Liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) are often categorized according to their backlighting technology. Unlike electroluminescent displays, they don’t feature self-illuminating pixels. All LCDs feature liquid pixels that are illuminated via a separate lighting system, the latter of which is known as backlighting. While some LCDs use traditional white light-emitting diode (WLED) backlighting, though, others use mini-LED backlighting.

Mini-LED-Backlit LCDs Explained

A mini-LED-backlit LCD is a type of LCD that uses mini-LED backlighting to illuminate its liquid pixels. It’s characterized by the use of mini-LED backlighting. LCDs are available in different sizes, frame rates and other specifications. Nonetheless, all mini-LED-backlit LCDs use mini-LED backlighting.

What is mini-LED backlighting exactly? It’s a relatively new backlighting technology that involves the use of small LED bulbs as a source of illumination. Most mini-LED bulbs are less than 0.2 millimeters in size. As a result, mini-LED-backlit LCDs use smaller backlighting bulbs than other LCDs.

The Benefits of Mini-LED-Backlit LCDs

They may cost more than LCDs that use other backlighting technologies, but mini-LED-backlit LCDs offer several benefits. You can expect higher contrast ratios with mini-LED-backlit LCDs, for instance.

Contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest white colors produced by a display and the darkest black colors produced by the same display. A high contrast ratio means there’s a greater difference between these white and black colors. Mini-LED-backlit LCDs have exceptionally high contrast ratios.

Mini-LED-backlit LCDs support local dimming zones. Also known as full-array local dimming, it allows displays to control specific backlighting areas separately from other areas. With local dimming zones, mini-LED-backlit LCDs can essentially increase or decrease the brightness of specific areas without affecting other areas.

Another benefit of mini-LED-backlit LCDs is energy efficiency. They are considered more energy efficient than LCDs powered by other backlighting technologies. Some LCDs use cold-cathode fluorescent (CCFL) backlighting. CCFL is a time-tested backlighting technology that’s used in many different display applications. But the problem with CCFL backlighting is that it’s not particularly energy efficient. Mini-LED backlighting is a far more energy-efficient backlighting technology, making it a popular choice for LCDs.

In Conclusion

When researching the different types of LCDs, you may stumble upon mini-LED-backlit LCDs. They feature liquid pixels — just like all LCDs. The difference is that mini-LED-backlit LCDs use super-small LED bulbs for their backlighting. Known as mini-LEDs, these backlighting bulbs are typically less than 0.2 millimeters in size. All mini-LED-backlit LCDs feature these small LED bulbs behind their pixel layer.