Comparing Different Types Of 42 Inch Led Tv's On The Market Today

Thinking of buying a big-screen TV? Cannot decide whether to get plasma or an LCD TV? Before you make the big decision, you should be aware that there is yet another option to consider: the 42" LED TV.

A 42" LED is, technically speaking, a new kind of LCD TV. It also has a liquid crystal display (LCD), but has a different type of lighting behind that display. Traditional LCD TVs use cold cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs) for illumination, while LED TVs use light emitting diodes (LEDs). CCFLs are inferior to LEDs in terms of color saturation and contrast. For instance, they are incapable of producing deep blacks and richly saturated hues. LEDs do not have this deficiency, and so a 42" TV is able to produce the superbly vivid picture that its plasma counterparts are so well known for. But the LED has the advantage of being more energy-efficient than a plasma TV.

There too are different kinds of 42" TVs. These depend on how the LEDs are configured to illuminate the screen. The configuration may be "full-array" or "edge-lit", and either may be with or without "local dimming".

"Full-array" means that the 42" LED TV has a whole set of LEDs arranged behind the entire back of the display panel. "Edge-lit" indicates that there are LEDs only on the edges of the display, but these LEDs can still illuminate the middle and other parts of the screen with the use of so-called "light-guides". An edge-lit LED TV has the advantage of being thinner, because it does not need as much space for the LEDs. A 42" LED, if edge-lit, may just be an inch thin, or even slimmer. This makes them very popular, as consumers appreciate the easier handling and mounting made possible with the thin build.

In the TV market today, there are actually two types of LCD TVs. One is the standard or traditional LCDs, while the other is the newer LED-backlit LCD TVs. The latter are called LED TVs for brevity, but it is more accurate to call them LED-backlit LCD TVs.

Both use the ubiquitous LCD or liquid crystal display. It is the same display used in digital watches. Simply put, an LCD is an optical device, usually with a thin flat panel, that displays electronic information. It is made up of miniature liquid crystal dots that form pixels, which are then assembled in an array to produce an image.

A 42" LED and a standard LCD TV both have this kind of display. What differentiates them is the back lighting, or the illumination behind the display. In the 42" LED TV, the back lighting comes from light emitting diodes (LEDs). In the standard LCD, back lighting is provided by cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs). CCFLs are like ordinary fluorescent lighting, minus the long flickering start-up time. They light up fast because they are able to start cold, hence the "cold" in the CCFL acronym.

LEDs are much superior to CCFLs in producing images. Thus, a 42" LED has better picture quality than a standard LCD. The variance is especially obvious when the picture has contrasting parts of very dark or black parts and lighter elements. In a 42" LED, the dark parts will be seen authentically as deep black, while in an LCD TV, they will appear not as richly or accurately black.

Aside from providing better contrast and color saturation, a 42" LED TV is better because of its more efficient energy use and slimmer build.