LED is an abbreviated form of light-emitting diode, which is a a semiconductor diode that emits light when electricity is passed through it.

In the case of television, two different kinds of LED panels are used. These are conventional and surface mounted device panels. A bunch of green, red, and blue diodes is put together to create a full-color pixel, which is usually square in shape. Most televisions or indoor screens in the market have been built using SMD (surface mounted device) technology. This trend has also caught on in the outdoor market. The single diodes themselves are tinier than a pin head and are put very close collectively. The main difference in this case is that the maximum distance of viewing gets reduced by 1/4th in comparison to the discrete diode screen having the same resolution.

Thus, LED panels permit a smaller set of identical LEDs to combine to become one large display. For indoor use, manufacturers generally make a screen which is based on SMD (surface mounted device) technology and has a minimum brightness of around 600 candelas per square meter, which is also unofficially referred to as nits. But television panels put up in auto and fashion shows use very high-brightness stage lighting that requires much higher LED brightness.