Articles

1.	Plasma vs. LCD flat panel	Top
	FACTS ABOUT THE TWO TECHNOLOGIES: The phosphor-lined cells on plasma TV’s are just as vulnerable to “burn-in” as tube models are. (Burn-in is when graphics like video-game backgrounds or stock- ticker patterns are left on screen for long periods and persist even after you change programs). Here are some ways to avoid or protect your plasma TV: buy a set that has a pixel orbiter. (This 'orbiting’ moves the image slightly around the screen, each time you turn on the set). Don’t play video games or other static images for over two hours. Sizes: Plasma TV set’s normally come in sizes between 32” diagonal & go up to 80’. LCD TV set normally come in sizes of 8” diagonal & go up to 46”. Pixels: The largest LCD sets on the market can provide 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (enough to display 1080i and 1080p, without scaling it to fit the pixel layout / screen / panel, but smaller models generally have to resize or scale down the video to match the screen. Plasma sets are similar to LCD’s in this category. Generally the larger the screen size - the more pixels. (Helpful note: The more pixels - the better). Watch out for these Pixel numbers: EDTV (Enhanced) sets have less pixels than HDTV models - yet both display High Definition Signals. The EDTV sets have to down-covert the signals to match the panel. Life expectancy: LCD sets are often cited as having the greater longevity of the two, but almost all newer model Plasma manufacturers are now stating that their sets will last for over two decades - or longer (depending on use). By that time, I’m sure something more intriguing will be on the market (maybe Video Mirrors (1/8” thin???). LETS GRADE THEM: (Bad, Good, Awesome) PLASMA: Contrast........................... Awesome Color................................ Awesome Picture Detail.................... Awesome Picture Uniformity............ Awesome Daylight Viewing............. Good Moving Objects............... Awesome Black Levels.................... Awesome LCD: Contrast........................... Good Color............................... Good Picture Detail.................. Awesome Picture Uniformity.......... Good Daylight Viewing........... Awesome Moving Objects.............. Good Black Levels................... Good Quote from our Head Engineer/ Owner (Dan B. Moore / ISF): “For now, I prefer the Plasma set. The deep black levels, the processing of moving objects and price vs. great video - makes me lean towards Plasma.” My email address is: dmoore@bghe.com May electronics enhance your lifestyle as it has mine! Dan B. Moore / ISF II, HAA II, EST, ESPM, ESD

2.	DLP vs. LCD Rear Projection	Top
	FACTS ABOUT THE TWO TECHNOLOGIES: Here are some ways to avoid or protect your DLP or LCD set. Make sure it has proper ventilation. In the back of these sets, they discard abundant heat from the lamp - by having proper ventilation, your lamp will last much longer. Also, bring the contrast down 20% or so. That will also help your lamp (bulb) last longer. Sizes: These come in a range from 42” diagonal to 80” (WOW). Generally you find them displayed in the most common sizes: 42, 46, 50, 52, 56, 61 & 65 inches diagonal. These sets are a lot slimmer than their predecessor - the RPTV- CRT), but still 13 to 22” deep. Pixels: Most DLP & LCD (RPTV - Rear Projection) sets have a native resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels, which matches the 720p HDTV format. A few newer DLP sets have more pixels and are more expensive - they have 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Then a few are adding a 'p’ to the 1080 and advertising it is a 1080p set. Even though there isn’t any such signal - 1080p, it helps them sell (more the better?). To find out more about the 1080p technology - you can email me at dmoore@bghe.com or log onto www.samsung/tv.com. Life expectancy: Both DLP & LCD set are designed to last the test of time. How they do this is by making the 'LAMP’ - replaceable. The RPTV - CRT’s, age over time and wear down the chemical in the guns (when this happens, the set isn’t worth fixing). Another benefit to DLP & LCD RPTV’s, is not only are they much thinner and much lighter, the LAMP are easily replaced (in most cases by the consumer). LAMPS in DLP and LCD RPTV’s usually last around 3 to 5 thousand hours and then give you a warning that it needs replaced. LETS GRADE THEM: (Bad, Good, Awesome) DLP: Contrast........................... Awesome Color............................... Awesome Picture Detail.................. Awesome Picture Uniformity.......... Good Daylight Viewing........... Good Moving Objects.............. Awesome Black Levels.................. Awesome LCD: Contrast......................... Good Color............................. Awesome Picture Detail................ Awesome Picture Uniformity........ Good Daylight Viewing......... Good Moving Objects............ Good Black Levels................. Good Quote from our Head Engineer/ Owner (Dan B. Moore / ISF): “Both models are great, but DLP is my favorite between the two. The black levels are close to film quality and most DLP’s have exceptional processing. You’ll find the DLP also easier to repair and with more variations to choose from.” My email address is: dmoore@bghe.com May electronics enhance your lifestyle as it has mine! Dan B. Moore / ISF II, HAA II, EST, ESPM, ESD

3.	I LIKE LCD – FINALLY! Posted : 2007-12-28	Top
	I have people asking me all the time – why don’t you like LCD? I have one & love it! Please realize that these articles are my way of telling those who read them, how I feel. To summarize how I feel… I like quality LCD TV’s but would still rather have a quality plasma TV set. My thoughts & ideas come from hands on experience since 1994, training, research & others in my ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) group who performed test & sent them to me. Our group isn’t trying to degrade manufacturers, yet simply run test & let those who don’t have the training or equipment – know the findings we came up with. The test speak for themselves. Over the past few years, we have seen CRT all but completely die. LCD’s go from being a decent TV set to being potentially a great TV set & plasma from being a very good TV set to a wonderful example of how HD & film should look. So in order to explain myself a little better, I want to explain how LCD & plasma TV’s have grown over the past few years. Hopefully you’ll see I have a great appreciation for both technologies when done. To begin, LCD is improving leaps & bounds. LED & refreshing twice as fast (120 Hz instead of 60 Hz at 24 frames per second) are two ways. Let me explain how these effect what we see when watching a LCD TV. LCD TV’s have been using fluorescent lights to produce video. We call this CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps). This CCFL is similar but not quite the same as the fluorescent lights we use in our homes & at work. These CCFL’s are a harsh – always on - yet steady source of light. From this point, the light travels through polarizing layer & a diffusion filter which helps the set produce a good source of light – equally dispersed across the screen (so not to have ‘Hot Spots’). Hot Spots are where area’s of the screen produce more light than others. Lastly, the light from the CCFL’s go through color filters and the LCD material. These LCD’s are designed to simply block light. Some sets do better than others, but none have done a very good job up to this point at least. Two major improvements have happened just recently (late 2007 – early 2008). The 1st big improvement is how LCD’s produce black levels. In the past, this has been a huge issue for those of us who watch a lot of movies/ film based video. When the lights in the room are at low levels, you really notice the dark scenes are grey – not black. This is due to light coming through the LCD panels. Now just to cover myself on this statement, some sets do a better job than others, but none have made it to the level that your quality plasma sets have made it to (at least at the time this is being written). Local dimming LED (Light Emitting Diodes) is a new technology which is helping LCD TV’s go to the next level in producing great blacks. How they do it is complicated but here is a summary. Local dimming LED’s can dim specific areas of the backlight while leaving area’s which need light alone. So the local dimming LED’s leave white areas of the picture alone while improving the black area’s so the contrast ratio is much higher than ever before. This technology also helps with saving energy. I’ll bet you our past Vice-President – Al Gore has one. (Ha, Ha?). To find out more about the LED technology, go to the July 2006 – GearWorks article (which can be found online as well). Now the problem I think we will see with Local dimming LED technology. How many of these Local dimming LED’s manufacturers will have in their sets. I think we will see entry level models use less than 100 of them & higher end models, well over 1000 of them. The Samsung model I saw at a local trade show was using 1380 of them & I thought I was seeing a high-end plasma. Great picture, contrast & color! WOW… is how I remember describing what I saw. So don’t be fooled when a manufacturer advertises they are using the Local dimming LED technology. It may not worth the price increase I’m sure they will tag the set with. Now for the 2nd improvement now being used in high-end LCD sets – 120 Hz refresh rates. Can this technology set LCD free from its motion deficiency? The primary problem for LCD’s sets in the past has been their black levels being grey & the blur when watching moving scenes. We addressed above the black level problem & now let’s take on the movement. blur problem. At the time this is being written, almost all LCD’s refresh at 60 Hz & 24 frames per second. A few higher-end models now offer what they say is a major improvement – which is doubling the refresh rate of 60 Hz to 120 Hz. Then allow you to turn on & off this feature. At 1st I wondered why allow end users the ability to deactivate something so great? So I decided to find out this simple question. What I did was to run a few test using a test pattern on my Sencore generator, the stadium scene on the movie ‘Gladiator’ – chapter 12 & a test pattern on Video Essentials with a moving ball with multiple circles (Snell & Wilcox). Since the technology will be offered in almost all LCD sets eventually (Sony, Philips, Sharp, Toshiba, Samsung, etc…) I won’t use the names of sets I tried this on. Now for my thoughts… BOO!!! Don’t like it! Not worth the extra price! Here is why: They fixed the blur problem for the most part, but then added a problem – artifacts! The quality signal I was hoping to see went down. What the sets did when the 120 Hz refresh rate was turned on – was add an interpolated frame. So they essentially create a new frame in the gap between each real frame to make the motion seem smoother. Thank God they allow us to turn the feature off. I am sure in the future, they will fix the problem. This is just a stepping stone for which they can use to move forward, but hopefully it won’t take too long to do so. Please remember to do your research before you purchase any product. It will save you a lot of future headaches. Please feel free to correspond to this and any other future articles by email or if you have a question that you feel should be listed on our 'Audio & Video Products - In Focus' please email me. My email address is: dmoore@bghe.com May electronics enhance your lifestyle as it has mine! Dan B. Moore / ISF II, HAA II, EST, ESPM, ESD