Liquid Crystal Displays

• According to the LCD TV Buying Guide, a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor uses electrically charged crystals that twist or untwist to create colors and images among its matrix of pixels.
  
  

Light-Emitting Diodes

• While technically a type of LCD technology, the light-emitting diodes of an LED display use tiny semiconductors called diodes that switch on or off in response to electrical signals, according to Big TV.
  
  

Backlighting

• Traditional LCD monitors use fluorescent backlighting and must block the light flow to create black areas. Many LED monitors can selectively turn off their diodes in dark parts of the image, creating deeper blacks.
  
  

Performance Differences

• LEDs with RGB (red-green-blue) backlighting can produce more accurate colors and a wider viewing angle than LCD, though at a cost of greater power consumption.
  
  

Lifespan

• Since manufacturers introduced LED monitors relatively recently, manufacturers can only guess about their longevity, but these devices should retain their color purity longer than LCD monitors.