Question

LCD vs LED vs IPS Reddit and Quora

Answer 1

LCD, LED, and IPS are three common display technologies, each with significant differences in their light-emitting principles, performance characteristics, and application scenarios:

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display):

Light-emitting principle: Relying on a backlight (originally CCFL, now mostly LED) to illuminate the liquid crystal layer, the display displays images by adjusting the light transmittance.

Performance characteristics: Low power consumption and good color rendering, but poor contrast and response time, and limited viewing angle (color and contrast degrade significantly at wide viewing angles).

Application scenarios: Widely used in mid- and low-end electronic products such as mobile phones, tablets, and TVs.

LED (Light Emitting Diode Display):

Light-emitting principle: There are two types:

LED-backlit LCD: Uses LEDs as the backlight, replacing traditional CCFLs, improving brightness and energy efficiency.

Self-luminous LEDs (such as OLED): Each pixel emits light independently, eliminating the need for a backlight layer, achieving deeper blacks and higher contrast.

Performance characteristics:

LED-backlit LCD: Offers higher brightness, longer lifespan, and greater energy efficiency, but is still essentially LCD technology. Self-luminous LEDs: Offer extremely high contrast, fast response times, and wide viewing angles, but are more expensive and may pose a risk of screen burn-in.

Applications:

LED-backlit LCDs: Mainstream display devices such as TVs and computer monitors.

Self-luminous LEDs: High-end markets such as flagship phones and professional monitors.

IPS (In-Plane Switching):

Essentially: An improved LCD technology that improves performance by optimizing the alignment of liquid crystal molecules (in-plane rotation).

Performance:

Viewing angle: Nearly 180 degrees, with virtually no viewing angle restrictions.

Color rendering: Accurate colors with high saturation, suitable for professional image processing.

Response speed: Faster than traditional LCDs, reducing motion artifacts.

Contrast ratio: Higher than standard LCDs, but lower than self-luminous LEDs.

Applications: High-end electronic devices such as design monitors, high-end TVs, and professional graphics equipment.

Answer 2

LCD, a liquid crystal display technology that relies on a backlight, offers lower costs but limited viewing angles and contrast. LED (usually referring to LED-backlit LCD or self-luminous OLED) uses LED light beads to generate light, resulting in higher contrast and greater energy efficiency. Self-luminous versions also support ultra-thin designs. IPS, an improved LCD technology, achieves a wide viewing angle of nearly 180° and precise color through the horizontal arrangement of liquid crystal molecules, making it suitable for graphics and movie viewing, but at a higher cost. In short, LCD offers economical benefits, LED offers superior brightness and contrast, and IPS excels in viewing angles and color.