There are significant differences between LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) displays in several aspects. Although LED here usually refers to LCD variants that use LED as a backlight (i.e. LED backlit LCD), for a comprehensive comparison, I will also consider some characteristics of LED self-luminous displays (such as OLED) because they are an advanced form of LED technology.
Here are 20 major differences between LCD and LED (including LED backlit LCD and LED self-luminous display):
1. Light emission principle
LCD: Relying on the directional changes of liquid crystal molecules under the action of an electric field to control the transmission or blocking of light, a backlight is required.
LED: LED backlit LCD uses LED as a backlight; while LED self-luminous displays (such as OLED) can emit light for each pixel.
2. Brightness
LCD: The brightness is usually low, especially in direct sunlight, which may not be clear.
LED: High brightness, especially in LED backlit or self-luminous displays, can maintain good visibility in strong light environments.
3. Contrast
LCD: Relatively low contrast, black performance is not pure enough.
LED: Especially LED self-luminous display screens, with extremely high contrast and purer black.
4. Color saturation
LCD: Bright colors and high saturation.
LED: Self-luminous display screens may be better in color saturation and richer colors.
5. Viewing angle
LCD: Large viewing angle, but color and brightness may decrease when viewed from the side.
LED: Wide viewing angle, especially self-luminous display screens, can maintain consistent image quality at almost all angles.
6. Response time
LCD: Slow response time, may cause smearing.
LED: Especially self-luminous display screens, extremely fast response speed, almost no smear.
7. Power consumption
LCD: Due to the need for backlight, the power consumption is relatively high.
LED: LED backlight or self-luminous display screens have low power consumption, especially self-luminous display screens consume almost no power when displaying black.
8. Lifespan
LCD: Long service life, but limited by the life of the backlight source.
LED: LED backlight or self-luminous display screens have longer service life, and the life of LED lamp beads can reach tens of thousands of hours.
9. Thickness
LCD: Usually thicker because it requires a backlight and liquid crystal layer.
LED: LED-backlit LCDs are thinner than traditional LCDs, while self-luminous displays are thinner, which is conducive to thin and light designs.
10. Weight
LCD: Relatively heavy.
LED: LED-backlit or self-luminous displays are usually lighter due to thinner designs.
11. Weather resistance
LCD: More sensitive to temperature and humidity.
LED: More weather-resistant and can operate in a wider range of environmental conditions.
12. Refresh rate
LCD: Usually has a lower refresh rate.
LED: Especially high-end LED displays have higher refresh rates and are suitable for displaying fast-moving images.
13. Resolution
LCD vs. LED: Resolution mainly depends on the physical pixel density of the screen, and both can achieve high resolution.
14. Visualization effect
LCD: Suitable for most indoor environments.
LED: Especially self-luminous displays are suitable for high-end display needs, such as HDR content playback.
15. Production cost
LCD: Relatively low production cost and mature technology.
LED: Especially self-luminous display screens, the production cost is high, but it is gradually decreasing with technological progress.
16. Price
LCD: Usually the price is low.
LED: Especially self-luminous display screens, the price is high, but the price of LED-backlit LCD is gradually approaching LCD.
17. Screen burn-in problem
LCD: There is no screen burn-in problem.
LED (self-luminous): Displaying static images for a long time may cause screen burn-in.
18. Environmental protection
LCD and LED: Both are environmentally friendly to a certain extent, but LED has more advantages in energy efficiency and long life, which is conducive to reducing energy consumption and waste generation.
19. Flexible display
LCD: Traditional LCD is difficult to achieve flexible display.
LED (self-luminous): Self-luminous display screens such as OLED have flexible display capabilities and can be applied to curved screens and foldable devices.
20. Application scenarios
LCD: Widely used in consumer electronic products such as TVs, computer monitors, and mobile phones.
LED: LED-backlit LCDs are gradually replacing traditional LCDs to become the mainstream; self-luminous display screens are more suitable for high-end display needs, such as high-end TVs.