New TV Question
 

Looking at a Vizio M190va for my office. What does LED LCD HDTV with LED backlighting mean? I know what HDTV is but LCD LED ? Is it an LED or an LCD?

LED is the backlighting so you can see the picture. Energy efficient and low heat compared to Traditional methods

CRT/LCD/Plasma(PDP)/OLED = display types (optics that produce the image)

LED = lighting method

HDTV = minimum number of pixels in the matrix optics (1920×1080)

• Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) is a typical tube TV where phosphorus is illuminated by a ray. So in essence bot the color production and lighting are one and together. But like all TVS of old, the are heavy and bulky and do not produce the sharpest picture.

• Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Just like a calculator, but a bit more advanced. And like a calculator, the display has not lighting. So to light it there is usually three methods. Most laptops use a small fluorescent tube at bottom with a diffuser behind the LCD matrix. Just like an office light. But they take a little time to warm up, especially as they age. And as they age, they loose lumen. Then there is a phosphorescent paper. Think the once popular "indiglow" (sp?) watches. They vary in colors even. Again, they dull with age. LED, while not a new technology, has finally evolved to the point where they produce a lot of light in a very small package. Its really the best for displays since there is practically no warm up time, they consume less power and they will not dull with age.

• Plasma Display Panel (PDP) is like an LCD, but the pixels themselves produce light. So its like a CRT but no huge back tube. They are flat panels like LCD. But they can be very heavy.

• Organic Light Emitting diode (OLED) is sort of the end-all tech. Its like plasma in that is both produces an image while emitting light. Therefore there is no separate system to back light the image. But display life is not the best right now. However, its FAR lighter than plasma, so this is more often used in cell phones, etc. Where life duration of the display is not very critical. It will probably pass up plasma due to energy and weight savings. I think they are easier and cheaper to produce also.


So stay away from most Plasma and all OLED TVs right now. And LCD with LED backlighting is the best bank for the buck and will last a long time. It will also not take up the room of the traditional CRT TV.

The real question is p versus i and 50 versus 25.... :)

The "claim to fame" of LED backlighting is not energy efficiency, since it is about the same as fluorescent. The selling point is that it can theoretically make truer colors than fluorescent. In the business they refer to this as "color gamut". Also the TV can be a little thinner. But I agree, the term "LED TV" is misused to the point of false advertising IMHO. To say LED LCD TV is perhaps more honest but quite confusing. Some day their may be actual LED TV's using OLED, but currently the ones available are quite small.

Thanks for all of your help.

Visio is OK but
 

Panasonic 42" models are on close out (new std is 40" & 46") and for $700 or so a real deal. Audio is fantastic and Panasonic has VG warranty.

Visio has really poor history of out of warranty repairs, same plant as Samsung which has terrible out of warranty repair history.

Looks great now but in 12-18 months and you have a problem...WTF???

i just got a 46 inch panasonic at sears for $499.

Everyone will make a big deal that the Vizio screen might come from Samsung. BUT, there is a lot more to it than the screen. There is ton of software in there, and The Vizio processing and software is pretty bad on the one I saw. This was about 4 years ago however. If you are picky then dive into the menus and see what you can actually do. You might be disappointed. This is where the brands vary a lot. However, you said it was for work so probably doesn't matter, and I am guessing most people don't care. The name brands are really better but it is personal opinion in the end.

A CCFL based TV is cheaper, and the lamp will long outlast how long the average person will own the unit. (20,000+ hours generally)

There's a minimal difference in pic quality. I can barely see the difference and I have young eyes still. :D For computer monitors the LED is less harsh on the eyes.

My main TV is a Samsung 60" 6yr. old HD DLP on it's second bulb.I am patiantly waiting for something very bad to go wrong,but it still looks great.