AN LED TV IS AN LCD TV
Despite having a different acronym, an LED TV is just a different type of LCD TV. The proper name would actually be “LED-backlit LCD TV,” but that’s too much of a mouthful for everyday conversation, so people generally just refer to them as LED TV’s, which can cause confusion.
Both types of TV make use of a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel to control where light is displayed on your screen. These panels are typically composed of two sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them, so when an electric current passes through the liquid, it causes the crystals to align so that light can (or can’t) pass through. Think of each crystal as a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking it out.
Now, since both LED and LCD TV’s use LCD technology, you’re probably wondering what the difference is. The answer? Backlighting. Ordinary LCD TV’s use cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL’s) to provide backlighting, whereas LED TV’s use an array of smaller, more efficient light emitting diodes (LED’s) to illuminate the screen, which gives them a few advantages.