Posts Tagged ‘Screen’

2010 After Christmas Sales at Best Buy – LCD Flat Screen TV Deals Determined By Shoppers This Year

As Thanksgiving is just around the corner and many Americans are already thinking about Christmas holiday shopping it is also the case that some thrifty holiday shoppers are thinking about 2010 after Christmas sales at Best Buy. It is very important to understand how after Christmas sales work before being able to find the lowest price deals at retailers throughout the country. When looking for an LCD flat screen TV it is likely going to be the case that shoppers determine just how many sales and deals are available starting December 26, 2010.

When major retailers like Best Buy decide to make purchases for big-ticket items such as HDTV’s it tends to be the case that they order up a few more TVs than they would expect to sell. It is better to be safe than sorry so they will make certain that all the customers will have the TV they desire even if it means that they have to hold even more in inventory. It tends to be the case that some TVs do not sell as well as others and if there is then a heavy order shipment for this type of TV then it will have to be marked down greatly and sometimes even before Christmas.

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If the TV does not sell very well there is a very good possibility that customers will see great after Christmas sales and deals related to this item. By simply going into a Best Buy or any other major retailer during the last few days of the Christmas holiday shopping season you can pretty much guess which type of TVs will be available during the after Christmas sales. If there are only a few TVs left from a specific brand then it is highly unlikely that that specific product will be marked down after the Christmas holiday shopping season has ended.

Armed with this knowledge it is very important to go out and about during December 23rd, 24th and 25th to see what inventory is available at local retailers. Some people live in an area in which there are several Best Buy locations. By simply driving around and checking these locations you will be able to determine which location will have the best after Christmas sales when it comes to HD LCD TVs. This can help you determine just which store to shop at early in the morning on December 26, 2010. It could also help to save a great amount of money when it comes to making this purchase.

2010 After Christmas Sales at Best Buy – LCD Flat Screen TV Deals Determined By Shoppers This Year

How to choose the best Flat screen TV

Choosing the right technology

Plasma and LCD TVs look the same, but they are not. Some features or options don’t differ a lot, but these are the major differences:

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Size

If you arfe looking for an extra large TV, go for a plasma. Plasma TVs are the current size champions, particularly when comparing TVs that consumers can easily purchase. LCDs are catching up in size with their developing technology, however, and may surpass Plasmas in the near future. This may be due to difficulties in producing glass large enough for larger plasmas.

Burn-ins

With the latest plasma technology, this is less of an issue than ever before. The Pixel Orbitor, for example, is a method of reducing burn-in used by plasma manufacturers. It requires no additional programing from the end user as some older burn-in prevention techniques did.

Note: If you plan to use a plasma for gaming, some games with permanent ‘dashboards’ may still cause some burn-in. If you will be using the television for display use only, go for an LCD. Plasmas are more likely to get burned-in pixels.

Miscellaneous

- LCD TVs are far less fragile than plasmas. This is also an advantage when the tv set has to be shipped or moved to a different location.

- LCD TVs are also much easier to install than plasma TVs.

- LCD TVs have a better performance at high altitudes.

- LCD TVs are often cheaper than plasma TVs. The difference in pricing is getting smaller, however.

Ofcourse, all this information is available all over the web. For a detailed comparison sheet, I recommend using Wikipedia’s comparison sheet.

Flat Screen TV comparison, don’t get it wrong

If you have made a choice between plasma and LCD (I’ll name it Flat screen TV from now on), you can pick a TV of your choice. Flat screen TV comparison will able you to find out exactly what you want and what’ll fit the budget.

Brands

The following brands are being considered as the best manufacturers of Flat screen TVs:

- Hitachi

- Panasonic

- Philips

- Pioneer

- Samsung

If you are looking for a product with outstanding quality, we recommend choosing one of these brands.

Features

Different Flat screen TVs have different features. Most of these features look the same, but there are a couple of unique features as well:

- Ambilight

- HD ready or not?

- Picture in Picture

There are lots of comparison website available, but you will have to know how to use them. Filter the models by brand, price and features and the choice will be a lot easier.

How to choose the best Flat screen TV

How to Clean Your LCD TV screen

* Easily Scratched!

First we have to understand a little bit of background about LCD screens to know why we should be careful when cleaning. LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display; which has crystal molecules sandwiched under layers of polarized panels. These panels are usually made of “plastic-like” polymer materials, and like any plastics they can be easily scratched or gouged, even by just your fingernails! That’s why cleaning LCDs requires special care while cleaning compared to the old glass CRT monitors!

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* What You’ll Need

- rubbing alcohol (aka isopropyl alcohol)

- distilled water (not tap water!)

- A soft cloth (lint-free)

* Steps

1. Dilute the rubbing alcohol into a mix with about 50% alcohol and the rest distilled water.

2. Pour this solution into a spray bottle. Old Windex bottles are good as they spray in a mist pattern with just the right amount to get good coverage on your screen. The spray bottles that squirt a single stream tend to drip solution all over the place.

3. Spray the mix onto a soft lint-free cloth. Old t-shirts and microfiber car wash cloths are both good choices. Large cloths are better since it helps to reduce the risk of leaving streaks on the screen from too much pressure.

4. Gently wipe the cloth on the screen in a circular consistent motion. Apply even pressure to the cloth and be careful not to push too hard, or scrape the screen with your fingernails!

* Suggestions

- Costly products that you buy at the “computer screen cleaning” aisle of your local computer store contain the same basic ingredients of alcohol and water! Some even contain other harmful chemicals such as ethylene glycol, which may be ok on older glass CRT monitors, but should NOT be used on LCD screens! Some of the extra chemicals can also be harmful to the environment and to your health.

- Be sure to use Mineral water! Not tap water; you don’t want hard mineral spots on your screen.

- Don’t use tissue paper; they will leave lint and spots of paper stuck to your monitor. Also they’re too thin, risking damage from your fingernails poking through.

- Don’t apply too much solution. If you do, just wipe it off with the cloth and use less.

- You can also use lint-free lens wipes from photography stores, but they’re thinner so be careful about your fingernails poking through.

- For a cheap ready-made solution from the store, you can also use CD/DVD cleaner, It’s already designed to be plastic-safe, and is a simple solution of about 50% isopropyl alcohol.

* Some Precautions

- Don’t use Windex or other glass cleaners! These contain ammonia, which is ok for glass, but WILL hurt your LCD screen!

- Try not to use the really cheap paper towels, like the tough brown ones in public washrooms. They can scratch your screen.

- Be sure to shut down your computer and your monitor, then unplug from the wall. This reduces the risk of electric damage in case you spill some of the solution on components.

- Don’t drink isopropyl alcohol! It’s toxic!

- If you aren’t sure, you can test a small corner of the screen first.

Follow the steps and suggestions above, and your trusty LCD monitor should give you years of clean, clear, trouble-free service.

How to Clean Your LCD TV screen

Plasma Vs LCD TV – Glare, Response Time, and Screen Size

You want to buy a flat screen TV and you are not being able to decide whether to go for Plasma vs LCD TV. At the very first instance, you should know that the question of burn-in is not a problem as it was before with Plasma TVs. It could be said that it is not as bad as it was with the older Plasma TV models. In order that you may decide on which type of TV you are going to buy, there are three questions which you need to answer. Few guidelines are presented below.

Reflections and Glare from the Screen

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The first question is if the room where you going to watch the TV is well lit or dark. This brings up the question of ambient light. The light in the room is one of the most important factors in choosing Plasma vs LCD TV or the other way around. The quality of images in a Plasma TV lowers as the amount of ambient light in the room increases. LCD TVs generally perform better in a well lit room when compared to plasma TVs.

Plasma and LCD TV offer different picture quality, and depends on the amount of ambient light present in the room. A Plasma TV offers a better quality of the images in a low ambient light environment. A much better picture quality is offered by Plasma TV in a dark room, having a better contrast ratio, and dark black levels in comparison to a LCD TV. If you watch a Plasma TV in a well lit room, the picture would look dimmer than what you will find in a LCD TV. This is mainly due to the glare and reflections from the ambient light.

But this slight problem in Plasma TVs has been somewhat taken care of. With anti-glare screen being used in some of the best Plasma TVs, the effect of ambient light on image quality has been greatly reduced. The screen in a Plasma TV is made of glass, and a special treatment to that glass panel makes the screen to resist glare and reflections from lights. The anti-glare treatment given to the glass screen lowers the reflectivity of the glass to a great extent. When watching the TV in a dimly lit room, you do not get the surrounding lights reflected from the screen of your Plasma TV on to your eyes. If you intend to watch TV with the room lights on, it is a good idea to buy a Plasma TV with anti-glare coating. The top Plasma TVs available in the market today use anti-glare screens for the purpose to reduce reflections from the ambient light in the room.

Plasma vs LCD TV Response Time

Generally speaking if you are watching content with high speed scenes a plasma TV will offer an advantage versus LCD TV. This is because its response time is lower. This puts the Plasma TV right on top for sports, and games. If you watch fast moving scenes as sports on a LCD TV, you will see a blur around the edges of the moving objects. Note however that if you use to play games a lot of time, a plasma TV is not such a great idea because of it’s susceptibility to burn-in. There are LCD TVs on the market now with fast response time, and one could get a model with response time of 5ms or lower. You just have to keep in mind that if crisp picture is important for you, a low response time (high refresh rate) is a feature you should be looking for.

Screen Size

If you like a large flat panel, Plasma TV offers a slight price advantage over LCD TVs. Also, presently there are no Plasma TVs in the market below 42 inches, but it is likely that we will soon see Plasma TVs with 32 inch screen size. So basically if you want a small HDTV your only option is an LCD TV.

Plasma Vs LCD TV – Glare, Response Time, and Screen Size