When choosing modern TVs, you need to pay attention to various factors. One of the important characteristics of the latest generation TVs is the backlight. Buyers pay little attention to it, but in vain. We will talk about it in this article. Let’s analyze the tv backlight types, their differences, disadvantages, and advantages.
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Tv Backlight Types
At the moment, there are 3 types of backlights:
- Direct LED or FALD;
- Edge LED;
- OLED.
Direct LED or FALD Tv Backlight
The double name of the backlight is due to the fact that some manufacturers for marketing purposes changed the name in order to promote their products on the market. The first name for the backlight is Direct LED and it has been installed on TVs since 2012. The South Korean company LG in 2018 changed this name to the abbreviation FALD. Of course, there are some differences that we will point out at the end of this subsection.
So, Direct Led is direct lighting. The LEDs are evenly spaced across the back of the monitor across its entire area. The emitter is directed towards the user, in contrast to the edge LED. This technology reduces light leakage around the edges of the TV. If the TV has local dimming, it is more accurate than side lighting. However, this reduces the number of LEDs. Therefore, there are several large blackout zones. Therefore, for content, the fidelity localization accuracy is poor. In addition, bright points have a halo effect against a dark background. Check the guide on Connecting A Laptop To A Tv.
Therefore, TVs with direct backlighting are less popular, and Direct LED is installed on cheap equipment. Examples are models:
- KU6300U from Samsung;
- UJ634V from LG;
- E-Series / D-Series by Vizio.
Therefore, this technology has been slightly improved and called FALD . The basic strategy has not changed, but the number of LEDs has grown to 1000! This is no longer just direct illumination, but full-matrix illumination. This full array option is already on the flagship TVs of many brands. It guarantees the accuracy of local dimming.
All LEDs are divided into separate dimming zones, each of which the user can turn on / off at his discretion in order to obtain the optimal brightness and contrast of the image.
However, not all FALD displays are the same, depending on the price or how economical the manufacturer is, the number of LEDs and zones used can vary widely. The more LEDs and more zones, the higher the performance.
As an example, let’s take a premium class model:
- Reference by Vizio – almost 320 local zones;
- Samsung KS9800 – about 120;
- Sony’s 75XE9405 – 96.
Pros of Direct LED or FALD:
- There are no glare around the edges of the TV;
- Brightness / Contrast Level – High;
- The backlighting is uniform.
Cons of Direct LED or FALD:
- Energy consumption and die thickness increase;
- The input lag is relatively high.
Edge LED Tv Backlight
This kind of backlighting is found on many 4K TVs. There are two names, Edge LED / LIT.
The LEDs are located at the edges of the TV. In cheap models, the LED strip can be located:
- On one side (bottom, top);
- On the two sides.
The big disadvantage of edge-lit displays is that glowing is very common: on a completely black screen, you can often see backlighting around the edges, in particular in the corners where the density of LEDs is higher. This destroys the black uniformity across the entire screen and serves as a big headache for many TV owners.
All-round configurations are assumed in premium models. That is, the LEDs are located along the 4 edges. This is the best option for local dimming. This illumination provides good uniformity to the black level.
Pros of Edge Led backlight:
- The thin matrix makes the TV look the same;
- The contrast level is good;
- The brightness is relatively high.
Cons of Edge Led backlight:
- Lights are visible at the edges of the monitor;
- The backlight is uneven.
These were two backlights for LED / LCD TVs. The choice depends on your taste. We can recommend the following. If you want to have a slim TV in your home, get side-lit appliances. It will be a good choice if you intend to connect a TV to a personal computer, replacing a monitor with a TV. If such a connection is not intended and you do not care how thick the household appliances will be, buy them with Direct LED backlighting.
Which is you choice Lg Vs Samsung Vs Sony Tv.
OLED Tv Backlight
This is the most advanced technology used by TV manufacturers to form a picture. Thanks to organic light-emitting diodes, the image is obtained using diodes. Under the influence of electric current, they glow and self-emit. Each cell in this technology is an independent light source. The screen does not need backlighting.
This is the main difference from the LED. OLED TVs use organic light-emitting diode (OLED) in each of the 8.2 million pixels of the matrix. Therefore, there is a wonderful level of light and darkening. Moreover, up to 1 pixel you can turn off the light!
OLED TVs do not have an LCD display over arrays of LEDs. Therefore, this technique is much thinner than LCD TV. For example, LG released the 4K G6 with a screen that is just 2.57mm thick!
The viewing angle in OLED screens has been brought to perfection. Whichever side you look at the screen from, the image quality does not deteriorate. In LCD panels, even on IPS matrices, distortion cannot be completely eliminated.
The contrast is also several times higher. Because there is no additional backlighting and the OLED does not emit anything when it is off. Therefore, our eyes perceive it as a black point. The contrast ratio of modern TVs is 10,000: 1, and this is not the limit.
Superiority in speed 1000 times. Therefore, even when viewing dynamic frames, there is no inertia.
The brightness of OLED light depends on the amount of electric current. By controlling it, you can get the required brightness without losing the picture quality. This was not possible on LCD technology. Therefore, such a screen is pleasant to look at at any time. Theoretically, the brightness of the matrix is from 100,000 cd / m2. However, in practice, this figure is 100 times less. Because the operating life of LEDs in this mode is quickly reduced.
Pros of OLED backlight:
- Small screen thickness. The weight and dimensions of the TV are reduced;
- Optimal luminescence of pixels, which can also be controlled;
- Low power consumption;
- Perfect viewing angles. No distortion;
- Improved brightness and contrast compared to LCD backlight;
- The ability to produce transparent screens that can operate in a wide temperature range;
- Lack of backlighting.
Cons of OLED backlight:
- OLEDs of individual colors can function continuously for a short period of time. However, the problem is already being solved;
- There is a burn-in effect on the display. Therefore, in the new models, the color pixels have a dynamic shift, which is imperceptible to the eye.
The main development of OLED technology belongs to two South Korean manufacturers: LG, Samsung. AlG was the first to release TVs with such backlighting back in 2014.
