WLED vs RGB-LED Backlighting for LCDs: What’s the Difference?

You can’t choose a liquid-crystal display (LCD) without considering its backlighting. LCDs aren’t the same organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. While OLED displays feature self-illuminating pixels, LCDs do not. Instead, they rely on the illumination produced by a backlighting system. The backlighting will illuminate the LCD’s pixels while subsequently creating visible images.

There are different types of backlighting technologies used in LCDs, some of which include white light-emitting diode (WLED) and red-green-blue-light-emitting diode (RGB-LED). They are both designed to illuminate the LCD’s pixels. Nonetheless, WLED and RGB-LED are two different types of backlighting technologies.

What Is WLED Backlighting?

WLED is a backlighting technology that involves the use of white LEDs behind a diffuser. It’s classified as a full-array backlighting technology. Full array means that the backlighting bulbs — the white LEDs — are arranged in a grid-like formation consisting of rows and columns. When turned on, the LEDs produce light that travels through the diffuser.

What Is RGB-LED Backlighting?

RGB-LED is a backlighting technology that involves the use of RGB LEDs. Like WLED, it’s a full-array backlighting technology. RGB-LED backlighting consists of red, green and blue LEDs in a grid-like formation. These RGB LEDs will illuminate the LCD’s pixels. WLED uses white LEDs, whereas RGB-LED uses LEDs consisting of red, green and blue colors.

Differences Between WLED and RGB-LED Backlighting

WLED and RGB-LED are both used in LCDs. LCDs feature liquid pixels that, unlike the pixels in an OLED, can’t illuminate themselves. Therefore, they require backlighting. WLED and RGB-LED are two of the most common backlighting technologies for LCDs

The main difference between WLED and RGB-LED backlighting is that the former consists entirely of white LEDs, whereas the latter consists of red, green and blue LEDs. You can expect to pay more for LCDs with RGB-LED backlighting than those with WLED backlighting. RGB-LED backlighting is a more complex and advanced backlighting technology, so manufacturers charge more for LCDs with this technology.

RGB-LED backlighting offers better color gamut than WLED backlighting. Color gamut, of course, is a measurement of the range of colors produced by a given display. LCDs with RGB-LED backlighting have a wider color gamut than those with WLED backlighting.

WLED backlighting, on the other hand, offers local dimming zones. With this backlighting technology, LCDs can adjust the brightness of specific areas or zones independently. LCDs that use WLED backlighting can even turn off entire zones so that those zones remain black.