Posts Tagged ‘consumer electronics’

Should You Still Consider A Plasma Television?

Monday, July 26th, 2010

When you go out shopping for a plasma television the choices can seem endless. Why is one 42 inch plasma TV 1200.00 while another is 500.00? What features are important to have in a plasma TV? How to choose can be overwhelming even in just choosing plasma over the other types of televisions out there. One of the best ways is for you to educate yourself on the real facts about plasma televisions.

Some of the myths you will see during your research will have to do things like burned in pictures, image retention, bad picture quality at wide angles, all of these things have been sited as reasons to steer clear of plasma screen TV’s. However, if you take a look at the actual testing done on plasma screen televisions you will find that these statements are far from facts.

Burn in and image retention are just two of the terms you will seen thrown around on the internet as things to watch out for when purchasing a plasma television. These are the terms that describe damage that can happen to a television screen if it is stuck on the same picture for too long, like being on pause, or the image that stays on your television once you turn it off.

The Bristol Show

Friday, February 26th, 2010

On the 26th to 28th of February this year the Bristol Marriott hotel hosts the biggest Hifi and AV show. The Bristol Sound and Vision Show draws AV and Hifi enthusiasts from all over the UK.

The Bristol Sound and vision show will be presenting new products from almost 200 brands including Yamaha, Sony, JVC, Mission, Wharfedale, Denon plus many more. The Sound and Vision Bristol show allows people to get close and demo the latest products, giving them chance to test them and relay feedback directly to the manufactures. Visits love that there are so many brands under one roof, no AV or Hifi shop in the country will have this many brands on display.

Many retailers like Sound and Vision, Digital Direct and HiFiBitz travel to the show to gain new accounts, see the products before they are launched so they know what they are selling and out of general interest.The show lasts 3 days, from the 26th to 28th of February, in that time the show is expected to see well over 5000 people come through the doors. If you don’t like crowds, maybe the Bristol show is not for you, so why not visits your local AV and Hifi retailer like Sound and Vision. Sound and Vision have electrical shops in Bolton and Leeds, and have accounts with over 150 brands most of which are exhibiting at the show. In the Sound and Vision shops there are over 200 products on display and are available for testing.

Plasma TVs Explained

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Plasma televisions are an innovative new technology that provides flat screen displays. Using a variety of noble gases encased in small compartments (pixels), plasmas work by converting the gases into plasma. This plasma radiates light and forms an extremely clear picture. Liquid crystal displays (or LCDs) are also flat screened TVs. However, these use liquid crystals with backlighting to form pictures.

Plasma televisions (and flat screen TVs in general) are extremely easy to handle. Due to their very nature, plasmas are flatter than traditional televisions (also called CRTs) and thus, are lighter as well. Currently averaging 5 inches in width and 100 pounds, their size will soon be reduced to an inch in width and 45 pounds. This lack of bulk has heralded in a new era of television placement; consumers can now mount their plasmas on the wall without worrying about ruining the wall.

Flat screen televisions cover a range of much higher resolutions than do traditional televisions. High definition plasmas and LCDs have resolutions from 1024×768 pixels per square inch to 1920×1080 pixels. The ceiling of resolution for CRTs stands at a mere 480 lines, providing a much more muddled picture than plasmas or LCDs do.

Don’t Waste Your Money On A Cheap TV

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Cost is an important consideration in the purchase of a product, and that is perhaps never truer than when that product is a TV set. Upon arriving at the home electronics store, the consumer might be inclined to purchase the cheapest TV on the sales floor if the others seem too expensive. But that can be a significant error, for some of the most expensive televisions in the long run were bought because the buyer thought the sets were cheap TVs.

Sony, Panasonic, and other brands are so well known on account of the quality their products. Such brands may not offer the cheapest televisions for sale, but their sets are less likely to need replacing too soon after purchase because of years of investing in the production of an excellent product. This saves the consumer money in the long run.

A television that has to be replaced soon after purchase is precisely what the buyer might encounter if he or she buys a television from a lesser-known manufacturer rather than a more costly name brand. But how affordable are such unreliable, inexpensive televisions, be they cheap LCD TVs, cheap plasma TVs, or cheap standard TVs?

Plasma TVs Are The Best Choice

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

With cable and satellite companies increasing the amount of High-Definition content they are offering to their subscribers, many people are deciding that now is a good time to think about replacing their old picture-tube televisions with a new flat-panel plasma television set.

The first thing you will notice when you see a flat-screen plasma TV for the first time is the outstanding resolution and clarity of the picture. Most plasma TVs can display a resolution of at least 720p, better for smaller screens where high-resolution is less noticeable, all the way up to 1080P, the highest resolution available. Some plasma sets are able to receive HD, or High-Definition signals, while some models are considered EDTV, or Enhanced Definition Televisions, which display greater clarity and a higher resolution than standard picture-tube sets, but are not as clear as a true HD compatible plasma TV. If you want to receive HD programming, make sure that the plasma set you purchase is HD compatible.

Flat-screen plasma televisions are also much slimmer and lighter than standard TVs since they lack a traditional picture tube. A 40-inch plasma TV typically weighs less than half of what a similar sized traditional television weighs, and since plasma TVs are only a few inches thick, they can be mounted on a wall, freeing-up valuable floor space.

Cheap LCDs

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Thinking of buying the cheapest TV you can find at your local electronics store? Well, you may want to think twice before making that purchase! We know you don’t want to spend any more of your hard earned money than you have to on any purchase, but buying the cheapest TV you can find may end up costing you more in the long run!

So please take our advice! It may not matter one iota if you buy a can of pork and beans made by Heinz or the Asda brand. But when it comes to purchasing a more permanent item such as a television or a refrigerator, do not buy a no name brand! When you purchase the very cheapest televisions made by no name brands, you are not investing in a product that is guaranteed to last.

The main goal of the manufacturers of cheap televisions is to make the most inexpensive product that they can. They are well aware of the fact that an incredibly low price can be an irresistible temptation. After all, for the same price as the brand name TV, you might be able to get a cheap TV that is almost twice as large!

A History Of Heating And Todays Methods

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Central heating is very much thought of as a modern-day convenience. However it has been dated back to the ancient Greeks. A system of central heating provides heat to the interior of (or a portion of) a house or factory etc.

It is believed that in around 350 BC the homes of the wealthy and the Great Temples in the ancient times of Greece were heated by warm air that was circulated through flue systems in the floor. Today, because we have electricity to power blowers, forced-air systems warm billions of homes all around the world.

These forced air systems draw air into their pipes through to a furnace where the air is warmed and sent back into the room. There are different sizes of each model system so as to provide for every size room.

These systems are sometimes used with an air filter, an AC (air conditioning) unit, and a humidifier. The pipes in the system are usually made from a hard-warring metal like copper surrounded in insulation for optimum heating.

The Science Behind Light Bulbs

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

The structure of a light bulb is fairly simple. At the base, there are two small metal contacts which are connected to the ends of the electric circuit. These metal contacts are attached to two hard wires. These wires are attached to a fine metal filament. This filament stands in the centre of the bulb, held in place by a glass mount. The filament and all the wires are encased in a glass bulb which is filled with an inert gas, like argon.

When a light bulb is connected to a power supply, the electrical current runs from one metal contact to the other, moving through the filament and all the wires. Electrical current in a solid conductor is measurable by the movement of free electrons (ones that detach themselves from atoms) from an area with a negative charge to an area with a positive charge.

As the electrons zip along through the filament, they are constantly bumping into the atoms that make up the filament. The energy of each impact vibrates an atom — in other words, the current heats the atoms up. A thinner conductor heats up more easily than a thicker conductor because it is more resistant to the movement of electrons.