Despite having a different acronym, an LED TV is just a specific type of LCD TV, which uses a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel to control where light is displayed on your screen and is backlit ...

The backlight turns on when ... and it lights up. An LED display, meanwhile, combines this simple notion with the existing principles of an LCD. Rather than a single, overarching source of light ...

But a simple "LCD" designation doesn't tell you how a screen will perform. You need more information, like the backlight type the panel uses—usually LED, followed by the more expensive Mini LED.

Some 4K TVs have QLED or OLED displays, but most are LCD, and many of those have LED backlights. When you're shopping for a new TV, these are the sets you'll come across most often. We're going to ...