Posts Tagged ‘Understand’

LED TV – Don’t Be Fooled, Understand the Technology First

Thinking of buying an LED TV, well….Stop! Before you spend in excess of 00, you need to cut through the jargon and hype to truly understand the technology that you’re actually spending your hard earned money on. TV manufacturers and the media are very good at convincing us that the latest products incorporate the most cutting edge technology and are a must have. Lets get real here, to the average consumer most of this jargon is just down right confusing.

A new range of LED TVs that have hit the market with a big buzz. Samsung have crept through the backdoor and have released the 7000 series range boasting LED technology.

Led Lcd

That’s great…but what is this LED technology thats being boasted?

Current LED TVs – The Truth The term ‘LED’ stands for Light Emitting Diode and as you may well know LEDs are used in many of our devices at present, however in terms of the current line of LED TVs, the actual LEDs are used for the backlight of the TV ONLY and not the TV display themselves. If you consider that current TV technology uses CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorecent Lamps), there is no doubt that an LED backlight is a more efficient form of backlight.

However, the important point here is that the LED television’s display is actually LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), it is the backlight only that is made up of LEDs. So there are two major technologies at use here; LCD for the display and LED for the backlight. In essence a more advanced form of LCD TV.

When you compare this technology to a true LED display TV. Displays such as OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) will self illuminate, utilizing an internal thin layer of LED for its display only.

The fact that the ‘LED TV’ term has been used to describe a type of LCD TV is a cunning move on Samsungs part, but genius in terms of marketing, since it capitalises on the current buzz in the TV market of true LED display TVs such as Sony’s XEL-1 OLED TV.

LCD TVs with LED Backlights – The Improvements Now that we’ve established that this is LCD TV with an LED backlight, lets look at how this new range of TV improves on current TV technology such as plasma and standard LCD in 3 key areas:

1. Picture Quality Quite simply, the picture quality has been improved over standard LCD and Plasma, because the range of colours have increased. The utilization of Light Emitting Diodes as a light source instead of traditional lamps provides a higher contrast ratio because the LED produces blacker blacks and whiter whites, this is the key to achieving quality images on screen.

2. Environment LED Technology consumes less power than current backlight TV technology, making a saving on your energy bills.

3. Slimmer Models. Since no provision for a conventional light source is required, LED TVs can be made ultra thin, this makes for a thin, sleek, more attractive model.

Decisions, Decisions If you are in the market for a TV now and want a picture quality in advance of current standard LCD and Plasma ranges on the market, then you cannot go far wrong with an LED TV.

However, if you are in no hurray to purchase a television at this present time and require a TV with technology that will keep it at the forefront of cutting edge, in terms of LED technology, OLED TV is the real deal. Laser TV is another option to explore.

Both are emerging technologies and require patience as they find their place in the market with the correct size screens for your home. These TVs may also require you to dig a little deeper into your bank balance.

The moral of the story is to understand the technology behind the product in great detail before you part with your money, the choice is yours.

LED TV – Don’t Be Fooled, Understand the Technology First

Buying a Digital Camera? Understand the Basics and Find the Best Equipment For Your Needs

It seems like everyone has a digital camera these days and digital cameras have revived the art of photography as a hobby. As digital camera manufacturers improve equipment in quality and price, more people are embracing the benefits of digital photography and putting their film cameras on the shelf. If you’re looking to make the move to a digital understanding the basics of a digital camera can help guide you through understanding how the differences and similarities with film cameras can provide you with a digital camera that fits your needs.

My first digital camera has a 640 by 480 pixel resolution and saved images to floppy disks. It was a little clunky, but it worked well and I was happy with the results. Today, the quality of that camera would barely qualify as a web cam for some people. The technology curve continues to move along for digital cameras but today most digital cameras should be able to provide you with a simple “point and click” experience and provide enough resolution to print 4 by 6 inch prints that you’ll be happy to archive in a scrapbook.

Camera

The resolution of most digital cameras is measured today in “mega pixels.” This is a measure of the number of dots which are available to digitally describe the image as a computer file. A digital camera with a 3.1 mega pixel resolution is usually enough to produce pictures that look like a film print on a 4 by 6 print. Moving up to a digital camera with a 5.1 mega pixel resolution will provide a sharper image at the same print size. Can everyone tell the difference? No they can’t. When shopping for a camera, don’t be mesmerized by claims that you must have the very highest resolution to be happy with your digital pictures. Look at samples and select the camera that meets your price range and quality desires.

Generally, digital cameras with a resolution lower than 1 mega pixel are good for images you plan on emailing to people, or posting on the web, but the resolution is not high enough for quality prints. If you plan on making film-style prints of your pictures, you should make your minimum 3.1 mega pixels.

The next issue with digital cameras is how it gets the electricity it needs to function. Many cameras today use rechargeable batteries but some still use AA size batteries. If you plan on taking lots of pictures, a camera that uses disposable batteries can become a very expensive camera, but if the camera has a rechargeable battery with a short life between charges, you might find yourself without power when a great photo opportunity presents itself or you may be stuck buying an extra, and often expensive, rechargeable battery which is custom designed to only fit that specific camera. When you have made you short list of digital cameras meeting your quality requirements, be sure to compare battery life statistics from the manufacturer.

As with film cameras, most digital cameras have automatic settings that adjust to provide a “point and shoot” experience. Some cameras also have manual settings which mimic advanced film camera settings such as aperture and exposure. Digital cameras often have additional features which allow for special effects and even picture taking in very low light settings. These features may or may not be important to you in a digital camera. How often did you load black and white film in your film camera? Chances are these nice-to-have features are not a high priority for most digital camera owners.

Most of the digital cameras feature an LCD view screen. This lets you shoot the image perfectly and then to check it. and is probably one of the most appreciated features of a digital camera over a film camera. The LCD does use up electricity though and by turning your camera off when you are not shooting pictures will preserve battery life.

Most digital cameras use a removable memory card on which pictures are stored. If you have a computer with a built-in reader of a memory card, checking to see if the digital camera uses a compatible type of memory card can make it much easier for you to transfer images to your PC and reduce the expensive of a separate memory card reader. If your digital camera comes with a data transfer cable, keep in mind that the memory card readers are usually much faster and provide greater flexibility. It’s best to keep the data transfer cable in the box.

Overall, most digital camera manufacturers have done an excellent job in making the transition from film cameras to digital cameras a painless one. By knowing some small details about the minor differences, you should have no problem finding a digital camera that you will enjoy and use frequently.

Buying a Digital Camera? Understand the Basics and Find the Best Equipment For Your Needs