LED vs LCD Notebook Computer Screens
All are LCD (liquid crystal display) but LED has a little bit better lighting from the rear.
The rarest and best notebook screens have an IPS screen which is much easier on the eyes and have VASTLY better viewing angles, thus allowing you to tilt the screen to any angle you want to avoid glare/reflection from sun/lamp-light.
If nothing else, check specs for better viewing angles... even some of the cheaper screens are "decent" vs. "awful".
I wish I could afford the IBM Thinkpad 220 with the 12.5" IPS screen... it's the best in the consumer/business market! I think Apple's new retina display is right up there as well.
Like BlueMax said, LED still uses an LCD screen, it's simply lit up by LED lights. It can lead to images being brighter, but that can all be changed in the settings menu of your OS.
There are also certain programs I use that dim the display depending on the time your computer is set to, so at night it's not so glaring and in the day time it's in full light, but these programs can be fickle and are prone to causing problems depending on the season (for example it dims too early in summer, too late in winter).
Best bet is to get a good quality notebook and create a shortcut to your brightness settings.
Thank you all for the responses. The reason I was asking this question is that I read somewhere online that LED screens may be better than LCD screens for someone with sensitivity to lights (particularly flourescent lights). The article stated that the backlight technology used in LCD screens is very similar to flourescent lighting. The replies from BlueMax and Sylant would seem to support the notion that selecting an LED screen might help with that problem since the backlight technology is replaced by LEDs, which would appear to give a more constant source of light; more like incandescents. Flourescent lights have a definite flicker to them that even I can perceive sometimes and I am not typically sensitive to lights at all.
I am getting ready to buy a notebook computer for an adult who apparently has autism and is very sensitive to bright lights and specifically to flourescent lights. I appreciate the feedback including the advice about setting the brightness lower. We are looking at a Sony VAIO E-Series (SVE171290X), which has a 17.3 inch HD LED Display.
The most effective way I've found of preventing screen brightness from causing problems is to ensure it's not used against a dark background or in a dimly-lit room.
I have a desk lamp pointing at the wall behind and above my monitor which means the display is much less of a single source of bright light.
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