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LED backlighting to dominate 2010

Published on 27th January 2010 by Gareth Halfacree

LED backlit displays - traditionally only available in high-end notebooks - are set to storm the market in 2010, says DisplaySearch.

If you're convinced of the benefits gained from switching from CCFL backlighting to LED in your LCD displays, good news: the market agrees with you.

A newly-published report from market watcher DisplaySearch - reported over on DailyTech - claims that in 2010 around 84 percent of all notebooks sold will use LED (Light Emitting Diodes) backlighting for their screens rather than the more traditional CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lighting) - rising to 95 percent in 2011.

The reasons for such impressive market gains for a technology which was traditionally used to differentiate high-end devices from the more budget brands? Battery life. As well as providing a theoretically smoother image than CCFL, LED backlighting also draws less power - helping laptops achieve longer runtimes, which is an important selling point in the portable market.

It's not just low-power devices that are latching on to LED-based backlighting, however: DisplaySearch also claims that by 2013 around 74 percent of all displays of 10" or bigger will use LED backlighting - with the earliest adopters of the technology being TV manufacturers making sets of 26 inches or less.

Kevin Kwak, DisplaySearch's director of LED backlight research - so theoretically a man who should know what he's talking about - claims that "without a doubt, LED backlights will be the dominant light source in all [display] applications in 2011 - representing a significant business and technology evolution for the entirebacklight and panel supply chain."

Despite some doubts as to the advantages that can be gained from cheaper implementations of LED backlighting technology - along with worries that the technology can be used to mis-brand and mislead consumers - it looks like LED is here to stay.

Do you agree with DisplaySearch, or do you think that CCFL will hang on to a big chunk of the budget end of the market for quite some time yet? Have you made the switch to an LED backlit display, and if so what are your experiences of the technology? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

20 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

dec 27th January 2010, 10:35

i havent knowingly seen any LED tv/laptops and compared them the CFL stuff but LED's are more efficient per $ than the CFL's and everyone wants their laptop to last 5 hours or so like the macbooks do without having to pay so much for a macbook. its seems natural that the competition would go for anything to increase battery life. theres even LED lightbulbs (which i do plan on buying) that look pretty cool

liratheal 27th January 2010, 11:15

I can't see the difference between my LED screen here on my laptop and the bogo-standardo screens at home.

Other than their thickness, but frankly, the laptop screen is no thinner than the MBP I had a while back, and that wasn't LED.

[USRF]Obiwan 27th January 2010, 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by dec
Theres even LED lightbulbs (which i do plan on buying) that look pretty cool

yeah saves some money/electic bill if you let it burn on places that for example lighted all night. I had to tell my dad that buying a 34 euro Gu-12 ledlight for the toilet was a waste of money. I explained that it would probably take 145 years before you get even with the 34 euro.

bogie170 27th January 2010, 11:58

I wonder if Dell have any plans for a 24-27" LED backlit H-IPS screen?

Xir 27th January 2010, 13:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by [USRF]Obiwan
yeah saves some money/electic bill if you let it burn on places that for example lighted all night. I had to tell my dad that buying a 34 euro Gu-12 ledlight for the toilet was a waste of money. I explained that it would probably take 145 years before you get even with the 34 euro.

Nonono, the EU says normal tungsten bulbs are wastefull, forbade them, so of course CFL lights or LED lights MUST be better.
If you light your toilet fot 20 min. a day of course you instant-on-philips-natural-energysaving-lamp will pay for itself...after 100 years. :D
You don't want to be a thinking citizen, do you?

Bede 27th January 2010, 13:07

Bang and Olufsen have been doing LED backlighting for a while afaik. Given the image quality of their tvs, that's a pretty good indicator of what everyone else should be doing.

ano 27th January 2010, 13:47

LED backlit TVs are out there and they produce a lot less heat and are much thinner (great for wall/chimney breast hanging where flush fitting is sought after). Also because of the nature of the LED producing a purer white than the CCFL alternative a more accurate and wider colour gamut can be achieved. Presumably the smaller screens would be edge-lit? And it's still not OLED =(

Jerz 27th January 2010, 15:26

Perhaps it would be a good time to review some screens and put your thoughts down on LED vs. CCFL. Have compare quality and cost to see if it's worth buying an LED display in the next three months or so.

RichCreedy 27th January 2010, 15:30

not forgetting that ccfl bulbs contain mercury, are fragile, require an inverter to create very high voltages and dont last as long as LED's

metarinka 27th January 2010, 16:30

LED's DO give a better gamut, using an LED lit laptop and love it, not the biggest screen I've had, but by far the best image (macbook pro)

Er-El 27th January 2010, 16:46

We need dynamically lit LED backlit displays so that we can have affordable HDR displays finally.

Dave Lister 27th January 2010, 19:15

My netbook's (nc10) led backlit and the screen quality looks the same as my 2 ccfl screens. I'm sure i read some where that when they start putting coloured leds in the displays, the picture quality will see a big improvement.

loftie 27th January 2010, 19:21

Bang and Olufsen use panasonic TVs. And in all honesty, if you cant tell the difference between LED backlight, or normal, then there's no point going for one. Samsung tv's are very thin, but are only edge lit, so not so good. Sony and sharp have full LED backlighting, and they look ok. Sony's OLED screen is very nice though, but that's a different story.

As for notebooks, the Acer screens are pretty nice, regardless if they are led or not. Macs too.

l3v1ck 27th January 2010, 20:18

I think the biggest advantage of LED is size. Just look how thin LED back lit panels are.

Bede 27th January 2010, 20:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by loftie
Bang and Olufsen use panasonic TVs.

Evidence needed for such an outrageous statement. (Yes, I am a minor B&O fanboy).

PureSilver 27th January 2010, 21:45

http://www.gizmag.com/bang--olufsens-beovision-4-103-plasma-500-kilos-103-inches-usd123000/11292/

Just put it all into Google, it depends upon the model but it can be either Samsung, Sharp or Panasonic. They couldn't make their own panels, even for the money they're charging...

Bede 27th January 2010, 22:23

Not to be an apologist or a fanboy but that is just the plasma :P

B3CK 28th January 2010, 01:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichCreedy
not forgetting that ccfl bulbs contain mercury, are fragile, require an inverter to create very high voltages and dont last as long as LED's

Agree'd to that.
Although it will reduce the laptop repair business by not having to change inverters anymore; it will reduce the fun I get from tossing a charged inverter at my co-workers for them to get a shock from.

The_Beast 28th January 2010, 01:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by l3v1ck
I think the biggest advantage of LED is size. Just look how thin LED back lit panels are.

It's almost unbelievable how thin they are

metarinka 28th January 2010, 04:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Beast
Quote:
Originally Posted by l3v1ck
I think the biggest advantage of LED is size. Just look how thin LED back lit panels are.

It's almost unbelievable how thin they are

Thinking of OLED since they have NO backlight...