LED backlighting of LCD displays is all the rage now, though I haven’t a good technical explanation yet. I guessed they have arrays of LED’s behind the LCD screen to light up the screen unevenly (on purpose) to make brights brighters and darks darker.

Infoworld’s explanation, however, is a bit different. Though I really think their explanation needs explaining:

AU Optronics Corp., the world’s third largest maker of LCD (liquid crystal display) screens, is aiming most of its research dollars at LED (light emitting diode) technology for its sharper contrasts and brighter colors, an executive at the company said Tuesday.

The Taiwanese company is already providing 23-inch LCD screens with LED backlights to a major Japanese customer for the LCD-TV market. Backlighting helps create contrast on LCD screens by illuminating the background so that the foreground appears sharper.

“We have worked very diligently with LED makers on these television displays,” said Po-Yen Lu, an executive vice president at AU, during a meeting with news media.

Infoworld - Top LCD maker bets research on LED backlights

Aha! A quick search on the internet, and I see that this isn’t new at all, they’re just making LED backlighting bigger and better.