The different types of LED TV backlighting

Let’s start at the beginning: TVs are actually LCD panels with liquid crystals that make up the pixels and colors of an image. However, a backlight is needed behind the panel to make the image bright and visible. In the past, this backlight was produced by neon tubes (CCFL), but today they have been replaced by brighter and more localized diodes (LEDs), allowing for much higher contrast.

Edge LED

The diodes are distributed around the edge of the screen (its border) and directed inward. The light is spread across the entire surface via a photoconductive glass plate. This system makes it possible to have very thin screens, only a few centimeters thick.

Full LED

With this type of backlighting, about 1,000 diodes cover the entire rear surface of the screen. This provides additional brightness, deeper blacks, higher ANSI contrast, and above all, greater panel uniformity.

Local Dimming

The diodes are organized into different zones (from 100 to 512) that can be turned off or on depending on the intensity of the dark areas of the display. The resulting blacks are deeper and improve contrast. This system is mainly used on Full LED TVs and is called Full LED backlighting with Local Dimming. Each LED or LED zone can be controlled independently, for better contrast quality and even deeper blacks.

Micro Dimming

Micro dimming is associated with Edge LED backlighting. It analyzes the image obtained after the backlight is applied to different zones. If necessary, the processing adjusts these zones by varying the pixel aperture to let more or less light through, thus optimizing contrast. The bright and dark areas of images are better defined, allowing you to distinguish more details in a dark scene illuminated by a specific bright object. This system is currently used by Samsung and Philips.