Home Entertainment & Automation Services in Matthews, NC.
Home Entertainment & Automation Services in Matthews, NC.
Home audio and Video Services in Matthews, NC.  TV installation, Surround Sound, Home Entertainment Systems
Are Plasma TVs Still Alive?

LG and Panasonic are trying to revive plasma displays.

CRT TVs. Laserdisc. VHS. Beta. CED (bet you have to look that one up).

All of these once represented a state-of-the-art technology, but have since made their way to that big home theater in the sky.

Many consumers think plasma displays also are dead, or are on their way out. But plasmas shouldn’t be relegated to the book-ends of the display market just yet, at least not as far as LG Electronics and Panasonic are concerned.

LG is releasing eight new plasmas, including its INFINIA line. Trying to kick the stereotype that plasmas are thick and heavy, the INFINIA series includes a 60-inch model that’s only 2-inches thick and only 95 pounds. These models will feature:

-LG NetCast for access to Internet streaming media like YouTube, Netflix, Pandora, and more
-“Wireless Media Hub” design that allows components, such as Blu-ray players, to be connected to a hub that wirelessly transmits the signal up to 90 feet
-THX certification
-Light-sensing automatic calibration
Panasonic will release more than 20 models, including four 3D-capable TVs that range from 50-65 inches. The 3D sets, which won both “Best In Television” and “Best In Show” at CES 2010, will include one pair of 3D glasses. Other features include THX certification, NeoPDP picture enhancements, and Viera Cast network streaming.

Plasma won’t take back the middle of the flat-panel TV market, but it will look to continue to be the meat of many high-end display lines and an important part of the push for 3D in the home.

by Stephen Hopkins

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/are_plasma_tvs_still_alive/

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Theater, Audio and Video Services, Home Automation  in North Carolina and South Carolina

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Top 10 Blu-ray Releases for February 23

Some two-fer releases and some good titles you may have missed in the theater highlight this week’s new Blu-rays.

Director Steven Soderbergh has a pretty good track history. So does actor Matt Damon. So how is it that so many people missed out on The Informant! when it was in the theaters?

Whistleblower movies are always entertaining and informative, and this one seems like it would make for good viewing. Maybe not as gritty as The Insider, but a good look at big business nonetheless. It’s based on a true story.

Another lesser-known screener is about a big-mouthed football manager – football as in soccer – in the demanding English Premier League. It’s called The Damned United, a dark comedy about the brief tenure of the manager of reigning champ Leeds United. Should be a must-see for sports fans, and with the screenplay by Peter Morgan, who also wrote The Queen and Frost/Nixon, it should be engaging for most viewers.

If it’s horror that you’re after, take a gander at George Romero’s The Crazies. Yup, same tale as the movie you’ve seen advertised on TV a bunch lately, except this is the original from the master zombie movie director, with stark grit as only early 1970s horror can provide.

Also this week several two-fer Blu-ray offerings will hit shelves. You can double-dip on Chevy Chase (Funny Farm/Spies Like Us), Harrison Ford (Presumed Innocent/Frantic), Sandra Bullock (Miss Congeniality and sequel), Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry/Magnum Force), De Niro/Crystal (Analyze This/Analyze That) and Grumpy and Grumpier Old Men.

For classical music fans, there are also a slew of classical and operatic releases this week for your listening pleasure.

 Here’s the full release schedule this week (listings and synopses courtesy of Blu-ray.com):
Analyze This/Analyze That
Birtwistle: The Minotaur
The Box
Cavalli: Ercole Amante
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
The Crazies
The Damned United
Dead Snow
Dirty Harry/Magnum Force
Funny Farm/Spies Like Us
Google Me
Grumpy Old Men/Grumpier Old Men
Ichi the Killer
The Informant!
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
Miss Congeniality/Miss Congeniality 2
Motherhood
Mozart: Don Giovanni
Neil Diamond: Hot August Night
Nurse Jackie: Season One
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
Presumed Innocent/Frantic
Rossini: Il Turco in Italia
Sorority Row
Schumann: Symphony No. 4 – Piano Concerto
Trailer Park Boys
The Universe: The Complete Season 4
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera
Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Wagner: Siegfried
Wrong Side of Town

by Arlen Schweiger

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/top_10_blu-ray_releases_for_february_23/

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Theater, Audio and Video Services, Home Automation  in North Carolina and South Carolina

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Say Goodbye to Analog Ports on Blu-ray Players

analog_sunsetAll high-definition video will be supplied through the HDMI connection on Blu-ray players.

The installation world is facing something of a paradigm shift with the upcoming “Analog Sunset,” referring to the phasing out of analog ports on Blu-ray players.

After December 31, 2010, manufacturers will not introduce new hardware with component video outputs supplying more than an SD resolution (480 or 576i).

If the manufacturer has existing models in its line-up, it will be able to continue selling that model until the end of 2013.

The idea is that all high-definition video will be supplied through the HDMI connection.

But that’s not the end of the story. After January 1, 2011, software manufacturers will be able to insert something called an Image Constraint Token into any Blu-ray disc. This bit of digital information will turn the high-definition component video output OFF the player(s).

This is true today for Blu-ray players, but it does not currently apply to other high-definition sources, including satellite and cable boxes.

Potential Fixes

This will clearly cause some discomfort for installers who have, in the past, avoided HDMI because of technical issues associated with the format. If the installer did not take into account the possibility of a change in format, they may be facing an unpleasant situation.

There are a number of potential remedies for installers who have component-only wiring in place. The first choice would be to deploy a set of baluns, which use either two or, later this year, one Category 5e or 6 wire to carry the HDMI signal. Essentially, these devices are either stand-alone boxes or wall plates, with RJ45 and HDMI jacks for connectivity.

Another alternative is wireless transmission of HDMI, with all the perils associated with wireless devices, including range, interference issues and cost.

Another choice is using five coaxial cables with a variation of the baluns.

Manufacturers are also exploring devices that will support HDMI over a network connection, over coaxial cable, and over power lines. Results may vary on the format and form factor you choose.

By Fred Harding

http://www.cepro.com/article/say_goodbye_to_analog_ports_on_blu_ray_players/

Custom Installation Services, LLC – Home Theater, Audio and Video Services, Home Automation  in North Carolina and South Carolina

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Custom Installation Services, LLC | P.O. Box 132 Matthews, NC 28106 | 704-400-8701 | dmiller@cis-nc.com
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