LED Tehnology vs LCD

 LED TV have been around for some time now and have become the new “high end” TV on the market. They are just an LCD TV that is back lit or side lit with LED lights rather than the typical fluorescent lights used in common LCD televisions. So, for those of you who are a little lost on what this means, we will go over the differences between the two types of televisions.

LCD Technology
Your basic LCD (liquid-crystal display) television uses a type of lighting called cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) to light up the crystals on the screen and display a picture. These light bulbs are as long as the TV and simply light up millions of LCD shutters that are arranged across the screen. Each shutter lets in a specific amount of white light to produce either a very bright color such as yellow or a very dark color one such as brown. Each shutter has a colored filter behind it which allows it to remove the red, green or blue portion of light. Depending on the type of display you want to buy these shutters and liquid crystals are placed between two glass sheets or plastic sheets and then placed in the TV frame. The glass finish is going to give you a very clear and amazing picture and will also give your TV a very slick finish. The plastic finish will allow you to have the best picture possible and a lot of extra glare from the lighting.

LED Technology
LED TVs are in fact LED LCD TVs because they use the same LCD display but are illuminated by a different type of light. Instead of using long tube-like lights (CCFLs) to illuminate the liquid crystals, an LED (light-emitting diode) light is a much smaller light source which can be placed in zones behind the screen to produce what is known as local dimming. This type of lighting allows for pinpoint light adjustments across the entire screen. Another type of LED lighting is called "edge backlighting," which means that the LEDs are placed all around the edge of the TV and illuminate inward. at the same time this type of lighting helps to produce extremely thin displays, which is becoming very popular.

As you can see, LED TVs are in fact just LCD televisions that use a different type of lighting. The main reasons companies are moving toward this new type of technology is because it boosts LCD brightness, contrast ratios and color and it's the most energy efficient and long-lasting technology available.

Let's Get This Started!

In an effort to get this site ramped up, I figured I would reach out to see who has had what experiences with certain Outdoor TV's. From my years of experience, I can honestly tell you there are 3 companies offering good products in this marketplace. 

On the top my list is SkyVue, which is a newer company on the list that hit the market in the past few years. The customers whom I have installed the SkyVue TV's for, have had nothing but great things to say about the product. SkyVue differs from Sunbrite and Pantel in using exclusively the more durable higher end LED video panels. SkyVue Outdoor TV has also addressed a big outdoor TV industry problem, which is the lack of good sound volume. SkyVue came out with a big 150 watt speaker bar that blows away the competition. The answer of addressing poor audio volume was long over due, and I would bet you the rest of the market place will follow SkyVue's lead in great sound soon. SkyVue markets their product only factory direct, which provides a customer the opportunity to buy a TV with better specs for less money than Sunbrite or Pantel.

SunBrite: www.SunBriteTv.com

Pantel: www.PantelTv.com

SkyVue: www.SkyVue.com

We have worked with the SunBrite TV for years. SunBrite is a good company and they have sold the most outdoor TV's, and from my personal experiences they produce a good product in the outdoor residential and light commercial outdoor TV market place. SunBrite sells their product through a bunch of Internet resellers and also through big National chain stores such as Best Buy, Sears, Wall Mart, JC Penny, Frontgate, etc.

I am also familiar with Pantel Outdoor TV's, after working on a handful of projects in the last several years,  which were mostly for very large commercial applications where the dollar wasn't so much the issue. Pantel makes a good quality product. Pantel claims to be better in direct sunlight than Sunbrite, but personally I can't see a difference. But to tell you the truth, I have found no outdoor TV that works well in the direct sunlight.
Pantel has positioned there pricing structure for the very high-end luxury market. I guess, more power to them, if they can get that kind of premium!

I have also been around the Mirage TV. In being an outdoor TV Professional, I have seen it all. "Let the Buyer Beware" should apply to the Mirage TV. The Mirage TV is not in the same league as the Sunbrite, SkyVue or Pantel TV's. Anyone knowledgeable in our industry knows that an outdoor TV must have cooling fans survive, and a Mirage TV does not have cooling fans. I have known more than one customer who has tore apart their Mirage TV after failure from premature heat failure. They found duct tape covering up the ventilation holes in the back housing. Covering ventilation holes does keep the dirt, insects, and some moisture out. But, if you don't replace covered ventilation holes with cooling fans to exhaust the internal canibalistic high temperatures, you've got a guaranteed recipe for premature electronic circuitry failure. The ventilation holes you see in the back housing on an indoor TV are there for a good reason, and its only common sense that you even need more heat to escape with a TV outdoors. Sunbrite, SkyVue and Pantel all use cooling fans for a good reason. In my opinion, you don't have a good and long lasting outdoor TV, unless you have cooling fans.

Now that I've opened up with the good, bad and ugly in this forum, what have been your experiences???

Happy Holidays!

Adam S..