Many people may have heard about LCD and LED screens but do not understand the differences between them--even their names are similar. They are distinct types, however, and being informed of their differences will help buyers make their choice when considering LCD vs. LED.
LCD is Liquid Crystal Display, consisting of a thin liquid-crystal gel between two glass panels. Separated into pixels by a grid of wires, each pixel shifts 90 degrees to face one panel or the other. Which panel the pixel faces determines if light goes through and thus manipulates how the image appears.
LEDs--Light Emitting Diodes--also use liquid crystal gel for the screen, but the main difference lies in how the display is lit. LCDs use a fluorescent lamp while LED screens use hundreds or thousands of the light diodes of its namesake, one per each pixel.
LCD's biggest advantage over LED is that as a more established piece of technology, LCD screens are on the whole cheaper. It is reported that LEDs on average cost 20 percent more than an LCD photoframe of identical size and specs.
LED photoframes are a newer development than LCDs and as such are generally superior in performance. We compared LCD, LED and plasma screens in power efficiency, fast motion, color palette, length of viewing angle and contrast ratio. LED photoframes were uniformly the winner.
LCD and LED photoframes are fine types of displays and the decision rests mostly on what the buyer is more interested in: LCDs are easier on the pocketbook, while LEDs offer premium performance.