Site Introduction
This site sets out to explain some fundamental differences between the three types of flatscreen technology; LCD, LED and Plasma. The next pages describe different aspects that should be considered when buying a flatscreen, weighing pros and cons. We start by talking about LCD screens.
LCD - screens
Introduction to LCD screens
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a flat panel display that uses the light modulating properties of fluorescent liquid crystals (FLCs). Fluorescent Liquid Crystals do not emit light directly and the first types of LCD screens had low contrast levels. LCD panels create dark tones by blocking the backlight passing through the panel and whilst this doesn't always create true blacks, newer LCD's employ different types of technology allowing for better contrast and better blacks through the use of LED (light emitting diode) backlighting.
So LCD screens and LED screens are the same types of screens, but they employ different types of technology.
LCD - Colour Accuracy
The LCD picture quality has historically suffered from poor black levels, but the newest (and often more expensive)versions are much improved. Typically price and quality go hand-in-hand and this is true in regards of most hardware.
LCD - Contrast and Black levels
LCD panels create dark tones by blocking the backlight passing through the panel. This method of displaying the colour black suffers due to the issue of light leakage. Newer and higher end LCD's do however produce good black levels whilst entry level units should not be your first choice. Also take care buying second hand LCD screens as the possibility of them having dead pixels is also higher.
LCD - Viewing Angles
LCD screens are known to have issues regarding viewing angles, as light and other colour changes occour if you are not placed solidly in front of the screen. Higher-end models based on In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology, Super-IPS and Alpha-IPS are known to perform dramatically better in this area and should be considered when looking into buying a LCD screen.
LCD - Gaming
LCD screens are also rumoured to have response time as being an issue, but almost all newer LCD screens have adequate response time to deal with fast motion and have software that also deals with this issue. “Ghosting” is therefore only often an issue in the lowest end models. To further boost image fluidity, many vendors have also introduced 100Hz to 800Hz motion engines. Some of them are implemented using frame interpolation and/or backlight-scanning processing.
LCD - Longevity
Most manufacturers are claiming approximately 100,000 hours lifetime for their screens and this seems to be independent of what type they are, however it is rumoured that LED screens have a habit of outliving LCD screens.
LCD - Conclusion
LCD screens are very mainstream and newer models boast better performance but at a higher price tag. However with LED screens to complement gamers and plasma screens to suit movie enthusiasts, it is worth taking a deep breath and considering if the low prices of LCD screens will satisfy you in the long run. Simply stated quality and price often go hand-in-hand.
LCD screens are the most inexpensive flat screens you’ll find on the market
Higher resolution than comparable-sized plasmas
No danger of Burn in
Typically weigh less than LED and plasma screens
Entry models often have bad black levels
Contrast rates are not as prominent as LED and Plasma screens
Energy usage is high and they are not as environmentally friendly as LED screens
Limited viewing angle, causing colour, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary
Smearing and ghosting artifacts caused by slow response times
Many cheaper LCD screens are only able to display 262,000 colours.
“Dead” or “stuck” pixels may occur in low end-models
See our LCD vs LED vs Plasma comparison chart here