Plasma Tv Stands
December 5, 2006 by Joe Boyle · Leave a Comment
Plasma TVs have revolutionized television with the wide-screen features and compact size and shape. The plasma TV stands have replaced the conventional entertainment center to create a cinema-like look and feel and to improve your viewing experience. Plasma TV stands are usually quite minimalist, although many provide place at the base to store DVDs or even drinks.
Your Plasma TV stands can match the theme of your home theatre, and can be understated and functional. Some plasma TV stands are funky, futuristic, chic or seem “barely there.”
Plasma TV stands which “do the job” consist of chrome poles with bases.
These plasma tv stands will hold your plasma tv effectively in place and, at the same time, can look quite classy. You can choose a stand which is straight or slightly curved. Dramatic, geometric shapes are also favored by some for a more artistic look. Some plasma tv stands combine minimalism with functionality, and have small areas at the bottom for storing what you need. This can be a simple storage area, or a glass or wood cabinet which can hold books, decorations or other items of interest. Some install plasma tv stands ontop of a simple bar, to combine cocktail hour with a movie or a game.
If you would like to keep your existing home entertainment center, you can install a very simple, short plasma tv stand on top of a home entertainment cabinet. This will eliminate the necessity of purchasing an all-new entertainment center, or throwing out a favorite piece of furniture. The advantage of [tag-tec]plasma tvs[/tag-tec] is that they can fit almost everywhere, and plasma tv stands are every bit as versatile as the product they hold.
Plasma TV stands can be virtually invisible and hold a tv directly onto a wall. Like all plasma tv stands, these must be durable enough to bear the weight of a plasma tv, which can be considerable. You should consult an expert to see what kind of plasma tv stands are durable enough to use, and to install your plasma tv at an angle so it can easily be viewed by those sitting below. When installing your plasma tv, do so with a partner, and make sure that you are both sufficiently strong to bear the weight of the plasma tv, since even a small scratch on a screen will ruin it completely. The first thing to look for in a plasma tv stand is strength, and it is easy to find plasma tv stands that are both durable and attractive.
You can convert a glass table or a counter in to a plasma tv stand by finding a smaller plasma tv stand to put on top of it. Ensure that the glass or the cabinet will bear the weight of the television, and that it is located in a part of the room where it can be easily seen. You can use the cabinet to store tv guides, cable guides, you collection of DVDs and anything else you might need. Many prefer small doors to cover what is in the cabinets, but glass slabs can serve as excellent shelves for DVD players and other [tag-tec]audio visual[/tag-tec] equipment.
You can find plasma tv stands in furniture stores or in places where televisions are sold. It is suggested to find good quality, sturdy plasma tv stands if you don’t want your investment of thousands of dollars to come crashing to the floor. If you are installing a plasma tv for the first time, it is a good idea to consult an expert, or to have a professional do the installation. He or she can decide whether your plasma tv stand is durable enough to do the job.
About the Author
Author: June Mala © 2006 http://www.lktd.com/
Here are a few nice examples of Plasma Tv stands …
If you want to learn more about Plasma Tv’s and see some of the latest designs available check out our plasma tv stands in the plasma tv category.
Tags: chic, furniture, plamsa tv stand, plasma tv
Buying A Home Theater Receiver Where to Start ?
November 30, 2006 by Joe Boyle · Leave a Comment
If you are setting up a new home theater or upgrading your old one for a holidays gift to yourself, then you need to know that the choice of new home theater [Tag-Tec]receiver[/Tag-Tec] is probably the most important home theater component of the entire system.
To use a shipping analogy if the Tv or monitor is the top deck then the receiver is the engine room and control room in
one. That’s right get the choice of home theater receiver wrong and your home theater system is doomed to sink from the very start.
Let me explain further…
The receiver as well as generating the power to your system (amplification) it also carries out several other crucial functions required in your home theater system and acts as sort of junction box or if you prefer and automated control system to all the other home theater components in the a/v setup.
Your receiver handles the processing of the audio/video signals from the DVD player or other source such as an HD or TIVO and then feeds these out via the audio and video outputs to cables to the other components as required from the information encoded on the DVD or source material.
For example:- Tthe audio signal from the DVD is converted to sound by the home theater speakers and the video
(picture signal) is displayed on the tv or monitor or by the home theater projector if you have one.
Whilst this might be an oversimplification for some tech heads?. This basically is how we get a little silver disc (DVD) to
create an action movie in our living room.
Some new and more advanced receivers such as the Sony STR DG 800 features Digital Cinema Sound , Dolby Digital,Dolby Pro Logic II,dts 96/24,dts NEO:6,Dolby Digital EX,Dolby Pro Logic IIX,Dolby Pro Logic and dts-ES so at under $400 this [tag-ice]Sony[/tag-ice] is pretty much as highend as you are likely to want with a comprehensive choice of [Tag-Tec]decoders[/Tag-Tec] .
On a more modest budget you will find receivers like the Yamaha HTR5940BK at $299 which still offers a very good specification which offers Dolby Digital-ES,Dolby Prologic II and[tag-tec] DTS[/tag-tec] 96/24 Compatibility so you won’t need to break the bank with recievers like the[tag-ice]Yamaha[/tag-ice]
With these higher end new spec receivers the digital ouput will be transferred from the receiver via a component video cable or HDMI cable to the various components of your home theater system.
As you can see some receivers will have a whole bundle of features some so advanced you will probably never even work out what they do or even care. My view is if it’s that obsure chances are you don’t need it but you never know ?
Many people are taken in by the massive list of features when buying a receiver they don’t carry out the most important test of all which is the listen and watch test.
If that sound technical don’t panic what I am saying is you don’t buy a receiver for it’s specification you buy it for how it
makes Lord of The Rings look and sound or maybe your more into To Fast to Furious ? Do not buy a receiver because the specification says it has 95 different presets or what ever ….
In case you are wondering both the Yamaha and Sony models you see won’t leave you feeling like you have been sold down the river. Click on those images to get the full details.
I am of the view that DVD and movie producers have spent many millions of dollars creating superb soundtracks so why would you want to try and ‘enhance these’ using digital sound processing (DSP) and a bunch of other gymicks?
I never turn mine on..
But What Should You be Looking For In Your Home Theater Receiver ?
When choosing to buy a home theater receiver or upgrading you will find with just a few exceptions there are 4 options. OK there are probably a few more including lucas THX but in the mainstream it’s four. Who’s splitting hairs ?
These are basic stereo, home theater 5.1 , 6.1 and 7.1 which relates to the number of audio channels your receiver outputs too.
Stereo
This is just a basic left and right and is still best for hifi audio in my book if I am honest I think using your home theater system for audio is normally a bad idea. If you can afford it run your hifi system for listening to music through a different system. My reasoning is what is required for home theater is not what is required for audio.
I sat through a number of my favorite CD’s through my home theater system and quite frankly hated them this was such audio classics as Mary Black , Alison Krauss and Radiohead what these tracks need is precison not hard earth shattering base which is the norm for home cinema. In the end I relented and brought a seperate amplifier and speakers for audio.
I am interested on your views on this one and will write about this some day soon maybe even take a vote on it ?
Receivers for Home Theater 5.1 0- 7.1
As a basic starting point for home theater you should be looking for at very least Dolby Prologic II (which is pretty much the miniumum ) or ideally Dolby Digital and more often than not DTS surround sound will also be included.
Some home cinema people claim that DTS offers a sharper sound but I find it is pretty much six of one and half a dozen of the other how about you ?
Home Theater 5.1 Sound Proccesing
Both Dolby Digital and DTs use 5 discrete audio channels consisting of two front and center channel and two rear channels. Plus they use a extra channel which creates the bass (low frequency) effects. Hence this is known as 5.1.
This channel is often known as the bass channel and can sometimes be boosted by the use of a subwoofer which can either be either an active subwoofer or powered subwoofer which has it’s own built in amplification circuitry or unpowered or passive subwoofer (uses the amplification output of the receiver).
I personally recommend an active subwoofer and look for a fast acting one or instead of crash , boom , bang you will get a mixed kind of thump.
Home Theater Receivers With 6.1 and 7.1
The more advanced or powerful step-up receivers may additionally include Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES processors which creates further background effects or fill in effects to the main sound track.
A receiver is know as a 6.1 or even now 7.1 it has the same basic system and proccesing abilities of the standard 5.1 processor with dolby digital or DTS. But then is equipped with additional channels (1 in the case of 6.1 and 2 in the case of 7.1) to play back the additional background surround channels (fill in) when watching DVD’s which are encoded with Dolby Digital EX or DTS- ES information.
These additional channels further enhance the viewer experience and bring authenticicity to a sound which is produced in the
state of the art home theater of today to that of a top notch movie theater at a fraction of the cost.
With the gradual but ever accelerating growth of HD DVD and Blu Ray there is increasing justification if buying today to purchase 7.1 receiver as for a couple of hundred extra dollars this will eventually become the new minimum standard.
Tags: amplification, Blu Ray, Dolby Digital EX, dts ES, HD DVD, holidays gift, hometheater, receiver
Integrated Media Systems Adopts New Add-on IMX Depixelation Lenses for Home Theater Projectors
November 28, 2006 by Joe Boyle · Leave a Comment
by:
Integrated Media Systems, Inc., today announced that it has added the IMX image processor by Cygnus [tag-tec]Imaging [/tag-tec]to its product line of enhancement lenses for home theater [tag-tec]projectors[/tag-tec]. These lenses are user-installable over the projection lens of the [tag-tec]projector[/tag-tec] and convert the pixel structure of the image to a smooth, sharp image using optical interpolation techniques.”We’re proud and excited to take on the IMX line”, said Tim Knittel, President of Integrated Media Systems, Inc. “With its broad industry acclaim and almost magical properties to produce beautiful video images from almost any digital projector, the IMX lens continues to play an exciting role in the growth of home theater.
And now with lower pricing it has become an affordable upgrade to much larger range of home theater systems.”IMX processors are designed to fit over the lens of hundreds of different projector models. An additional model is also offered that can be mounted in front of the projector. The lenses are user-installable and adjustable. For more information visit
www.cgns.com/IMS_Home.htm
.. Integrated Media Systems, Inc. is a distributor of specialized audio/visual products for consumer home theater and [tag-tec]commercial[/tag-tec] presentation markets. For more call 1-866-4HT-LENS or visit
www.htlens.com
..
Tags: digital projector, home theater, hometheater systems, projector models
