The Brogue Hog

LCD TVs provide excellent high resolution and crystal clear pictures. At the same time, their design is sleek and trendy. It would mar the entire look of the TV if it were placed on a shoddy stand.

LCD TV stands are available in all shapes and sizes. Stands may be metal, fiberglass, wood or any other conventional material and of various finishes, such as wood enamel, or metallic or even expensive lacquers.

Looks apart, the most important consideration when buying a stand is whether it will support the weight of your television. Most TVs have weight capacities printed in their manuals. Don’t be fooled by the size of the stand. A bigger stand does not mean it will bear the weight better. It all depends on what material the stand is made up of.

The second consideration is floor space. If your living room is too big, then you might consider a stand with a swivel. Swivels allow the TV to be turned in any direction around a vertical axis so that it can be seen from all angles of the room. There should be enough space from the wall if you plan on rotating the TV. Stands are also available with wheels and casters, which allow them to be shifted from one room to another. Such portable stands are ideal when there are many rooms in the house.

Design is also important. The look of the stand must complement the décor of the room. Wooden stands go best with traditional looks, while metal and fiberglass stands are better suited to contemporary decors.

LCD TV stands vary in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. If you are creative, you may contract a carpenter and get a stand custom-made according to your requirements.

LCD TVs provides detailed information about LCD TVs, LCD TV reviews, LCD TV monitors, LCD TV wall mounts and more. LCD TVs is the sister site of Industrial LCD Monitors.

With Christmas coming soon there will be an enormous surge in sexy toy sales. All over this time the sexy toy shops will be deciding on what toy promotions are running and what martial toys might be the very best sellers.

Sex Bomb, the brilliant marital aid retailer, is absolute that vibrators will be the very best seller this Xmas. Vibrators have been such big time sellers in the past as the bargain sensual aid will often be used by blokes and couples. The sexual toys available this Christmas are of course getting greater with more technology. The most current sexual toys are realistic and affordable making marital aids more appealable to ladies. males have regularly been sex toy buyers and this Xmas will find them, on average, spending over 4 million at Christmas.

The sex toy market is massive, the level of competition from the sexual toy organisations are causing the old days of inexpensive inflatable sex dolls changing to truly all singing all dancing sex dolls with skin that feels real and real human hair. Some dolls even vibrate. Grab a bargain with Dildos from retailer Sex Bomb.

This year everybody should be hinting to their partner to buy them a sexual toy or four. The passion and spice you add to your sexual life can often really make you smile. Sexual toys are tremendous.

Mini DV tapes look like analog tapes used for recording, but they are almost 1/6th their size. Apart from being more compact, they have the advantage of clearer sound quality, reduced noise, and higher output. They are available on various websites and from retailers of electronic items.

The dimensions of Mini DV tapes are 2.6″ 2″ 0.5″. The tape is coiled inside a plastic case with a flap to protect the tape from dust, scratches and other damage. The tapes are magnetized on both sides and optionally may be covered by a layer of carbon to improve the sound quality.

The major manufacturers of Mini DV tapes are TDK, Maxell, Sony, Fuji, Panasonic, RCA, and JVC. Like all items related to electronic goods, a little research is needed in order to locate the tape that will best suit your needs.

First, think of the duration of the recording that you need. Mini DV tapes are available with 30, 60, 63, 80, or 83 minutes worth recording time. The three extra minutes, on a tape of 63 minutes, for example, are for trial recording. This feature is very useful for those creating professional videos and films. The Sony DVM 30 PRL has a recording time of exactly 60 minutes, while Sony DVM 63 has the three minutes extra for adjusting the recorder or camcorder.

Also, price is an important factor when it comes to buying in bulk. Many online stores retail Mini DV tapes in bulk. For example, Sony DVM 30 are sold on TapeResources.COM for $4 per tape, for a collection of tapes ranging from 5 to 100 tapes. Purchases over $50 are given further discounts. Other websites offer sizeable discounts depending on the brand. A Fuji tape of 60 minutes length generally costs $14, but the price may come down to as low as $6 when retailed by these online stores.

Apart from Mini DV tapes, these websites also retail items like DV cleaners needed to properly maintain the tapes.

Mini DV provides detailed information about mini DVs, mini DV camcorders, mini DV conversion and more. Mini DV is affiliated with DVD R Duplication.

What to look for when buying a Plasma Television

As with all big screen TVs, the choice of a plasma television is in reality a function of finding the right trade-off between screen size and supported features for your available budget.

This budget issue is even more important when it comes to plasma TVs. It is true that we are seeing more and more of the so-called cheap plasma TVs in the sub-$2000 price tag, yet as one starts stretching the screen size over and above the 42-inch entry-level mark, price increases drastically.

Before you start shopping around for your plasma display, it is important that you make a prioritized list of the features that are most important to your needs; this should include:

• Screen Size
• Display resolution
• Support for HDTV
• Connectivity
• Appearance

When evaluating your options, keep in mind that plasma’s are expensive - hence the end approach is a trade-off between the desired features and price in order to match your budget.

Ultimately, it is your budget that will drive your purchase - hence you may have to scale-back accordingly.

Always start with Screen Size

Plasma TV screens range in size from typically 37-inches to the latest 70-inch and 80-inch big screen giants.

Screen size is a big factor in plasma pricing and is the most important feature you need to decide on. You can always find smaller screens in the 37-inch to 42-inch domain, for $2,000 to $3,000. Some bare-bones models from major manufactures like Panasonic and Samsung, are even selling at slight less than $2,000.

Therefore, the best way to start choosing your plasma TV is to select the screen size you want, and then evaluate your options.

This is not an issue where if you can afford it, buy it! Here there is a very important aspect to take into consideration when deciding on your Plasma TV screen size - you need to choose one that fits your room. This does not simply mean a screen size that will fit your wall or available cabinet space only. Even more important is the need to match the chosen screen size with your available viewing distance. (More on this can be found in our detailed article on TV Viewing Distance and Screen Placement in the home theater.)

Many argue that TV viewing distance is a matter of personal preference. To a certain extent, this is true, but there are a few guidelines worth considering if you want to enjoy the best possible viewing experience. In essence, a 42″ EDTV plasma television would require 10 feet between you and your screen - you may get close to 9 feet for a HDTV plasma TV of the same screen size. However, try not to get closer than this as you may start seeing the pixel build-up structure on the screen - which can be extremely annoying.

Display Resolution and Support for HDTV

The native resolution of a plasma display is another important factor to take into consideration when choosing your plasma TV.

Although generally, picture quality from a plasma TV is very good irrespective of the set resolution, yet higher resolution plasmas will be able to display certain video content better.

This becomes an issue especially when watching an HDTV signal on your Plasma TV. A 720p HDTV signal supports a resolution of 1280 pixels by 720 lines while 1080i/p supports 1920 pixels by 1080 lines.

This means that to be considered true HD, the plasma display must have a native resolution of at least 1024×720. Normally HDTV plasma displays in this category will support a resolution of 1024 x 768 though some come with a higher resolution of at least 1280 x 768 or 1366 x 768. These higher resolutions will enable the respective sets to display a full 720p HDTV image without any re-scaling.

Plasma TV sets with a lower resolution will still be able to display a high definition video signal if they have the necessary electronics - by re-scaling the image. This re-scaling process means disposing of some of the information in order to fit the set native resolution. These plasmas tend to have a resolution of 852×480 and are referred as EDTV plasma TVs.

This resolution is actually what progressive scan DVDs and Digital Television are in and looks as good as any plasma with a higher resolution when displaying these signals. The only visible difference between plasmas with a resolution of 1024×720 (or higher) and 852×480, is when watching true HD material.

A few words about Digital Television and HDTV: While HDTV offers a clearer picture than regular television, yet not all setups allow you to take full advantage of HDTV. It all depends on the quality of your HD source. If your source is a compressed signal e.g. TiVo, then you cannot take full advantage of the quality supported by HDTV.

It is also important to remember that HD still represents a small portion of all available TV content.

Connectivity and Features

Inputs: A plasma TV should include the inputs you need to plug in the various video components. These should include composite, S-Video, component video, DVI, HDMI, and RGB. Preferably, look for a model that would also provide you with a set of front or side-panel A/V inputs for convenient camcorder or video game hookup.

RGB is a standard 15-pin computer input. Composite video is a single line video output that is typical on VCRs, cable/satellite receivers, and DVD players. The next step up in quality is S-video. This can be found on DVD players and most cable/satellite boxes. Component video, which is of a higher quality than S-Video, divides the video signal into red, green, and blue; it is mainly found on progressive scan DVDs and some newer cable/satellite boxes.

DVI and HDMI are purely digital connections; the main difference between the two is that HDMI carries also the audio on the same interconnect used for the video. Both interfaces are capable of supporting up to 1080 lines of picture resolution. In order words, they both can handle HDTV.

Additional Features: Supported connectivity and additional features all add up to the final product price. If you can afford to add a little more to your available budget, you can normally find models with additional features that support a wider range of video inputs, better control options, and support for HDTV.

Final Advice

Keep in mind that price does not equate to performance. It may mean a bigger screen size but not necessary a better picture. Hence, if you are still uncertain as to the best way to go, your primary consideration here should always be - how good the picture will look on your big screen plasma TV.

(c) 2004/2005 www.practical-home-theater-guide.com. All rights reserved.

Andrew Ghigo - A Telecoms/Electronics engineer by profession.
Editor and publisher of http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com - a comprehensive home theater guide to home theater systems, product reviews and home theater design.

This article is an excerpt from a series of informative guides appearing under the Plasma TV Guides section of the site.

First of all, don’t assume you need a huge video screen in your media room. If your screen is too large, visual fatigue will detract from your theater experience. A good, but general rule for screen size is to select a screen width that is half to one third the distance from the screen to the primary viewing location. You should keep the viewing cone, formed by a line going from your eyes to each side of the screen, to about thirty degrees.

You can use any display device and there advantages and disadvantages to each type. DLP units tend to have better black levels than LCD units. LCOS units and variations have the tightest pixel structure.

Front Projection:

Advantages

• A front projection set will produce the largest, most dynamic image. With a good projector and screen combination the image will be quite stunning, especially when watching native HDTV content. If you have never seen the picture produced by a good, front projection set up, you really should see one before you make any decisions.

Disadvantages:

• Needs ambient light control. You need to control ambient light to get a really good picture because a front projection system cannot produce black. It must rely on the absence of light being reflected from the screen to show black or dark colors.

• You have to have a physical projector mounted somewhere. This problem has improved tremendously in the last few years as CRT projectors have basically gone away and digital projectors have improved and shrunk to miniscule proportions.

• Video projectors are noisy. They require cooling fans and these are loud. Some recent units however, are much quieter.

• The larger picture and better detail reproduction will allow you to really see problems so you need to have quality video sources or the picture will suffer.

• Many of the projectors on the market are either business presentation units or adapted from them. Business presentation projectors have much different requirements than home theater projectors. The most important requirement for business units is brightness. They sacrifice other performance parameters to achieve this. Home theater projectors need extremely accurate color rendition, accurate grey scale tracking, deep blacks, and freedom from motion artifacts.

Plasma:

Advantages

• They’re thin! Only 3 to 4 inches thick.

• They look great when displaying HDTV. (most of them)

Disadvantages

• They can suffer image burn-in when displaying static images. Many retailers and manufactures downplay the dangers, but the phenomenon occurs with many different units. Do not leave the cable or DSS menu screen up for an hour or two. Be careful when displaying HTPC or computer game video with static images.

• Many of them look really bad when displaying non HD TV. This problem has lessened with improved internal video processing and scaling technology. Some plasmas actually look pretty good with a better quality DVD feed.

• Many plasmas suffer from rather severe image artifacts although this is also improving greatly due to the better internal processing.

• Some plasma displays have high power consumption. (Can be three times that of a standard tube TV)

LCD flat panel:

Advantages

• They’re thin! Some are only three inches thick.

• They have no image burn problems like plasmas do.

• Good picture on most newer sets.

• Long life (50,000 - 60,000 hours)

• You can get a true, 1080P native resolution display.

Disadvantages

• Sizes over 30 inches are priced above equivalent sized plasma displays.

• The older units don’t have picture quality as good as plasma displays.

• Black and dark reproduction is not as good as plasma yet.

Rear Projection TV can be either digital or CRT based. The CRT units are going away fast as consumers move to thinner, lighter digital rear projection TVs. At this point, the better CRT rear projection sets offer fantastic performance for the money. You can get a 50+” HDTV ready CRT set from good companies such as Panasonic and Sony for under $1,500. These bargains will be gone soon as production of CRT rear projection sets stops. Panasonic has indicated the 2005 model year will be their last for CRT RPTVs.

The disadvantage to CRT rear projection TVs is size and weight. They too will suffer image burn problems if left with a static image for too long. They require accurate convergence to look their best. Most newer units offer multi-point convergence adjustments to facilitate this.

There are some new types of flat panel displays that will be released for consumer use soon including Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) and SED. These promise even better image quality than either LCD or plasma when fully developed, in addition to lower cost, thinner profiles and much lower power consumption.

In a nutshell:

Front Projection - Large image, can have spectacular picture quality even on a huge screen - More difficult to set up, need to place the projector in the center of the room somewhere, noisy(some), must use better quality sources to get the most benefit.

Plasma - cool factor, thin, look good for HDTV - Image burn problems, can sometimes have a mediocre picture for all but HDTV sources

LCD - cool factor, thin, look good for HDTV, no Image burn problems, - Expensive for larger sizes, can sometimes have a mediocre picture for all but HDTV sources.

There are many display technologies available today. No one display is best for all situations. Select the one that best fits your select your specific requirements.

Steve Faber has almost 15 years in the custom installation industry. He is a CEDIA certified designer and Installer 2 with certifications from both the ISF and THX. His experience spans many facets of the industry, from the trenches as an installer and control systems programmer, and system designer, to a business unit director for a specialty importer of high end audio video equipment, a sales rep for a large, regional consumer electronics distributor, and principal of a $1.5M+ custom installation firm. Steve is currently is senior sales engineer for Digital Cinema Design, a CEDIA member firm in Redmond, WA. He is on the web at http://www.1touchmovie.com