For about 65 years, choosing a television was relatively simple. There were differences between one model and another, but they all used the same cathode ray tube technology, known as CRT. Some alternative could be found, such as overhead projectorsbut the vast majority of consumers had a television CRT or tube. That changed in the first decade of this century with the flat screens. First those of plasmatechnology long discarded, and then the LCD which, despite offering lower image quality, had advantages that made it triumph over CRTs. This technology was followed by LED, IPS, QLED, Mini-LED, MicroLED, OLED and AMOLED. Different ways to illuminate the pixels of a screen with different results.
The offer that the consumer finds today is wide and it is easy to get lost in the meantime and don't know whatLED, so we are going to explain what each of these technologies consists of.
LCD
The first screens Liquid Crystal Display They came out in the 80s in Japan, but the technology did not become popular until the first decade of the 20th century in which swept away CRTs. Now, it is a broad term that encompasses many types of LCDs produced over the years, including screens LED, QLED and IPSamong others, that They are still LCD even though they have become established in the consumer's mind as different technologies.marketing things.
An LCD screen, let's say classic, uses a matrix of pixels made up of several layers and in which there are liquid crystals which are electronically activated to control the amount of light that passes through each pixel, thus forming the image. It has several disadvantages compared to the technology that preceded it and those that followed it. These include poor black reproduction, narrow viewing angle, image retention problems, and slower response time. But they allowed flat televisions, higher screen resolutions and it was a technology that quickly became cheaper, weapons with which it conquered consumers.
LED
LED is an evolution of LCD screens, although they are often talked about as another technology, which changed the light source when using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlighting system instead of fluorescent tubes.
Could be Edge LED (LED lighting on the edges of the screen) or Full-Array LED (across the entire screen) and offers better blacks than those known only as LCD, better contrast, greater viewing angle and lower energy consumption. It is the most common type of screen in the catalog of television manufacturers.
IPS
This technology has made much more fortune in smartphones and monitors than in televisions, but it is available in some brands. In-Plane Switching is a type of LCD that offers accurate color reproduction, wide viewing angles and good color and contrast uniformity, even when viewed from oblique angles, making them ideal for applications where color accuracy is important, such as graphic design and video editing. Its response time is worse than other types.
QLED
The screens Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode are a further leap forward using quantum dots: semiconductor nanocrystals that emit light of a specific color depending on their size and constitute a layer between the panel and the light source.
They offer greater brightness and contrast than traditional LCDs and more accurate and vibrant colors. They are more expensive TVs than those using previous technologies, but not as much as OLEDs and they are also more energy efficient.
MiniLED
They are LCD screens that stop rear projection use smaller LEDs that allow greater precision in local light attenuation. Improves black depth and brightness.
MicroLED
Even smaller LEDs than in MiniLEDs whose size allows there is one for each pixel on the screen. It is the one that comes closest to the quality of OLEDs by offering pixel-by-pixel precision in lighting. They do not have image retention problems, but are more expensive, like the next type of screen.
OLED
This is the alternative to LCD screens and also includes other subtypes. The main difference is that on the screens OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) each pixel illuminates independently since each contains organic materials that emit light when an electric current is applied.
They offer deeper blacks, more vibrant colors and better viewing angles compared to LCD and LED. They are also thinner, They may experience burn-in problems over time and are priced higher. to televisions with previous technologies.
AMOLED
AMOLEDs are OLED screens active matrix instead of passiveallowing you to achieve higher resolutions and screen sizes. They reduce the image retention problems of OLED technology and improve its durabilityin addition to offering greater control of the brightness and color of the image for each pixel.