are lcd monitors better than lcd free sample

From panel technology to refresh rates, there are a lot of things to consider when looking for a new gaming monitor. To aid you on your journey for the perfect setup, we"re breaking down two of the most common display technology terms: LED and LCD. Here"s what you need to know about LED and LCD screens, what the terms stand for, and how they factor into modern gaming monitors.

LCD stands for liquid-crystal display, which refers to how the monitor works. Behind the screen, liquid crystals are sandwiched between two layers of glass and used to change the colors of pixels to create the images that you see. The whole process is a lot more complicated, but that"s the gist of how LCDs function.

In the past, some LCDs were backlit by CCFLs (cold-cathode fluorescent lamps). LCDs with fluorescent backlighting have been around longer, so if you can find one, they will be cheaper than LED monitors. However, if you"re a gamer looking for decent refresh rates and response times, it"s going to be hard to find a monitor with fluorescent backlighting. They"ve almost completely been replaced by LCD monitors with LED backlights.

LEDs work in a similar way; in fact, you can consider LEDs a subcategory of LCDs. The only difference between some LCDs and LEDs is the type of backlighting: LEDs use LED (light-emitting diodes) backlighting.

In contrast to fluorescent backlighting, LED backlighting generally provides brighter colors and sharper contrast. The monitors are also thinner in size and, in the long run, more energy efficient than LCDs with fluorescent backlights. LED backlighting is the newer technology and the current standard for monitors with high refresh rates and fast response times. When you see LCD in product descriptions, they"re almost always LCD monitors that use LED (as opposed to fluorescent) backlighting. For example, BenQ"s EL2870U monitor is listed as an LCD, but it"s an LCD with LED backlighting.

There are different types of LED backlighting: edge-lit and array-lit. In edge-lit monitors, the lights are placed around the edges of the monitor. Light guides are then used to diffuse the light evenly across the screen. In array-lit monitors, lights are placed behind the screen in a pattern.

The tricky thing, however, is that it"s pretty much impossible to tell what type of backlight and how many backlights a monitor has based on a typical product description. Some manufacturers will share that info, but generally they won"t unless the backlight setup is a premium feature you"re paying for.

For example, some edge-lit and array-lit LEDs have local dimming capabilities, a feature that can selectively dim certain zones of LED lights. Local dimming improves contrast ratio and provides deeper blacks in dimly lit scenes. These monitors, however, tend to be pricey. Some well-reviewed options include the Samsung Odyssey G7 and Philips Momentum 436M6VBPAB, both of which are edge-lit monitors with partial local dimming capabilities. The Acer Predator X35 is an (expensive) full-array monitor with full local dimming (FALD) capabilities.

You won"t have much of a choice between LED or LCD. Most monitors, regardless of whether they"re marked as LED or LCD, will use LED backlights. LED backlights became the new standard because they allow manufacturers to make thinner, more energy-efficient monitors with better graphics. It"s not worth going out of your way to find an LCD with fluorescent backlighting, unless you really, really hate LED lights.

Which backlights a monitor has isn"t as important as other factors such as panel technology, refresh rates and response time, G-Sync vs. FreeSync, and HDR --those are the characteristics you should pay more attention to when choosing a monitor. If you"re not looking to break the bank, a couple of great LED monitors at excellent price points we can recommend are the Asus VP249QGR, a nice budget 1080p monitor, and Acer XF250Q Cbmiiprx 24.5, a well-reviewed budget 240Hz monitor.

Check out our guide to the best cheap gaming monitors for more budget options; plus, see our picks for the best monitors for PS5 and Xbox Series X, best 144Hz monitors, and the best 4K gaming monitors for more LED displays worth picking up.

Since the production of cathode ray tubes has essentially halted due to the cost and environmental concerns, CRT-based monitors are considered an outdated technology. All laptops and most desktop computer systems sold today come with LCD monitors. However, there are a few reasons why you might still prefer CRT over LCD displays.

While CRT monitors provide better color clarity and depth, the fact that manufacturers rarely make them anymore makes CRTs an unwise choice. LCD monitors are the current standard with several options. LCD monitors are smaller in size and easier to handle. Plus, you can buy LCD monitors in a variety of sizes, so customizing your desktop without all the clutter is easy.

The primary advantage that CRT monitors hold over LCDs is color rendering. The contrast ratios and depths of colors displayed on CRT monitors are better than what an LCD can render. For this reason, some graphic designers use expensive and large CRT monitors for their work. On the downside, the color quality degrades over time as the phosphors in the tube break down.

Another advantage that CRT monitors hold over LCD screens is the ability to easily scale to various resolutions. By adjusting the electron beam in the tube, the screen can be adjusted downward to lower resolutions while keeping the picture clarity intact. This capability is known as multisync.

The biggest disadvantage of CRT monitors is the size and weight of the tubes. An equivalently sized LCD monitor can be 80% smaller in total mass. The larger the screen, the bigger the size difference. CRT monitors also consume more energy and generate more heat than LCD monitors.

For the most vibrant and rich colors, CRTs are hard to beat if you have the desk space and don"t mind the excessive weight. However, with CRTs becoming a thing of the past, you may have to revisit the LCD monitor.

The biggest advantage of LCD monitors is the size and weight. LCD screens also tend to produce less eye fatigue. The constant light barrage and scan lines of a CRT tube can cause strain on heavy computer users. The lower intensity of the LCD monitors coupled with the constant screen display of pixels being on or off is easier on the eyes. That said, some people have issues with the fluorescent backlights used in some LCD displays.

The most notable disadvantage to LCD screens is the fixed resolution. An LCD screen can only display the number of pixels in its matrix. Therefore, it can display a lower resolution in one of two ways: using only a fraction of the total pixels on the display, or through extrapolation. Extrapolation blends multiple pixels together to simulate a single smaller pixel, which often leads to a blurry or fuzzy picture.

For those who are on a computer for hours, an LCD can be an enemy. With the tendency to cause eye fatigue, computer users must be aware of how long they stare at an LCD monitor. While LCD technology is continually improving, using techniques to limit the amount of time you look at a screen alleviates some of that fatigue.

Significant improvements have been made to LCD monitors over the years. Still, CRT monitors provide greater color clarity, faster response times, and wider flexibility for video playback in various resolutions. Nonetheless, LCDs will remain the standard since these monitors are easier to manufacture and transport. Most users find LCD displays to be perfectly suitable, so CRT monitors are only necessary for those interested in digital art and graphic design.

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There are tons of screens available in the market today. However, LED screens and LCD screens are by far the most popular. But what is the difference between LCD vs. LED screens?

Some of the benefits of LED monitors nclude enhanced picture quality and local dimming. Local dimming helps to dim down certain areas of your TV"s backlight. This helps to make the screen appear darker and better in displaying blacks.

The main difference between LCD and LED displays is that the LCD screens come with a layer of liquid crystals. The liquid crystal layer is put between two plates. Images are made when light passes through parts of the liquid crystal.

The liquid crystal part either block or enhance an area which helps to create the image. Most LCD panel types have LED lights that help bring out the image.

Older LCD screens and use Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFLs) to light the screen. The CCFLs use electron discharge and fluorescence to light the screen.

LEDs like the one from our "Dell Computer Ultrasharp 24.0-Inch Screen LED Monitor Review" are taking over the market while LCD screens with CCFLs are fading away. LCD screens are used in watches, some notebook computers, and calculators.

OLED stands for organic light-emitting diodes, and it uses an organic compound to create outstanding high-contrast images - OLED screens are more environmentally friendly. They are also thinner than a standard LED screen as they don"t require a thick LED backlighting behind the screen to illuminate it.

On the other hand, you have QLED screens that are created and patented by Samsung. The QLED screens offer more crisp images as they create light with a shorter wavelength.

The Q in QLED stands for Quantum Dot (see Quantum Dot and IPS). The screens have an additional layer between the LCD screen and the backlight of the monitor. The layer allows light to pass through easily and produce better colors than an ordinary LED screen.

Slimmer design:LED screens to come in a slimmer design than their LCD counterparts. This gives them a sleek and elegant look, and it also takes less space.

Cheaper to run:If you are trying to cut down on energy cost, an LED screen will be a better option between the two as it is more energy-efficient. However, LED screens are more expensive than their LCD counterparts. As such, you can expect to pay more initially.

Better color:If you want to enjoy more realistic images, LED will be the better option. The screen offers you better color than other screens in the market. Additionally, it offers a better contrast, which is the range between the darkest blacks and brightest whites on the screen. The enhanced contrast ensures you end up with the most realistic images.

However, if you are working on a tight budget, you may consider an LCD screen. Besides the cost, LED performs better than the LCD screen in all the other aspects.

If you want to find out the type of screen you already have, you can check out the screen"s model number. The model number can tell you if the screen is an LED or LCD.

When it comes to picture quality, LED TVs look better than older LCD TVs. Manufacturers also make a big deal out of LED backlighting because sets that use the technology are usually more energy-efficient than CCFL LCD TVs. Therefore, the money you save on your power bill could eventually offset the extra cost of an LED TV.

You"ll be happy with the picture regardless of what kind of display you buy. Still, LED TV have a few practical advantages that make them a better purchase than the older LCD TVs.

With an LED light, the pixels are either edge-lit or backlit. As such, the lights behind the screen are designed to light up all the pixels in your monitor at once.

An edge-lit monitor may not be the best for picture quality as the lights are only at the edges of the screen. However, screens with edge lighting have become very popular nowadays as the best budget choice. The edge lights allow for the creation of thin monitors at a low price which enhances their affordability.

If you are working in an office, you may have to spend eight or more hours in front of your monitor. If you keep looking away from the screen due to eye fatigue and strain, it will affect your productivity. The eye strain can also cause headaches to some people.

LED monitors feature better dimming options without sacrificing picture clarity. They also come with features that reduce eye strain, making them the ideal option if you are spending long hours in front of the screen.

Alternatively, you can go for LCD screens that offer arefresh rate of 120Hz or more. The LCD screens also offer a wider variety of viewing angles, which can offer better comfort.

Apart from watching movies and working, you can also get a monitor for gaming. Whether you are a gaming enthusiast or gaming for fun, you want a monitor to offer you the best picture clarity.

When choosing between LED and LCD monitors, there are several factors to consider. Besides the backlighting technology, you should also consider the panel type - see also what types of monitors are there. Various panels have their benefits compared to others.

LED monitors tend to be more expensive than LCD screens, thanks to LED technology being newer and featuring pricier components. Additionally, there is a newer form of LED called the OLED, which stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. These OLED displays are extremely expensive, especially at high resolutions. LED technology, on the other hand, is extremely cheap and readily available.

Are you lost on the best choice between LCD and LED monitors? If you spend a lot of time in front of your monitor, you should ensure you end up with the best quality screen. This will ensure that you get high-quality images and also minimize eye strain.

In the battle between LCD and LED displays, LED comes out as the better option. It offers more crisp and clear images, and it also comes with a sleek and elegant design. However, it can be a little expensive. If you are working on a budget, LCD monitors can make a perfect choice.

LED technology has improved drastically in recent years improving picture quality while driving costs down. LED is a bigger investment up front but generally has a lifespan of about 100,000 hours. LCD is cheaper and generally more familiar. A LCD screen typically has a lifespan of about 50,000 hours.

Sort of. Older technologies like LCD technology and Plasma displays are becoming obsolete due to the intrinsic properties of LEDs like brightness, efficiency, maintainability, and sustainability.

LCD screens emit blue light and thus negatively affects not only vision but also overall health. Continual extended screen time mainly can impact your eyes in two major ways. When we look at a screen, our blink rate drops significantly, thus causing digital eye strain.

Sometimes the distance between good and great seems like hardly any distance at all — such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) versus light-emitting diode (LED) displays. Both are suitable for retail window signage, campus wayfinding or large video walls. But LCD and LED have significant differences, and their specific benefits are worth understanding so you can choose the best displays for your business needs.

LCD is the broader category; LED is a subset. In other words, all LED displays are LCDs, but not all LCDs are LED. LCDs are made up of hundreds of thousands — even millions — of individual pixels built from liquid crystals. Each pixel is capable of displaying a color when it receives an electrical charge. Like a mosaic, the displayed image is built from tiny elements that combine to form the overall picture.

But the liquid crystals don’t produce any light of their own, so in order for the image to be illuminated, the liquid crystals need to be backlit. LCDs are illuminated by cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), evenly positioned behind the pixels so that, at least in theory, every part of the screen is evenly lit and at consistent brightness.

Up to a point, LED displays are much the same. An LED screen also uses liquid crystals to generate color — or pure black (no color), by not charging a specific pixel. So LED displays have the same need for backlighting. But rather than CCFL, tiny individual lights (light-emitting diodes) illuminate the liquid crystals.

The individual LEDs can be arranged one of two ways: full-array or edge-lit. For edge lighting, the LEDs are arranged around the edges of the back of the screen. Full-array, on the other hand, calls for many LEDs to be lined up evenly across the back of the screen, where they can be arranged into zones (usually called “dimming zones” or “local dimming”).

Is LED just plain better than LCD? Well, for a while, LCD screens represented the cutting edge of digital signage. But now, about the only meaningful advantage of LCD over LED is price point. As LCD is becoming outdated, it tends to be less of an upfront investment. In every other respect, though, LED displays have the advantage.

No matter the arrangement of the backlighting, LED has a greater nit value than LCD, which means it’s brighter (“nit” comes from the Latin “nitere,” meaning “to shine”). The average nit value for LCDs is between 500 and 700 nits, while LEDs are typically between 1,200 and 2,400 nits. With greater brightness comes greater contrast, and all-day visibility on outdoor displays.

Despite the energy output, higher brightness doesn’t necessarily mean a shorter lifespan. In fact, LED displays have an average lifespan of 10 years — double the average five-year lifespan of LCDs. Factoring longevity into the cost of your signage, LED’s longer lifespan can make it cheaper than LCD in the long run.

Even with edge lighting, LED produces more vividly lifelike images than CCFL-backlit LCDs — and with sleeker hardware, thanks to their minimalist design. And while LCD bezels have drastically reduced over time, they’re still greater than zero. LED has no bezels at all.

Up to 40 times smaller than regular LEDs, microLEDs allow backlighting to be even more precisely targeted, with many times more diodes. This, in turn, delivers a more accurate picture, with greater contrast and highly focused areas of brightness. Samsung’s The Wall is a spectacular example of what microLED is capable of.

Whether you need your digital signage to entertain, inform or simply impress, understanding the differences between LCD and LED will allow you to make a better-informed decision.

Most modern computer monitors, and even televisions, have an edge-lit LCD display that’s fundamentally similar to the first such displays sold decades ago, but that’s not where the future is headed. The twin threats of Mini-LED and OLED want to conquer the world of PC displays for themselves.

Modern OLED displays rarely exceed 1,000 nits of brightness, and when they do, are incapable of sustaining it. LG’s C9 OLED television, for example, can’t sustain a peak brightness above 160 nits (according to testing by Rtings). Mini-LED displays like Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR, Samsung’s Odyssey Neo G9, and Samsung’s QN90A television can hit peak brightness well above 1,000 nits and sustain at least 600 nits.

Such brightness is not necessary for computer monitors or home televisions and instead targets demanding niche components, such as avionics displays. Still, it hints that we’ve only seen a sliver of HDR’s real potential – and that Mini-LED and Micro-LED, not OLED, will lead the charge.

Mini-LED improves on traditional edge-lit LCD displays by improving the backlight. The LCD panel itself, however, is much the same as before and retains some flaws common to the technology.

Display quality can shift significantly depending on viewing angle, and significant blur will be visible when displaying fast motion. Both problems are inherent to LCD technology. The liquid crystals do not block light uniformly, so the image looks different from different angles, and require a few milliseconds to respond to a charge, causing blur or ghosting in rapidly changing images.

OLED is different from LCD technology. There’s no liquid crystals to twist or move. Each pixel is an organic element that creates its own light when a charge is applied. The light is emitted in a relatively uniform pattern and can turn on or off extremely quickly, removing the viewing angle and motion performance issues of LCD entirely.

Monitor pricing remains a sore point for PC enthusiasts. As explained in my deep-dive on upcoming OLED monitors, pricing is tied to the efficiency of production.

“OLEDs are less costly than MiniLEDs in tablets and notebooks if comparing them to Apple’s iPad Pro and MacBook Pro,” says Young. “On the other hand, in monitors, OLEDs are more expensive than MiniLEDs, and are not as bright.”

This explanation is backed up by the hardware you can buy today. OLED panels are available at reasonable prices in notebooks like the Dell XPS 13 and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro. OLED panels for monitors, on the other hand, are so expensive most manufacturers don’t even bother. The LG UltraFine 32EP950, which briefly went on sale this summer, retailed for $3,999.99.

Mini-LED is also expensive, but more affordable than OLED. Asus’ 32-inch ROG Swift PG32UQX retails for as little as $2,899.99 and Samsung’s super-ultrawide Odyssey Neo G9 is $2,499.99.

This advantage will likely continue in the near future. OLED pricing is reliant on availability of OLED panels, which are not as widely produced as LCD panels. Companies looking to build Mini-LED displays can design the backlight somewhat independently of the LCD panel and choose panels as needed based on the panel’s capabilities and pricing.

Because of this, there’s more ways for manufacturers to deliver Mini-LED displays in notebooks and monitors, which may lead to a more aggressive reduction in price.

The current OLED vs. Mini-LED battle is give-and-take. Mini-LED wins in brightness, HDR, durability, and pricing (of full-sized monitors). OLED wins in contrast, black levels, viewing angles, and motion performance.

OLED’s big break may come with the introduction of new fabs. Young says they will “lower costs significantly for 10-inch to 32-inch panels, giving OLED fabs the same flexibility as G8.5 LCD fabs, meaning the ability to target multiple applications from a single fab.” The first of these new fabs should start producing panels by 2024.

Affordable OLED seems alluring, but Wyatt champions a different approach. He believes the Micro-LED technology championed by Pixel Display will meld the strengths of LCD and OLED while ditching the weaknesses of both.

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.

A video wall is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are many options to choose from when designing a commercial building video wall display: the size and shape of the digital canvas, what type of content will be displayed and the purpose of the video wall. Operationally, you may focus on desired reliability, maintenance and serviceability of the equipment. Hardware and technology decisions ensure the video wall will deliver both the desired viewing and ownership experience.

One of these choices is deciding between an LCD display or an LED video wall. Continue reading to find out more about the basics, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.

Most people are familiar with LCD technology, which stands for Liquid Crystal Display. These types of displays have a massive presence in this world, used in living rooms to watch movies, fast-food restaurants to showcase menus, airports to show flight schedules, and everything in between. LCD technology was developed in the 1960s and has been used worldwide as a standard for roughly 20 years. It is a tried-and-true technology that has stood the test of time and will be around for the foreseeable future.

On an LCD screen, the panel is illuminated by a light source and works through reflection or transmission of light. Overall, LCD displays have better viewing angles and less glare than LED screens. This technology was designed to be energy efficient and tends to be lighter in weight.

An LCD video wall is made up of multiple LCD panel monitors mounted on a surface to create a digital canvas, which then work together to create a unified experience. They operate 24/7 at a high brightness and have thin bezels that help create a seamless look when the displays are placed next to one another.

Bezel thickness and the brightness rating are among key attributes to consider for an LCD video wall display. Here is what each of these means and why.

Bezel:Bezel thicknesses for video wall displays are measured in “bezel-to-bezel” thickness.This is the thickness of the bezel when two displays are placed next to one another. Displays can be either large bezel or thin bezel.

Nits:Brightness is measured in Nits. A higher Nit value means the display will be brighter. A brighter display is necessary in a room that sees plenty of direct sunlight, or if the intent is to draw in visitors from far away. With LCD video walls, the price of the hardware goes up as the display size and brightness increase, and the bezel width decreases.

The next item to consider is the type of content that will be displayed on your video wall. LCD displays have high resolution screens — modern 4K displays have over 8 million pixels! This means that the content being displayed is highly detailed and crystal-clear. A viewer could stand less than 1 foot away from the screen and be able to see exactly what is being shown on the screen.

Like previously mentioned with LCD video walls, an important consideration in the decision-making process is the type of content that will be displayed on the video wall. LED video walls suffer from image degradation and pixilation from up close, so fine details will be lost, and text will be illegible. If detail from up close is important, LCD displays are much better suited for that situation.Content examples that are well-suited for an LCD video wall:

Video walls are relatively new. But LCD technology has had decades of mainstream adoption, and with that comes both familiarity and lower costs. If those are important to you, then an LCD video wall is likely the right choice.

LED video walls are similar to LCD video walls, but the digital canvas is built using LED panels. Individual LED panels can be anywhere from 12”x12” to 36”x18”, which is much smaller than LCD displays. LED panels have a larger presence in this world than most might think—they are found indoors and outdoors at stadiums, arenas, concert venues, airports, and in use as large digital advertisements in iconic places such as Times Square.

The module is a small rectangular board that contains all the individual LEDs (light-emitting diodes).Unlike LCD, there is no glass or color filter on the LED video wall panels. The individual diodes that are placed on the modules produce both color and light.

One of the most impressive features of LED panels is that they can be combined to create almost any shape, without a bezel interrupting the digital canvas. LED video wall panels can be placed on curved surfaces, 90-degree edges, and other non-standard surfaces. The smaller size of the panels in relation to LCD video wall displays means they can fill more space on a surface—they aren’t limited to standard 46” and 55” sizes as are LCD video wall displays.

The most important factor to consider when scoping LED panels for a video wall is what is referred to as “pixel pitch.” The pixel pitch is effectively the distance between each pixel on the LED panel—a pixel pitch of 6mm means each pixel is spaced 6 millimeters away from the adjacent pixel. The smaller the pixel pitch, the smaller the distance is between each pixel, which means there are more pixels per square inch on the digital canvas.

Pixel pitch factors into viewing distance. When the pixels are close together, the image is more detailed and can be viewed comfortably by others from a close distance. But when the pixels are spaced further apart, a viewer needs to stand further away to view the image clearly.

Lastly, pixel pitch impacts the price of the LED video wall more than any other factor. For example, a 2mm pixel pitch LED video wall costs significantly more than its 10mm pixel pitch counterpart.

As is the case with an LCD video wall, an LED video wall will add exciting drama and premium value to showcase spaces. LED panel displays don’t enjoy the benefit of decades of mainstream adoption as do their LCD counterparts. However, the technology curve is increasing their availability and lowering their costs. At this time, an LED video wall will have higher upfront costs compared to an LCD video wall. If cost is the main concern, then an LED video wall system will not likely fit into your budget

Aside from LED video wall cost, there are other factors to consider which could make an LED video wall system the frontrunner for your project. Here are the advantages and disadvantages to consider:

Limitless shapes and sizes:the smaller size of LED panels allows them to be combined to create unique canvases, including curved, 90-degree edge, and other combinations not possible with LCD displays

Easy maintenance and service; high reliability:LED module replacement takes seconds with little effort; LED panels are rated with a lifetime of 80,000-100,000 hours, depending on the product

Video wall systems come in all shapes and sizes. The components used to create the video wall experience vary widely. Consider variables other than video wall cost when scoping out both the content and the hardware. Because these parts and pieces could make or break the captive viewing experience you’re hoping to achieve, or worse, defeat the entire purpose of that video wall.

So if you’re looking to buy a video wall in the next year, talk to us about your plans. We’ll discuss your goals and options to determine what digital video wall package and digital directory elements are right for you. Contact us today to get a free video wall consultation.

Shopping for a new TV is like wading through a never-ending pool of tech jargon, display terminology, and head-spinning acronyms. It was one thing when 4K resolution landed in the homes of consumers, with TV brands touting the new UHD viewing spec as a major marketing grab. But over the last several years, the plot has only continued to thicken when it comes to three- and four-letter acronyms with the introduction of state-of-the-art lighting and screen technology. But between OLEDs, QLEDs, mini-LEDs, and now QD-OLEDs, there’s one battle of words that rests at the core of TV vocabulary: LED versus LCD.

Despite having a different acronym, LED TV is just a specific type of LCD TV, which uses a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel to control where light is displayed on your screen. These panels are typically composed of two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. When an electric current passes through the liquid, it causes the crystals to align, so that light can (or can’t) pass through. Think of it as a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking it out.

Since both LED and LCD TVs are based around LCD technology, the question remains: what is the difference? Actually, it’s about what the difference was. Older LCD TVs used cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) to provide lighting, whereas LED LCD TVs used an array of smaller, more efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the screen.

Since the technology is better, all LCD TVs now use LED lights and are colloquially considered LED TVs. For those interested, we’ll go deeper into backlighting below, or you can move onto the Local Dimming section.

Three basic illumination forms have been used in LCD TVs: CCFL backlighting, full-array LED backlighting, and LED edge lighting. Each of these illumination technologies is different from one another in important ways. Let’s dig into each.

CCFL backlighting is an older, now-abandoned form of display technology in which a series of cold cathode lamps sit across the inside of the TV behind the LCD. The lights illuminate the crystals fairly evenly, which means all regions of the picture will have similar brightness levels. This affects some aspects of picture quality, which we discuss in more detail below. Since CCFLs are larger than LED arrays, CCFL-based LCD TVs are thicker than LED-backlit LCD TVs.

Full-array backlighting swaps the outdated CCFLs for an array of LEDs spanning the back of the screen, comprising zones of LEDs that can be lit or dimmed in a process called local dimming. TVs using full-array LED backlighting to make up a healthy chunk of the high-end LED TV market, and with good reason — with more precise and even illumination, they can create better picture quality than CCFL LCD TVs were ever able to achieve, with better energy efficiency to boot.

Another form of LCD screen illumination is LED edge lighting. As the name implies, edge-lit TVs have LEDs along the edges of a screen. There are a few different configurations, including LEDs along just the bottom, LEDs on the top and bottom, LEDs left and right, and LEDs along all four edges. These different configurations result in picture quality differences, but the overall brightness capabilities still exceed what CCFL LCD TVs could achieve. While there are some drawbacks to edge lighting compared to full-array or direct backlight displays, the upshot is edge lighting that allows manufacturers to make thinner TVs that cost less to manufacture.

To better close the local-dimming quality gap between edge-lit TVs and full-array back-lit TVs, manufacturers like Sony and Samsung developed their own advanced edge lighting forms. Sony’s technology is known as “Slim Backlight Master Drive,” while Samsung has “Infinite Array” employed in its line of QLED TVs. These keep the slim form factor achievable through edge-lit design and local dimming quality more on par with full-array backlighting.

Local dimming is a feature of LED LCD TVs wherein the LED light source behind the LCD is dimmed and illuminated to match what the picture demands. LCDs can’t completely prevent light from passing through, even during dark scenes, so dimming the light source itself aids in creating deeper blacks and more impressive contrast in the picture. This is accomplished by selectively dimming the LEDs when that particular part of the picture — or region — is intended to be dark.

Local dimming helps LED/LCD TVs more closely match the quality of modern OLED displays, which feature better contrast levels by their nature — something CCFL LCD TVs couldn’t do. The quality of local dimming varies depending on which type of backlighting your LCD uses, how many individual zones of backlighting are employed, and the quality of the processing. Here’s an overview of how effective local dimming is on each type of LCD TV.

TVs with full-array backlighting have the most accurate local dimming and therefore tend to offer the best contrast. Since an array of LEDs spans the entire back of the LCD screen, regions can generally be dimmed with more finesse than on edge-lit TVs, and brightness tends to be uniform across the entire screen. Hisense’s impressive U7G TVs are great examples of relatively affordable models that use multiple-zone, full-array backlighting with local dimming.

Because edge lighting employs LEDs positioned on the edge or edges of the screen to project light across the back of the LCD screen, as opposed to coming from directly behind it, it can result in very subtle blocks or bands of lighter pixels within or around areas that should be dark. The local dimming of edge-lit TVs can sometimes result in some murkiness in dark areas compared with full-array LED TVs. It should also be noted that not all LED edge-lit TVs offer local dimming, which is why it is not uncommon to see glowing strips of light at the edges of a TV and less brightness toward the center of the screen.

Since CCFL backlit TVs do not use LEDs, models with this lighting style do not have dimming abilities. Instead, the LCD panel of CCFL LCDs is constantly and evenly illuminated, making a noticeable difference in picture quality compared to LED LCDs. This is especially noticeable in scenes with high contrast, as the dark portions of the picture may appear too bright or washed out. When watching in a well-lit room, it’s easier to ignore or miss the difference, but in a dark room, it will be, well, glaring.

As if it wasn’t already confusing enough, once you begin exploring the world of modern display technology, new acronyms crop up. The two you’ll most commonly find are OLED and QLED.

An OLED display uses a panel of pixel-sized organic compounds that respond to electricity. Since each tiny pixel (millions of which are present in modern displays) can be turned on or off individually, OLED displays are called “emissive” displays (meaning they require no backlight). They offer incredibly deep contrast ratios and better per-pixel accuracy than any other display type on the market.

Because they don’t require a separate light source, OLED displays are also amazingly thin — often just a few millimeters. OLED panels are often found on high-end TVs in place of LED/LCD technology, but that doesn’t mean that LED/LCDs aren’t without their own premium technology.

QLED is a premium tier of LED/LCD TVs from Samsung. Unlike OLED displays, QLED is not a so-called emissive display technology (lights still illuminate QLED pixels from behind). However, QLED TVs feature an updated illumination technology over regular LED LCDs in the form of Quantum Dot material (hence the “Q” in QLED), which raises overall efficiency and brightness. This translates to better, brighter grayscale and color and enhances HDR (High Dynamic Range) abilities.

For a further description of QLED and its features, read our list of the best TVs you can buy. The article further compares the qualities of both QLED and OLED TV; however, we also recommend checking outfor a side-by-side look at these two top-notch technologies.

There are more even displays to become familiar with, too, including microLED and Mini-LED, which are lining up to be the latest head-to-head TV technologies. Consider checking out how the two features compare to current tech leaders in

-“These chemicals are semi-liquid and can get into the environment at any time during manufacturing and recycling, and they are vaporized during burning,” said University of Saskatchewan environmental toxicologist and lead author John Giesy in a press release. “Now we also know that these chemicals are being released by products just by using them.”

-The researchers found the specific monomers isolated from the smartphones were potentially hazardous to animals and the environment. In lab testing, the chemicals were found to have properties known to inhibit animals’ ability to digest nutrients and to disrupt the proper functioning of the gallbladder and thyroid–similar to dioxins and flame retardants which are known to cause toxic effects in humans and wildlife.

-To be clear, the researchers didn’t observe any adverse health effects from the accumulation of liquid crystals in the human body; they only found that these crystals do in fact leak from devices, and that they have the potential to be toxic. “We don’t know yet whether this a problem, but we do know that people are being exposed, and these chemicals have the potential to cause adverse effects,” said Giesy.

-Any artificial chemicals have potential hazard to human health. If you read the notes of your prescription drug, the statement is likely more alarming than above.

-If you crack LCD screens and find the liquid crystal leakage, don’t panic. Just remember that the liquid crystal materials might not be more toxic than your detergents for stove or washroom. Just wash your hands with soup throughout. Never try to play with it or even worse to taste it. The liquid of the cracked computer screen will not evaporate, no emissions worries.

-Any electronics has environment impact and can’t be used landfills. If you want to get rid of old LCD monitors or LCD TVs, give them to electronic collection stations. Let’s the professionals to handle them. They will extract some precious metals/parts and make them into something useful or at least not hazard. FYI, liquid crystal materials are retrievable.

First, we will provide a brief technical overview of functional principles as they relate to visual stimulus presentation. Detailed descriptions and parameter measurements are already available from the existing literature; however, our intention here is to equip readers with limited technical expertise with the necessary knowledge to set up computer experiments with LCD monitors. Thus, we keep our explanations relatively short and simplified.

LCD monitors work differently: Each pixel consists of liquid crystal threads that can be twisted or arranged in parallel by an electrical current applied to them. This leads to a polarization effect that either allows or prevents light passing through. A white light source located behind this crystal array uniformly and constantly illuminates the array. To display a black pixel, the crystal threads are twisted by 90° such that no light will pass through. A white pixel is achieved by aligning the crystals such that maximum light is allowed to pass through, until a different, non-white color needs to be displayed (see the lower panel of Fig. 1 for an LCD pixel’s brightness over time). This is a static process, not a pulsed one as in CRTs.

In theory, the difference in presentation methods, namely a strobing versus a static image, should be of no consequence if the light energy that falls onto the retina remains the same over the time period of one single frame. As the Talbot-Plateau law states2 is equally well detectable as a light flash presented for 60 ms at 40 cd/m2. This suggests that temporal integration can be easily described by energy summation”. Thus, in principle, LCD and CRT monitors should be able to yield comparable results.

However, due to the differences in technology, the visual signals produced by the two display types have different shapes (i.e., a different light energy-over-time-curve; see Fig. 1). Moreover, default luminance as well as visual-signal response times (in addition to other parameters, see below) differ between most CRT and LCD monitors

Table 1 reports the parameters we considered in setting up the CRT and LCD monitors. Certainly, most of them are commonly considered when setting up a computer experiment; nevertheless we deemed it important to mention them here explicitly, as their neglect might have unintended consequences. We used a 17” Fujitsu Siemens Scenicview P796-2 CRT color monitor previously used in several published studies including studies with masked presentation conditions

We tested various monitor user settings, refresh rates, resolutions and luminance settings (see materials available at https://osf.io/g842s/) with regard to the emitted light energy–over-time-curve and therefore response characteristics (i.e., onset and offset of full screen and centrally presented stimuli). Measurements were conducted with a photodiode setup, using both an oscilloscope (model “Agilent MSOX 3012 A”) and a self-developed microcontroller setup as measurement devices. Stimuli were black and white squares.

Our measurements revealed several interesting characteristics: First, luminance of the LCD monitor at default setting (i.e., maximum brightness) exceeded the CRT luminance at a ratio of 3.25:1. However, comparable average luminance can be (and was) achieved by downregulating the LCD monitor (the older CRT technology emits less energy even at maximum settings, see Table 2), without participants perceiving it as unnaturally dark. If one plans to upgrade from CRT to LCD monitors in an experimental laboratory, we therefore recommend measuring the CRT monitors’ brightness levels and matching them in the new LCD monitors’ user setup, if comparability with the old setup is needed. This will minimize hardware-dependent variability, thus contributing to better replicability. Please note that a brightness adaption is not a necessary precondition when employing LCD monitors; researchers should simply be aware that the brightness level can have an influence onto the resulting effects, especially in time-critical experiments with short and/or masked presentation. Thus, we recommend the adaptation for time-critical experiments in which researchers orient on existing empirical evidence gathered with CRT monitors. Furthermore, gray-to-gray response times varied slightly depending on the employed brightness levels2), so we suggest that researchers can rely on this more efficient method as an approximation.

For the empirical comparison of human performance with CRT and LCD monitors, we relied on these results and set the monitor settings accordingly (see Method section below).

Participants were administered a masked number priming task and a subsequent forced-choice prime discrimination task using both a CRT and an LCD monitor. In this well-established paradigm

Of central interest was the question whether both monitors would yield comparable masked priming effects. Monitors were set according to the parameters described in the previous section (see also Method section below). In order to obtain conclusive evidence, we decided for sequential hypothesis testing using Bayes factorshttps://osf.io/g842s/.

In case you’ve been wondering if Direct View LED video wall vs LCD video wall is synonymous with ‘future vs past,’ you’ve come to the right place. The interest in video walls is only growing and we’ll be seeing more of those, especially within business environments, event solutions, and advertising industries. It all comes down to the technologies that drive both displays, so here’s some food for thought that’ll help with decision making.

Read on to learn about the difference between a Direct View LED video wall and an LCD video wall or go ahead and checkViewSonic’s LED video wall solutions now.

LED video wall vs LCD video wall comparison takeaways will be relevant for several forms of display technology and will help you make the right choice when exploring video wall options. Getting your message across to dozens if not hundreds of people daily is an important endeavor, and you want to make sure the display helps you connect with your audience, team, or community more easily.

In the past, the most common display technology for video walls was LCD, but today’s large-format all-in-oneLED displays have many advantages that have helped them become the new industry standard very quickly. In this post, we’ll discuss the differences between LED and LCD large format displays in more detail, give a general overview of each technology, and delve into the reasons why a high-quality all-in-one LED displayis invariably the best option for large-format display requirements.

Historically, LCD video wall display technology has been the most popular and it’s a good place to start with technical insights. LCD stands forliquid crystal display. Liquid crystals are sandwiched between the polarizing filters and electrodes and topped withthe display surface (something we casually refer to as a screen). The bottom part of the video wall is made of fluorescent lighting which backlights the liquid crystals. The light passes through the crystals and those – powered by varying electric current – produce the desired color.

LCD video wall displays are usually constructed by linking together four or more LCD screens. That’s because individual panels are not big enough and have size limits. The downside is, the bigger number of panels will be assembled, the heavier the display will become. That makes delivery and installation more difficult.

A major benefit of LCD displays is the sharp, crystal-clear image quality, which is especially apparent when you come up close to the display. Besides, its long-standing status as the most popular technology for video walls has helped to ensure the product’s relatively low price.

LCD technology remains a perfectly viable display option, but, aside from challenging delivery and setup, it is no longer regarded as the go-to video wall solution. Keep reading to find out more reasons.

Although LED technology for video walls is nothing new, it’s quickly gaining in popularity thanks to all its improvements. It has, consequently, become more accessible.

While LCD is a multi-layered thick device, the LED is much thinner and more effective. In contrast to LCD technology, LED video walls are typically constructed from modules of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) making the whole display slimmer and with higher brightness capability (discussed later in the post). Each diode works as the actual display pixel — emitting Red, Green or Blue (RGB) values to create any desired color. Since the LEDs produce the image for the display themselves, they don’t need any backlighting or filtering which considerably reduces the number of layers.

Within the broader category of LED video walls, there are also different packaging technologies. For more context, those include surface mount diode (SMD), integrated matrix device, and dots in place, but the real breakthrough happens elsewhere. It’s the chip-on-board orCOB technology, that has emerged as the LED game-changer of recent times. The most revolutionary aspect of this invention was the tightest pixel pitch that allows the direct mounting of the diodes onto the print circuit, placing them evenly along its surface.

The emergence of all-in-one LED displayshas also helped to improve the technology’s popularity. A Direct View LED display eliminates the LCD panel, resulting in a brighter picture and greater color clarity. Most importantly, it eliminates the grid issue and image uniformity when combining multiple LCDpanelstogether, so there are no lines breaking up the displayed content. This is whyDirect ViewLED technology can now create much larger video walls. The very latest all-in-onesolutions also integrate power, display,image stitching,and control systems for the ultimate user experience.

At the heart of the LED display vs LCD display comparison, it’s all about the use, impact, and price. In the sections below, let’s explore some of the various elements that make up the user’s experience and the cost-effectiveness of a video wall. That includes some of the plus points and drawbacks of these two competing technologies.

Let’s tackle the overall viewing experience. This is an area whereDirect ViewLED technology excels. Rather than serving as a backlight, the LED display adopts red, green, and blue LEDs for each pixel, and adjusts the values of each of those colors to create billions of possible colors for use on the display itself. Coloring the image directly from the light emitted from the diodes helps to provide a truer depiction of color, which can work magic in terms of heightening the audience’s sensory receptiveness.

Calibrating and synchronizing all the LCD screens require specific software that will add, both in costs and complexity, to the overall system. Each LCD panel operates, and therefore degrades, on an individual basis, which means they require calibration at different times. Panel degradation definitely adds up to the total cost of ownership.

Finally, it should be noted that added thickness of LCD displays — imagine over 110 mm — can also look cumbersome or unwieldy in an indoor space. This can detract attention away from the content being shown on the screen. By contrast, a high-end,All-in-One LED displaywill have a thickness of 25 mm – 35 mm with a 5 mm frameless edge. This is substantially less thick than LCD video walls and positively influences ideal viewing distance and immersion.

Even if LCD video walls are made of high-end screens, still their lack of brightness invariably results in poor visibility as soon as they’re viewed from a distance or under strong ambient light. This means that there are clear limitations when it comes to using an LCD video wall to display content.

Resolution-wise, most LCD displays come with 1080p but 4K UHD is available, which is the same as LED’s. However, the Direct View LED’s fine pixel pitch means that the LEDs are ultra-close to each other, so even when you’re closer to the display than usual, you’d still be able to clearly see the visuals. This can have an extra impact when showing vivid landscapes, detailed product images, design sketches or mechanical drawings in spaces of various sizes.The real-to-life color depiction is made possible thanks to the light being directly seen by human eyes without going through different materials which is the case for LCD. LED also delivers a wider color gamut, and the very best options on the market offer 120% coverage of the Rec.709 color space.

ViewSonic All-in-One LED video walls address the challenges of the past with finesse thanks to the Direct View technology and, for the most advanced models, Chip on Board (COB) packaging. For example, the multi-award-winningAll-in-One LED Displayprovides up to 4,440Hz ultra-fast refresh rates and 600-nit adjustable high brightness, offering an unparalleled viewi