Light-emitting diode (LED) display devices are often classified as either edge lit or full array, depending on the configuration of their bulbs. All LED display devices work in conjunction with a separate display technology, the most common being liquid-crystal display (LCD). LED computer monitors and TVs, for example, are usually powered by LCD technology, with LED bulbs being used as the backlight. Some LED-backlit display devices feature an edge-lit arrangement of bulbs, whereas others feature a full-array arrangement of bulbs. So, what’s the difference between these two LED arrangements?
What Is an Edge-Lit LED?
An edge-lit LED is a type of LED-backlit LED that features bulbs placed around the perimeter of the screen. Edge-lit LEDs use light guides to evenly distribute the light across the screen. When turned on, the bulbs produce illuminate that is distributed across the screen by the light guides. They are called “edge-lit” because they are illuminated from the edges.
The purpose of the light guides is to help distribute the light across the LED’s screen. Without light guides, the bulbs may create areas of uneven brightness. Some areas of the screen might be dark, while other areas might be light. Light guides prevent this from happening by evenly distributing the light across the LED’s screen.
What Is a Full-Array LED?
Also known as a direct LED, a full-array LED features bulbs embedded at specific intervals behind the device’s screen. This is in stark contrast to edge-lit LEDs, which feature bulbs around the edges of the screen.
Because the backlighting bulbs are embedded behind the screen, full-array LEDs are capable of producing clearer, higher-quality images than their edge-lit counterparts. Both edge-lit and full-array LEDs can produce high-quality images, but the latter type of LEDs typically come out on top.
Full-array LEDs typically have more bulbs than edge-lit array. As a result, they produce more illumination that manifests in the form of brighter images.
The Differences Between Edge-Lit LEDs and Full-Array LEDs
With edge-lit LEDs, the backlighting bulbs are placed along the edges of the screen. With full-array LEDs, the backlighting bulbs are placed behind the screen.
It’s important to note that all LEDs, whether they are edge lit or full array, work in conjunction with a separate display technology, such as LCD. LED bulbs themselves aren’t capable of producing images; they only produce light that illuminates the display device. Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of edge-lit and full-array LEDs.
