Multimedia-PCs » television

Build Your Own Ambilight TV

Jeremy Jones — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:30:32 +0000

This is a really cool project that creates a Phillips Ambilight TV with a few LED bars. It’s a plug-and-play system that uses the a HTPC to control the LEDs. Complete directions over at fun3′s blog. This might be a project I have to play around with.

(via hackaday)

Plasma TV “Burn-In”: Fact or Myth?

Jeremy Jones — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:41:17 +0000

HDGURU has a great write up on Plasma TV burn-in. It’s always talked about that you have to be careful with Plasma TVs so you don’t burn the image in to the screen. I advise people on this too even with current TVs. HDGURU advises that ““Burn-in” is for all practical purposes a non-issue with current plasma HDTVs.” They go on to explain more of the technical details on why it’s not as important as it use to be. Plasma TVs are great and I have one at home but I would still take the steps to protect your TV. Plasma uses a lot of power and most at the store are in Vivid or in a sales display mode. That creates a very bright image that you really don’t need. By turning the Plasma to home mode or lowering the brightness you can save power and also help eliminate burn-in. (A side note: I cut the power usage by 50% on my Plasma by turning down the brightness and I couldn’t tell a difference after I powered it off and back on.) Most set-tops and game consoles have burn-in protection by pixel shifting. That will help with the HUD at the bottom of the screen. It was also stated in the comments on HDGURU that the first few hundred hours are where you need to pay the most attention. The gas will be burning the brightest at that time.

Plasma TV prices have fallen sharply over the last 6 months which make them a great deal. Their picture is stunning and is extremely bright even on the lowest setting. I do agree that burn-in isn’t an issue like it use to be but I would still be smart about how you use it. The biggest problem with Plasma TVs is the energy usage. You should consider that when purchasing. Mine even on the lowest brightness uses more than twice the power as my LCD.

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Moxi Lowers Prices and Releases 3 Tuner DVR

Jeremy Jones — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:23:50 +0000

Moxi lowered prices of their two-tuner HD DVRs to $499 down from $799. They also released multi-room bundles for two room and three room setups. The two room with a three-tuner HD DVR is $799 and comes with one Moxi Mate. The three room setup with a three-tuner HD DVR is $999 with two Moxi Mates. It’s nice to see the price drops but what most people have been complaining about still isn’t fixed and that’s the interface. I hope the price drops are just the first part of their overhaul.

(via ZatzNotFunny)

Video: VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App Platform

Jeremy Jones — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:06:12 +0000

Vizio demoed the connected TV and Vizio Internet app platform at CEDIA. The video above was captured by EngadgetHD. It looks good and I personally like the slim widgets across the bottom then popping them up on the side. The other thing that impressed was the remote. The slide out keyboard is going going to make the Internet Apps a lot more useful. The negative is that it uses bluetooth. I would prefer RF.

Vudu Coming to Connected LG HDTVs

Jeremy Jones — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:20:32 +0000

Vudu announced that they are coming to LG connected TVs. Gizmodo got a demo of it in action. I had issues with their business plan of selling expensive set-top boxes but now they seem to be headed in the right direction. Building into existing products will probably get you a lot more business. Lets hope this is only the beginning of products they work with. They have some catching up to do since Netflix is everywhere.

Calibrate Your HDTV

Jeremy Jones — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:19:47 +0000

Calibrating your HDTV isn’t as complicated as one might think. The video has a lot of helpful tips. I can say that I haven’t calibrated either one of my HDTVs. I have never been watching a show and thought that the colors weren’t right. I’ll probably spend some time doing a little adjusting now though.

(via CrunchGear)

YouTube Comes to Wii and PS3

Jeremy Jones — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:44:54 +0000

YouTube now has a browser friendly URL for your game consoles. It’s only for Wii and PS3 because they have a web browser. Just point the web browser to www.youtube.com/TV.

Currently in beta, the TV Website offers a dynamic, lean-back, 10-foot television viewing experience through a streamlined interface that enables you to discover, watch and share YouTube videos on any TV screen with just a few quick clicks of your remote control. With enlarged text and simplified navigation, it makes watching YouTube on your TV as easy and intuitive as possible. Optional auto-play capability enables users to view related videos sequentially, emulating a traditional television experience. The TV Website is available internationally across 22 geographies and in over 12 languages.

(via TechCrunch)

Mediacom Cable Fails DTV Test

Jeremy Jones — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:46:52 +0000

Mediacom Cable here in central Illinois failed a DTV test yesterday. The test showed a message on the screen providing info about the DTV switch. You only saw the message if you were on analog. The bad news is Mediacom subscribers saw the message and called the number on the screen to get answers.

From my years of experience with Mediacom this doesn’t surprise me at all. Local channels in our area are so bad at times they are unwatchable. A $10 antenna from Walmart will provide better quality. They better speed up the process to digital or they will have a lot of mad subscribers when the switchover happens.

Obama Wants to Delay DTV Transition

Obama Wants to Delay DTV Transition

Jeremy Jones — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:34:04 +0000

Obama’s team has asked to delay the DTV transition. They cited reasons that the coupons are out and people are still waiting. They also said people didn’t have all the information they needed about the switch. They bring up some good points as the video above shows. But I’m thinking that delaying it isn’t going to solve anything. They set the deadline and I have heard about it for a year now on TV. If you watch any TV between 6 and 10pm you have seen the messages. It’s just like when we try and get users at work to respond. They ignore and will continue to ignore. The only option is to just do it and they can complain once it’s over, at that time you can act like you made a mistake and help them out. You can push the DTV transition out another year and there will still be people that will act like they have no clue what is going on.

I do feel bad for the elderly. Help out family and friends to make sure they are ready.

Mediacom Cable Fails DTV Test

DTVPal DVR Coming Soon

Jeremy Jones — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:57:09 +0000

Dish Network is releasing soon the DTVPal DVR. The best part is that is will include Dish’s DVR software and from what I hear is very good. This is a OTA (over the air) DVR that won’t have monthly service fees associated with it. It’s going to sell for $300. The look isn’t anything to brag about.

More info at ZatzNotFunny

Multimedia-PCs » television

Build Your Own Ambilight TV

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Plasma TV “Burn-In”: Fact or Myth?

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Moxi Lowers Prices and Releases 3 Tuner DVR

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Video: VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App Platform

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Vudu Coming to Connected LG HDTVs

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Calibrate Your HDTV

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YouTube Comes to Wii and PS3

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Mediacom Cable Fails DTV Test

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Obama Wants to Delay DTV Transition

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DTVPal DVR Coming Soon

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