Computers & Electronics: October 2012

Sunday, October 21, 2012

How to connect Set Top Box Receiver to your Home Theatre System and then to the TV using two HDMI cables

HDMI cables deliver excellent video, audio, picture, movie and overall quality. Although these cables are quiet expensive, they are worth the price (in my opinion). Using two HDMI cables, and with the help of photos, I will show you step by step procedure and easy to follow instructions on How to connect your Set Top Box Receiver (from Provider company) to your Home Theatre system then finally to your TV.

Procedure:

1-Connect the first HDMI cable to the HDMI OUT of the Set Top Box Receiver

2-Connect the other end of the first HDMI cable to the HDMI IN of the Home Theatre system

3-Connect the 2nd HDMI cable to the HDMI OUT of the Home Theatre system

4-Connect the other end of the 2nd HDMI cable to the HDMI1/DVI IN of your TV

5-Select the source, using the remote, on your Home Theatre as HDMI IN

6-Using the TV remote, select HDMI1-DVI to setup the TV to display the output from the Set top box receiver and begin viewing and ENJOYING!

How to play videos, hear music & view photos from smartphone to TV using your TV's USB port

Ok, you have a smartphone that has a videos, music, and photos stored inside your phone's storage or SD memory card but now you want a better and louder sound quality, you want to play, watch, and see your videos on a larger TV screen, and you want to view your pictures bigger using a big, flat screen HDTV. Without using Wi-fi or Bluetooth wireless technology and using only the wire that came when you bought the smartphone (this wire is also being used for charging your phone and transferring media and files to your laptop or desktop computer), I will show you simple to follow step by step instructions and procedure on

How to play videos, hear music & view photos from smartphone to TV using your TV's USB port:
1. Turn on your TV.
2. Using the TV's remote, press Content button.
3. Three options will be available: Watch TV, Source, My Contents.
4. Based on the three options, there are two possible ways (Source & My Contents), now, let's use the Source first.
5. Press the Right [ > ] navigation arrow key and go to Source.
6. Scroll down the menu to USB.
7. Plug your smartphone to the USB port of the TV using the USB wire used also to charge your phone.
8. Select USB Mass Storage.
9. Press OK to connect the smartphone's mass storage to the TV.
10. On the TV, under the USB menu: Videos, Photos, and Music will be available.
11. Find the video, music or picture file you want to play or see.

---
4a. Using My Contents option, under Videos, go to DCIM folder then to Camera and find the video file to play.
4b. Using My Contents option, under Photos, go to DCIM folder then to Camera and find the picture file to view.
4c. Using My Contents option, under Music, go to the folder where the music or audio file is stored and select it to hear.

Note: This procedure is based on a modern Samsung LED 1080p HDTV and Samsung Galaxy Fascinate smartphone.

Television Technology: History, Development, Improvement, Innovation, and Advances of TV technologies

Everyday around the world, there's always an improvement or a new invention of new technology. On a broader scope, in the field of electronics, advances in technology is very fast paced. This article however will focus on television (TV). As I am writing this topic on TVs, the currently latest mass produced model of televisions are the 3D Cinema TV which features 1080p, LED, 3D TV with free 4 glasses much like the glasses on a movie theatre. Plasma HDTVs are also mass produced with higher frequencies which are very good when watching fast motion shows such as those in sports channnel. Generally, LED and LCD models will save you money in your electric bills as compared to plasma TVs. Home Theatre System packages usually come with the sale of TVs to boost the sound system with a surround sound effect to simulate the theater-like sound quality.

I will start the history of television with the invention of the technologies back then which proved to be essential to the cutting edge and state of the art technology that we have as of today.

Conversion and Transmission of Still Images (1862-73)
Still images from a camera was converted into electronic signals and transmitted via wires

Description and Theory of Vacuum Tube and Sound Transmission (1870-80)
Vacuum tubes are described and the theory about the transmission of still images and sound signals over distances by means of telephone devices

Mechanical and Electronic TV models (1884-1900)
Images were sent via wires with the invention of the Rotating Metal Disk technology having 18 lines of resolution. The electronic tv model is also further developed using the cathode ray tube

Early Black and White Mechanical and Electronic TVs (1906-1925)
Invention of the first mechanical TVs and electronic televisions. Vacuum tubes were used to amplify the signal then send the signal over wires. On the receiving side, scanning methods were developed in order to reproduce the signal being sent and display the images back again.

First successful Color Television (1928)
Color television was patented as early as 1897 but the invention of the first successful color tv with color transmission over wires was not until 1928

TV broadcasts and TV commercials start (early 1930s)
Broadcasting of TV commercials, regular TV station broadcasts and television programs

Development and use of Coaxial cables (1936)
Co-axial cables were first used to transmit over distances the television, telephone, and data signals.

Broadcasting in Color (1938)
The first successful color broadcast was seen on 1938

Cable television introduced (1948)
Cable television brought TV broadcasts and programs to remote areas

Satellite TV broadcasting (1962)
TV broadcasting using satellite was first introduced by the AT&T company

Apollo 11 Moon Landing seen on TV (1969)
Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first to land on the surface of the Moon through Apollo 11 on 1969. The first human moon landing was broadcast on TV and watched by over half a billion people

Solid state electronics (early 1970s)
Solid-state electronics technology replaced the vacuum tubes that are used in colored TVs

Betamax from Sony (1975)
Sony, a Japanese company and a world-leader in the manufacture of electronics, released the Betamax on 1975

VHS video recorder (1976)
VHS was introduced in Japan by JVC electronic company

TV with electronic remote control (1980s)
TV with a standard remote control introduced to commercial tv sets

First LCD TV sets (1988)
The first generation of LCD TVs with good resolution were developed in 1988 and introduced into the commercial tv market

Development of digital TV (1990s)
Further improvement in the television industry began with the development of digital TVs.

DVD quality video format (1995)
The DVD was invented and developed by leading electronics companies. DVD provides a better quality audio and video media format with better picture and sound quality details

Rise of LCD and Plasma HDTV Flat Panel displays (early 2000s)
Plasma and LCD HDTV flat screen TVs battle for supremacy

LED TV (2008)
LED-backlight LCD television or simply LED TV begins to be popular because it is thinner, cooler in operation, better contrast ratio, brighter display and resolution, more vivid and crisp colors, and best of all is the low power consumption which means lesser electric bills for watching TVs.

Blu-ray better than HD DVD (2008)
Blu-ray disc formats proved to be better in High-definition video (1080p) and High-definition audio than HD DVD formats

Blu-ray 3D (2009)
3D Blu-ray is developed for 3D movies and films as well as 3D Televisions and programming

3D TV (2010-present, as of my writing)
3D TVs begin to be popular and most awaited to be mass produced. The first 3D TVs use glasses with wires connected to a charger. A better technology called Cinema 3D is introduced and allows the viewer to just use glasses without a charger similar to those used in 3D movie theatres. The next technology which also I am eagerly waiting for is a 3D TV without glasses at all. This technology is already available and is in fact used in portable gaming platform consoles such as Nintendo 3DS which is able to display 3D graphics with NO glasses necessary.

Friday, October 5, 2012

LCD TV vs. PLASMA TV: advantages and disadvantages

This post will cover the advantages and disadvantages of LCD TV, PLASMA TV, LED TV and 3D TV. These information will serve as your TV buying guide - facts and features you should know before you buy TV.

The comparison below between LCD TV & PLASMA TV shows the major advantages and disadvantages, key information and guide in helping you to make the right choice in buying your television set for your office, school, gym, home entertainment system or any other commercial establishments like restaurants, shopping malls, video gaming centers, saloons, etc.

PLASMA HDTV

advantages:

- more clarity (quality) of picture even when viewed on the side or at an angle
- cheaper in price compared to LCD TV of the same screen size
- large screen sizes can be manufactured commercially
- contrast can be adjusted in a wider range
- less motion lag for rapid moving images
- better performance for fast-moving video playback
- response time is shorter
- motion blur is minimal
- better performance than LCD TV for larger screen sizes
- Plasma TVs are better for displaying deep blacks

disadvantages:
- does not offer better resolution compared to LCD TV
- pictures are not so clear under bright conditions
- screen-burn caused by static or stationary images like the channel logo
- excessive heat generation
- more power is required for operation of component parts
- radiation is emitted from the screen
- reduced performance when mounted on high elevations
- shorter life span
- image brightness range is narrower
- heavier in weight with respect to screen size
- less recommended for playing video games
- less recommended when used as computer monitors
- a buzzing noisy sound is generated at lower air pressure conditions
- power consumption is higher than LCD tv

LCD HDTV - (Liquid Crystal Display, High Definition) TV

advantages:

- colors of images look more realistic
- LCD's are better under brighter conditions because of anti-glare technology
- better performance than Plasmas for smaller screen sizes
- no burn-in from stationary or static images like channel logos
- power requirement is less
- less heat is generated
- no radiation emission from the screen
- satisfactory performance even when mounted at higher altitudes
- longer life span
- brightness range is wider
- lighter in weight with respect to screen size
- more experienced video gamers recommends using LCD TV's instead of Plasma TV's
- can be used as a computer monitor
- images appear with greater resolution
- LCD TVs are not affected by the increase or decrease in air pressure
- savings in your electricity bills because of lower power consumption

disadvantages:

- less picture clarity (quality) when viewed on the side or at an angle
- prices are more expensive compared to Plasma TV of the same size
- motion delay (lag) for fast moving images
- contrast adjustment is narrower in range
- pixel (dot) burns on the screen
- response time is longer
- motion blur is noticeable
- backlight dims as the LCD TV ages

What is a LED TV?LED TVs are a type of LCD TV having light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source for backlighting as opposed to the more common LCD TVs on the market which use fluorescent lamps as light source for illumination in displaying an image.

Benefits of LED TV:

- slim
- thinner housings
- lighter in weight
- wider color range
- better dynamic contrast
- sharper images
- higher brightness
- deeper blacks
- longer life
- lesser heat generated
- lesser time to power on and off
- lower power consumption
- savings in your electric bills
- more energy efficient
- more environmentally friendly

Major disadvantages:
- more expensive
- sound quality sacrificed over slimness

3D HDTV LED and Plasma

Major advantages 3D TV:    - supports Internet TV
    - internet applications available
    - "real, true to life" viewing experience
    - multi-view capture representation
    - images and videos viewed in three dimensions
    - more natural and realistic feel of viewing
    - slim body and thinner housings
    - wider color range
    - better dynamic contrast
    - sharper images
    - faster refresh rate
    - four or more HDMI ports
    - state-of-the-art technology is implemented

Major disadvantages of 3D TV:
    - costly (pay the price of today's technology)
    - some requires special 3D lenses (which is sometimes not included in the price, and you have to buy it separately)
    - some requires 3D projectors which are pricy and expensive
    - some require sync units to synchronize the 3D images generated
    - some require special 3d transmitters and glasses
    - some require active shutter glasses (requires batteries)
    - some models have a flickering light effect
    - in some models, viewers are restricted only to a certain angle and distance, which of course would be unfair (in the sense that 3D images or videos don't look good if viewed at a different angle and distance) to some viewers in a home theatre system which have many family members and visitors (viewers).

Which TV is better for me?
Bottom line is......Which TV should you buy? Which television is the right one for you?

The answer is up to you, the buyer.

You know your room lighting and air pressure conditions, the applications where you want to use your Tv for, the dimensions and space requirements or limitations of your office, bedroom or living room, the price depending on your allowed budget, the length of time (life span) you are expecting from the Television set, power consumption (electric bills), health and safety issues (like radiation, etc.), and a lot more preferences that can only be determined by you, the buyer.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Friday, October 5, 2012

See also:

ELECTRONICS:

TV:

SMARTPHONES:

COMPUTERS:

COMPUTER NETWORK:

INTERNET:

MICROSOFT WORD & EXCEL:

WINDOWS: