Power Surges Found Guilty In Home Theater Killer Shocker!
December 14, 2006 by Joe Boyle · Leave a Comment
Have you heard that their is serious killer of electrical equipment roaming across out country ?
Our detectives have been out there investigating and we have to our absolute horror discovered that the during the winter period the levels of this serious killer have been growing… Murdering our [tag-tec]electronic [/tag-tec] equipment Agh !
It’s frighteneing news but we have unearthed a scandal which makes gruesome reading with more and more Americans investing in millons of dollars of state of the art home theater equipment they are more vulnerable than ever before of this killer sweeping across America and wiping out our expensive electrical equipment.
Surely you must be thinking this must be some pretty serious stuff terrorist activity or the CIA testing a new secret weapon.
But you would be wrong!
Did you know that by simply switching on your electrical appliances on and off you could seriously damage them?
Now that could be a bit of a problem don’t you think and here’s why..
Harmful electrical imbalances accumulate in the circuits of your much prized equipment and can subsequently affect the long term life of your favorite home theater equipment and [tag-tec]computer[/tag-tec] circuitry condeming them to an early grave.
It is believed that as many as 25% of computers , home theater equipment and other delicate equipment are weakened or destroyed by either power surges or spikes.
25% now this is serious..
At times of this years this increases to it’s highest levels caused by adverse weather causing power outages and power drops and surges as people’s use of electrical appliances increases over the holiday period.
But fear not help is at hand using a very simple piece of low cost equipment which every home theater fanatic needs if they are to prevent potential damage to their prized equipment.
This damage can be prevented just by simply using a surge protector.
The biggest player in this market are Belkin and they offer a range of different surge protectors at different price points and for different uses but other manufacturers also offer products specifically for home theater.
I have taken a look at what is available and drawn up a short list for you … If you only buy a very basic surge protector you could save your home theater equipment from a premature death.
Monster Cable MP HTS800 Home Theater PowerCenter HTS800
Monster Cable MP AV600 Power Protector
Belkin Components F9M923-08 9-Outlet Maximum SurgeMaster
Belkin Surge Protector (F9H710V-06) (F9H710-06)
Furman Professional SS-6B - Surge suppressor ( external ) - 6 output connector(s)
There are many different models and they feature between 1-10 outputs to protect your sensitive equipment but in case you are wondering this is how they work and why you need them..
Spikes and Surges : - A power surge is a sudden increase in voltage that is much greater than would be normally experienced with normal electrical flow. If this last for no longer than a couple of nanoseconds it is known as a spike.
If however it lasts for three nanoseconds or more it is known as a surge. Surges are more commonly caused by other [tag-tec]appliances[/tag-tec] within your home such as freezers, refrigerators and tunring on the air conditioning. Occasionally surges can occur after a power outage or [tag-tec]lightning[/tag-tec].
In States where lightning is more common such as Florida a surge protector is essential as it can prevent your [tag-tec]electronics [tag-tec]for being fried alive.
What makes a Surge of Spike so damaging to your home theater equipment? :- When to much electrical pressure runs through a wire or component it heat ups very quickly and can burn. This may not immediately affect your equipment and you may not even know it has happened but it can siginificantly reduce the life of your equipment if not controlled.
What do surge protectors do ? : - They sit in the middle between the delicate circuitry of your home theater equipment and the power supply. They divert the excess electricity to the ground and it disipates to earth and the regular current is allowed to pass safely to your equipment.
What equipment should I connect to a surge protector ? : - As a general guide line any componet that contains microprocessors is potentially at risks the obvious things to protect are computers, home theater equipment, audio equipment , gaming consoles.
Simply put if you don’t want to find your equipment has become another statistic of this avoidable killer to your favorite amplifier , receiver or several thousand dollars of plasma tv then buy your surge protection today. If you order online it will be with you in time for the holidays and your equipment will be safe.
Tags: computers, hometheater, technology
Why buy a video projector for your home theater system?
December 12, 2006 by Joe Boyle · Leave a Comment
Prices are crashing and with increased demand the cost of video projectors for home theater are set to drop even further.
The truth is there has never been a better time to consider buying a video [tag-tec]projector[/tag-tec] for your home cinema set up.
If you have just forked out for the latest amplifier and speaker set up and were looking forward to that ultimate movie experience and then felt robbed when the TV set just didn’t do it for you then you could be the ideal candidate for a home theater upgrade to a video projector either an [tag-tec]lcd[/tag-tec] projector or a [tag-tec]dlp projector[/tag-tec]
The harsh reality is if you have the space even a massive plasma screen can’t match he image of a projected image the size of the wall in your living room or den.
Over the last 2-3 years the technology behind video projectors for home theater has moved on by leaps and bounds which has lead to more and more people looking seriously at using a projector in their homes to create massive picture sizes for watching their movies , play video games and even enjoy their favorite sporting occasions.
Just imagine watching the Superbowl or the US Grand Prix life size ? Or maybe you could see yourself playing with your new wii - Got to be an experience to be lived in my book.
But the best thing about the projectors of today and the advances that have been made is that they are now with in reach of the average American home theater enthusiast and no longer the preserve of those that have six figure bank balances.
Of course with this increase in quality and reduction in price the video projector is now also increasingly also turning up in the boardroom of even smaller companies to assist with presentations. All this as projectors become more accesible and portable their range of uses expands and now when combined with a decent laptop any company can create a credible multi media presentation for use in their business.
I will be talking about the potential of the use of video projectors in your office and business in a future post and you can bet you will be excited as I will be showing you how your company can benefit in more ways than you could imagine possible.
But for now I want to explain why things have changed and what that means for the typical home theater fanatic..
Just a few short years ago the vast majority of video projectors used a techology LCD (you might be more used to seeing it in the context of TV’s) and whilst many people are still using this type of projector and with new and ongoing developments it may come to the top again. But for the time being at least Digital Light Processing (DLP) has started to establish it’s self as the more popular choice amongst those buying home theater projectors today.
The advantages it offers are perfect picture geometry, higher contrast and ratio levels and potentially longer lamp life with out any picture degradation.
So lets look at what at what some of these terms mean and what you should be looking for in a home theater video projector ?
Projection Distances:- This is the distance between the screen and the projector to achieve a sharp image of a given size. The shorter the figure the nearer the projector can be to the screen or wall. Technology has now made it possible to reduce these projection distances making the home theater video projector suitable for smaller rooms as well as giant ones.
By knowing this distance before buying your home theater projector you can calculate how large you expect the image to be in realtion to your intended location of your projector and viewing area.
Contrast Ratio :- A problem associated with projectors of afew years ago was the fact that they would not function well unless the room was totally blackend out. This was quite simply due to the fact the light was not intense enough (contrast ratio was to weak) whilst there have been significant improvements in this area it is still pretty much impossible to use a video projector in a fully lit room.
But it is now quite possible to enjoy movies with out sitting in total darkness and provided attention is paid to the siting and use of lighting in the room you should no longer experience major problems.
Of course as would be the case for a front or rear projection TV or even a plasma or LCD TV of for that matter a standard CRT TV they won’t function in direct sunlight. In my view just some discrete lighting helps add to the ambiance and movie type experience without making it dangerous to move about if needed.
Connecting Your Projector : - Depending what type of equipment you intend to use with your projector will to some extent determine the type of connections you will need. HDMI and component video cables will normally be the best and will be essential for any High Definition images . For older set ups SCART will be used or possible in some cases Super VHS cables. I have found that cables from Best Cables have worked great for my setups so you might want to check them out.
High Definition:- If buying new equipment make sure you purchase HD as anything less will leave your system obsolete in a few years and this could have been avoided for few extra bucks.
Aspect Ratio :- The standard for most of the world now is widescreen or an aspect ration of 16:9 with the advantage of video projection you will be able to enjoy the full benefit of this enhanced viewing option to the full creating a true movie theater picture.
Keystone Correction :- This is clever technology which allows you to site the projector where it is best to do and the circuitry with in the projector makes adjustments so that the picture displays perfectly on the screen. This means until now you needed the projector to be directly in front of the screen or viewing wall but using keystone correction the images can be projected from the corner of the room and still appear straight . Pretty neat huh !
Noise Levels : - Nothing could be more off putting than when the leading man and lady of the movie are about to go in to a romantic clich and all you can hear is the helicopter like fan of your home theater projector whirring in the background so make sure the fan is not so obtrusive as to kill the mood.
Hopefully by now you can not only see why but what to look out for when buying a video projector for your home theater system and to help you with your choice I have included some of the models I think are worth checking out.
Super Slim DLP Projector with 2000 Lumens
1024 x 768 pixel resolution 2000:1 contrast ratio Texas Instruments DLP digital light processing 2X optical zoom enables you to fill a 60 inch screen in an office that s less than 6 feet deep Inverse Meniscus Condenser (IMC) lens makes it possible to reduce the size of the lens by 30 Digital vertical keystone correction & manual focus 10 5/8 inch W x 1 11/16 inch H x 7 13/16 inch D.
Professional Series HDTV Compatible DLP Projector with 3500 Lumens
1400 x 1050 native SXGA resolution 3000:1 contrast ratio 4:3 native, 16:9 and 5:4 compatible aspect ratios Innovative Wind Tunnel cooling system designed for whisper-quite operation and minimal light leakage DVI-I HDCP, VGA, component, composite, and S-Video inputs 16 3/16 inch W x 12 5/16 inch H x 4 5/8 inch D; weight: 10 lbs. Includes remote control with laser pointer, S-Video cable, VGA cable, USB cable, and lens cap.
DLP Projector With 1000 Lumens
854 x 480 pixel resolution 2000:1 contrast ratio 4:3 and 16:9 compatible aspect ratios 6 segment 5X speed color wheel helps achieve flicker free, high grade images with accurate color reproduction Sealed optical system prevents dust, dirt and smoke from entering the core components of the projector 12 1/2 inch W x 4 1/4 inch H x 11 1/8 inch D.
DLP Projector with 1100 Lumens
1280 x 720 WXGA pixel resolution 2500:1 contrast ratio 16:9 Native (5 aspect ratio selectable) Component, composite, S-Video, and HDMI inputs 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i signal compatibility Senseye technology De-interlace with 3:2 pull down 15 inch W x 4 1/2 inch H x 11 13/16 inch D Includes remote control and BNC to VGA adapter.
Sharp XR -20X DLP HOme Theater Projector, 2300 Lumens XR-20X
Sharp XR-20X DLP Home Theater Projector, 2300 lumens - 2000:1 Contrast Ratio, 1024×768 Max Res
Optoma Movie Time DV10 DLP Digital Projector DVD w/speakers DV10
Optoma MovieTime DV10 DLP Digital Projecter DVD w/Speakers -1000 Lumens.
This is quite a selection at varying price points so check out the different offering and decide for yourself I will be looking at each one of these in greater detail in a further post hopefully just after Christmas and the Holiday Season.
So if you want to treat yourself to a new years gift this could be a good time?
Tags: digital projection, high definition, multimedia, technology, video projector
Home Theater News 12/8/2006
December 11, 2006 by Joe Boyle · Leave a Comment
Here are some product and news on the latest in the home theater world for you to enjoy ..
Sony STR-DA5200ES - CNET Reviews
7 Dec 2006 at 5:27pm
Sony STR-DA5200ES
CNET Reviews - Dec 7, 2006
…. essentially an amplifier to being the true brain of a separates-based home theater system …. to navigate to what they want to use, whether that be a DVD player, a ….
YouTube, iPods, Virtual Actors, 3-D ? What Is The Future Of Film … - MTV.com
8 Dec 2006 at 6:03am
MTV.com YouTube, iPods, Virtual Actors, 3-D ? What Is The Future Of Film ….
MTV.com - 16 hours ago
…. Sam” will eventually be released on DVD as a …. go to a theater instead of watching it at home ? …. for more from Hollywood, including news, reviews , [tag-tec]interviews and ….
Show ends for newspaper film critics - Greensboro News Record
5 Dec 2006 at 3:03am
Show ends for newspaper [tag-tec]film critics[/tag-tec]
Greensboro News Record, NC - Dec 5, 2006
…. Winston-Salem ? home to the RiverRun International Film …. a stage production at Winston-Salem?s Little Theater .. …. s still doing movie and DVD reviews for Rock ….
Information provided by Google and Yahoo
Tags: amplifier, DVD Reviews, hometheater, ipods, reciever, Youtube
