LED and LCD display

This is not similar technology they normally use when it comes to huge screens at soccer games; actually, the LED screens you see in shops are now LCDs, and also the term "Light-emitting Diode" could be the invention of Samsung's marketing and advertising division.

How do they pull off this? Samsung's tvs utilize some Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) — such as the ones used in Light-emitting Diode torches and alarm clocks — to "backlight" the LCD panel, and it is not the only company that performs this. But what is backlighting, anyhow?

Why do Liquid Crystal Display displays need a backlight?

As a consumer technology, Liquid Crystal Display has been around extensive usage because the early '70s where it very first appeared in digital watches. As its title reveals, Liquid Crystal show is a liquid which has been sandwiched between two dishes, plus it changes whenever an ongoing is placed on it.

While we've had black-and-white LCDs consistently, color LCDs are a lot more recent, nevertheless technology is the same. Even as we all know, you ought to press a button to read through a watch at nighttime, and an LCD television isn't any various. It takes a light behind it given that it gives off no light of its very own.

It's helpful to consider a LCD panel as a sandwich, consisting of various levels. On an average television you have a polarised filter, followed closely by a protective glass level, followed closely by the Liquid Crystal Display sheet, and a light resource at the back.

A cutaway of a CCFL-backlit LCD showing the different layers of polarisers and filters, in addition to thin fluorescent tubes themselves (right). (Credit: Ty Pendlebury/CNET Australia)

LED backlighting has been in use within tvs since 2004 when it first appeared on Sony WEGA models. Though there are many other ways of backlighting making use of LEDs (as we'll describe immediately), the theory is similar: a series of Light-emitting Diode bulbs throw light from behind to illuminate the Liquid Crystal Display panel.

Direct or edge-mounted?

There are 2 different methods of Light-emitting Diode backlighting: direct and edge. Is generally considerably direct lighting effects usually it can be utilized to increase contrast levels by-turning some LEDs off — therefore increasing the quantity of black in components of the image. LG is amongst the champions of direct lighting effects.

In comparison, side lighting's main advantage is the fact that it can be used to create screens which are extremely slim — the LEDs are at along side it and never behind the screen. Naturally, you shed the capability to turn off elements of the backlighting for much better comparison, and picture quality may also suffer if light is not sufficiently well dispersed.

White or RGB light?

When working with LED backlighting, there are lots of various coloured ones you need to use, nevertheless two primary choices are white and RGB.

White LED is very much like CCFL, and is meant to simulate the white light associated with sun for a more "natural" outcome. Nevertheless LEDs are not really white; this method uses a blue light source that's built to look white because of the existence of a sulphur layer on light bulb. CCFLs operate in the same way.

Because of this, the television might be stronger in green portion of the range, however CCFL technologies make it possible for better red and blue response, so better white LEDs could also be feasible. The is a typical example of a TV that uses white LEDs.

An edge-mounted, white LED component (Credit: Ty Pendlebury/CNET Australia)

RGB LEDs, however, are possibly with the capacity of a wider colour range since they make use of three LEDs coloured red, blue and green, that will be a broadcast standard. RGB's proponents argue that there clearly was less of a green "push" thus, plus the colour range is more uniformly distributed. The Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR45 is an example of a television which used RGB LEDs in its backlight.

An RGB backlight (Credit: Samsung)

a LED backlight underneath the microscope

Here we Samsung's edge-lit Light-emitting Diode product, which consists of two significant elements: a long LED module of little white diodes and a thin screen-sized plastic sheet known as a light guide dish. Four among these LED modules are deployed along the remaining, correct, top and base associated with television. The mixed light output will be funnelled and redistributed evenly over the display by the light guide.

While "dynamic" edge-lit LED systems exist, they however are lacking the fine backlight control that direct lighting effects enables. To place this into viewpoint, a panel are able to turn on selected LEDs to bring out the glow of movie stars in a galaxy, while changing from the staying light bulbs to produce deep blacks the history. Regarding the newest LED TVs, the lumens tend to be set at display screen degree, so there's a contrast trade-off whenever making scenes with both brilliant and dark portions.

Samsung's edge-lit screen calls for a light guide, used to distribute light across the display screen. (Credit: CNET Asia)

Is the cost premium for LED well worth spending?

We think it is interesting that TV producers are nevertheless seeking a greater price for LED-backlighting when many cheap products — specifically smartphones and netbooks — usage LEDs as backlights. At the time of 2009, Samsung said that LED backlights are priced at 3 times much more in large sizes compared to the equivalent CCFL arrangement, and this is mostly because a reduced number of producers. Apparently, because the technology continues to just take a firmer hold, the purchase price keeps coming down.