Tag Archives: HDTV

Guide to Recycling Electronics 2

Does your household contribute to the vast amount of e-waste (electronic waste) that has become a big issue for our environment? All of those cool devices and wonders of technology today will probably wind up in a landfill tomorrow, leaching out toxic chemicals such as arsenic and lead. One way to help the world is to recycle our home electronics in a responsible way. Today let’s talk about televisions. Most households have more than one television. And now that high definition televisions (HDTV) are available, families are eager to upgrade. At the same time, those new HDTVs will one day … Continue reading →

HDTV Settings and Room Lighting

With the new high definition television (HDTV) sets, you can get amazing picture quality! You will feel as though you are in the movie theater at home or perhaps even in the middle of the movie itself, and the picture quality gets closer and closer to reality. Unfortunately, you can also get eye strain, garish colors and more if your setting and room lighting aren’t correct. In fact, I would bet that most HDTV users haven’t considered some of the basic things that should be done before watching your HDTV. Let’s first take a look at lighting. Most people turn … Continue reading →

Judging TV Picture Quality on the Sales Floor

When shopping for a new television, you walk into the electronics store and are instantly confronted by a bank of televisions all showing the same signal that has been split multiple times. It is hard to judge the quality of the picture while staring at all of those images. In addition, the stores set the televisions to attract you, often giving the televisions that they want to sell the brightest settings, and dimming other less expensive models. So what exactly should you look for when trying to judge the picture quality at the store? Here are some tips. First of … Continue reading →

Computing Week in Review: January 28th Through February 3rd

What a Super Bowl it was last night. Did you root for the winners or sympathize with the other team? By know, you probably know who one, but just in case you don’t I won’t reveal any secrets. How did you watch the game (if you did)? On a brand new HDTV or through Internet updates? Either way, technology is pretty cool, isn’t it? In case you missed any of last week’s articles in the Computing Blog, here they are again, in the week in review. January 28th Computing Week in Review: January 21st Through January 27th Want some free … Continue reading →

HDTV Super Bowl News

Are you all ready for the Super Bowl tomorrow? Do you have your chips, dips wings and things? Is your HDTV all ready to go? Even if you do have your big screen TV ready to go, you still might not be able to watch the big game in high definition format. No HDTV on Cable? Comcast cable subscribers may be surprised to know that the service provider, known for its push to its customers for digital cable and high definition programming, will not be delivering the Super Bowl in high definition format. This is because Comcast could not reach … Continue reading →

Apple TV FAQ

Earlier in the week, we were invited over to dinner by some friends of ours. We had a great time, and my husband just couldn’t stop talking about the media setup our friends had, complete with the Apple TV. It looked great, and that is even before all of the new features that are now available. Also, now that Apple has announced a new price structure and a major software update to the device, I have been fielding many questions about the Apple TV. Here are some of the more frequently asked questions, along with their answers. Do you need … Continue reading →

HDTV FAQ

Wondering if you should upgrade your television to a high definition unit? Here are the most common questions I have gotten about the HDTV technology. How much better is HDTV? Perhaps you mean how much sharper? Regular television is called analog TV. it is the stuff that we have been watching since the 1950s. The resolution on an analog television broadcast is 640 x 480 pixels, much smaller than most computer monitors these days. A HGTV program comes through at a resolution of up to 1920 x 1080 pixels, about six times as sharp. You can see an obvious difference … Continue reading →

Computing Week in Review: January 7th Through January 13th

This week we have focused on televisions and high definition electronics, along with a bit of news from Apple, including a possible new iPhone. Did you miss any of these articles? Check them out right here. January 7th What Can You Do with Old Electronics? Did you get blessed with some new electronics this year? From cell phones to televisions, from ink cartridges to batteries, here is what to do with all of that old stuff. Hint: some of these items are considered hazardous waste and should not be thrown away in the regular trash. Materials can leach from the … Continue reading →

Philips New Eco HDTV

One of the shining performers at the Consumer electronics show was a new HDTV that promises to sip power instead of guzzle it. Dubbed the Eco TV, the 42-inch, flat-panel LCD television, this new model has plenty of energy-saving features. Among these features are the ability to dim the backlight as a response to the program being watched, or as a response to room lighting. This is similar to the “local dimming” featured on the Samsung LED HGTV, but in this case with Philips, the backlight can be dimmed up to five times the brightness of its normal high peak. … Continue reading →

Blu-ray Frequently Asked Questions

After yesterday’s article about Blu-ray and HD-DVD technology, I received several private messages from readers who wanted to know more about this technology. Most of the questions were about Blu-ray, so I thought I would start there. 1. Will I be able to play my old DVDs on a new Blu-ray player? Yes, definitely. Blu-ray players are backwards compatible with DVDs, meaning that they will be able to play movies and other content that are on standard DVDs. The players come with multiple heads to support the different formats. You are likely to notice an improvement of quality in your … Continue reading →