Every TV Type Explained

What Is an LED TV?

An LED TV is a type of LCD flat-screen TV that uses light-emitting diodes, a semiconductor device that produces light when electricity passes through them in the forward direction. They convert electricity directly into light, wasting very little energy, and are therefore popular for their energy conversion efficiency.

Instead of fluorescent bulbs, they use diodes for their backlight, making their images cleaner and sharper. LED TV uses LED lighting. Due to their technology, TVs can also be thinner and lighter.  

What Is an LCD TV?  

Liquid Crystal Displays are flat-panel TVs that emit light and use liquid crystals to create pictures. LCD TVs control the light they emit, and when an electrical current passes through them, the liquid crystal twists, allowing and blocking light through the colour filters to form the final image. LCDs are popular for their technology and budget-friendly options.  

What Is an OLED TV?  

Organic Light-Emitting Diode is ideal for cinematic experiences, offering mind-blowing contrast and exceptional colour accuracy, making it popular among home entertainment sets. It uses its own light instead of any LED or backlights. They offer bright and vibrant colours, making viewing from any angle or side easy without compromising the picture quality.  

An OLED TV stands out for its vibrancy in colours, bright white levels, and infinitely deep black levels. An OLED TV uses self-illuminating pixels and therefore has a higher range. An OLED TV might be slightly higher in price than an LCD or LED, but its vibrant colours more than make up for it. OLED TVs do have a lower level of brightness compared to other TVs, though.

OLED TVs are delicate and typically have a short lifespan because the organic self-emissive pixels degrade over time. One drawback of OLED TVs is that they have a greater risk of screen burn-in.  

What Is a QLED TV?  

A Quantum Dot LED uses advanced technology to enhance LED backlight and provide sharp picture quality, making it a more cost-effective option. They work well with bright rooms and HDR content. Quantum dot technology offers vivid and lifelike images, making content truly stand out. QLED TVs have a longer lifespan since they use much traditional technology that is built for durability. QLED TVs are renowned for displaying HDR content with greater detail and impact.  

Plasma TVs: An Older Technology Explained  

A plasma display TV is a flat display panel that uses cells containing plasma, an ionised gas that responds to electric fields. They were very common until the early 2000s. They lost their market share due to low-cost and effective liquid crystal displays LCDs. Plasma TVs were high-cost devices.  

Plasma TVs were the most popular choice for HDTV flat-panel displays, offering deeper blacks, vibrant colour contrasts, a greater colour spectrum, and wider viewing angles. However, they were overtaken by LCD and OLED TVs. Plasma TVs also featured high-stress point glass, which was more heat-resistant since plasma TVs had to be baked during manufacturing; however, they were less scratch-resistant.   

Smart TV vs Android TV: Key Differences  

A smart TV is any TV that has an active internet connection and the capability to run apps and stream content. An Android TV is a type of smart TV, as Google developed the Android TV operating system. The key difference between them is that Android TV offers the Google Play Store, which provides a broader range of app selections. It also provides Google and its ecosystem with regular updates, including support for Google Search and Google Assistant on TVs.  

Whereas Smart TVs use different operating systems, such as LG WebOS and Samsung Tizen, they offer varying updates, app selections, and interfaces. Android TV, with its built-in Google features, also provides integrated smart home controls and enhanced functionality and connectivity across devices, thanks to Google's ecosystem.  

Other Variants: 4K, 8K, and Curved TVs  

4K TVs are also known as Ultra High-Definition TVs, which offer sharper and more detailed pictures and images than other TVs because of their higher pixel count. Their increased pixel counts and density allow for more vivid and immersive viewing experiences, especially on larger screens, popularising them for home entertainment.  

They offer 3,480 horizontal pixels and 2,160 vertical pixels, making them approximately 7.5 million pixels, more than the average TV. 8K TVs with an ultra-high-definition display offer 7680 horizontal pixels and 4320 vertical pixels, totalling around 33 million pixels. With their exceptionally high pixel density, they offer extremely sharp and more detailed pictures and images to viewers, providing an immersive and engaging experience.  

They are more expensive than 4K TVs and require more bandwidth and internet to operate. A major drawback of having an 8K TV is that there is minimal content available in its original 8K capacity. Curved TVs are TVs that bend slightly inward on the sides, offering a more concave design compared to standard flat panels, which allows them to provide a more immersive experience for their viewers.  

The curved, concave-like design it built to match the natural human eye design and provides a more immersive and improved viewing angle. It is most effective when viewed directly from the front.

Which TV Type Suits You Best? (Include a comparison table) 

The price range is subject to change based on the TV's features, size, and resolution. 

Conclusion:

TVs are now available in various models, including different sizes, resolutions, and additional features. LED and LCD TVs are the most popular among people due to their features and budget-friendly options. With advanced technologies emerging daily in newer TV models, such as OLED and QLED TVs, be aware of your own requirements before investing in a TV.