness output of the TV. And as they are smaller, more can be fitted into a screen, leading to greater control over brightness and contrast. This type of TV is becoming more popular, though in the UK and Europe it’s still relatively expensive. You can read more about Mini LED and its advantages in our explainer.

OLED, meanwhile, hasn’t stood still either. LG is the biggest manufacturer of large-sized OLED panels and has produced panels branded as evo OLED that are brighter than older versions. It uses a different material for its blue OLED material layer within the panel (deuterium), which can last for longer and can have more electrical current passed through it, increasing the brightness of the screen, and elevating the colour volume (range of colours it can display).

Another development is the eagerly anticipated QD-OLED. This display technology merges Quantum Dot backlights with an OLED panel, increasing the brightness, colour accuracy and volume, while retaining OLED’s perfect blacks, infinite contrast and potentially even wider viewing angles, so viewers can spread out anywhere in a room and see pretty much the same image. Samsung and Sonyare the two companies launching QD-OLED TVs in 2022.

And for smartphones there’s been a move towards AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens for Android screens, while Apple has moved towards OLED for its smartphones and tried Mini LED with its iPad Pro. Technologies are consistently evolving with Superand Dynamic AMOLED versions available, more performance is being eked out.

While LED LCD has been around for much longer and is cheaper to make, manufacturers are beginning to move away from it, at least in the sense of the ‘standard’ LCD LED displays, opting to explore the likes of Mini LED and Quantum Dot variations.

OLED has gained momentum and become cheaper, with prices dipping well below the £1000 price point. OLED is much better than LED LCD at handling darkness and lighting precision, and offers much wider viewing angles, which is great for when large groups of people are watching TV. Refresh rates and motion processing are also better with OLED though there is the spectre of image retention.

If you’re dealing with a limited budget, whether you’re buying a phone, a monitor, a laptop or a TV, you’ll almost certainly end up with an LCD-based screen. OLED, meanwhile, incurs more of a premium but is getting cheaper, appearing in handheld gaming devices, laptops, some of the best smartphones as well as TVs

Which is better? Even if you eliminate money from the equation, it really comes down to personal taste. Neither OLED nor LCD LED is perfect. Some extol OLED’s skill in handling darkness, and its lighting precision. Others prefer LCD’s ability to go brighter and maintain colours at bright levels.

How do you decide? Stop reading this and go to a shop to check it out for yourself. While a shop floor isn’t the best environment in which to evaluate ultimate picture quality, it will at least provide an opportunity for you to realise your priorities. Whether you choose to side with LCD or OLED, you can take comfort in the fact that both technologies have matured considerably, making this is a safe time to invest.