Different types of TV screens explained

If you need to rent or hire a TV for an event or exhibition, how do you know which one to choose?

The is an unhelpful array of acronyms and a sea of jargon to navigate. The industry isn’t making itself particularly buyer-friendly.

You can talk to one of our friendly and knowledgeable pre-sales consultants who can explain the subtle differences. But, we know that people like to get up to speed before talking an expert (so they don’t appear foolish). So, here is a guide to the various TV screen types available for rent/hire. Don’t worry, there is no need to go back to the cathode ray tube (CRT) TV!

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

This is a special flat panel which can block light or allow it to pass using liquid organic material. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source like a fluorescent bulb is needed to create an image, but they provide excellent image quality.

LCDs also offer great energy efficiency, are resilient, and don’t suffer screen burn-in. In today’s TV market they are at the cheaper end of the flat screen offerings.

Light Emitting Diode (LED)

These are far more efficient and smaller in size, meaning the TV can be even narrower than earlier flat screen TV designs. LED is the most popular format of TV on the market currently. Cost, variety of size and versatility are all in this technology’s favour. Bear in mind it is not the highest quality image available. So if you are in a presentation environment this worth bearing in mind.

Plasma TVs

Plasma TVs offer superior contrast and colour compared to LCD and LED screens. These TVs are found in larger screen sizes i.e super-sizes as this technology is more cost-effective and easier to manufacture at larger sizes i.e. 60 inch plus.

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)

Unlike the TV technologies mentioned above an OLED TV doesn’t require a backlight to illuminate the set area. This means OLED TVs can be very thin and offer more flexibility in their use. As the individual areas do not need to be back lit, the colours and contrasts available on OLED TVs are more vivid.

Quantum dot Light Emitting Diode (QLED)

Similar to a regular LED TV, but there is quantum dot layer built-in. This enhances everything you see on the screen, like the colours and the brightness of images. OLED vs QLED which is best?