14 DAY TRIAL // Direct-type LED backlighting has its uses, especially when it brings along dynamic “local dimming” (LEDs controlled individually, or in clusters, to adjust the level of light/color intensity in a given part of the screen). It is losing to edge-lit arrays though.
On edge-lit LED LCD displays, the LEDs are formed around the rim of the screen, spreading the light evenly behind the screen by means of a special diffusion panel.
It is a cheaper and lower-power option than the others, which is probably why LED TV vendors are planning to focus more on it starting next year (2014).
Even high-end UHD TVs are starting to use edge-lit LED backlighting.
50-inch edge-lit UHD TVs (4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels) are becoming particularly popular in China. Sure, direct-type backlit UHD TVs still make up 80% of the supply in the area, but given how short a time they've been available there, the transition was quite quick.