February Latest HDTVs striving to combine crystal clarity ... · Latest HDTVs striving to combine...

CYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK

CYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK

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CTHOMAS@CNPAPERS.COM(304)-348-1232

A flat-screen TV is, by allmeasures, an entertainmenteyeful. As an energy-saver,though, it can be downrightawful.

In fact, in what may be aharbinger of a nationwidemovement, the CaliforniaLegislature is addressingthe energy drain of flat-panel televisions by soonrestricting sales of high-power-usage models.

According to a Los AngelesTimes article published inearly January, California law-makers are drafting rulesthat will require Golden Stateretailers to sell only the mostenergy-efficient flat-screenTVs, beginning in 2011.

The guidelines are expect-ed to be passed in Sacra-mento by the middle of thisyear.

The article states furtherthat the overwhelmingmajority of the four million-plus televisions sold annual-ly are flat-screen models. Ofthose, LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) models use approxi-mately 43 percent more elec-tricity than theirconventional-tube counter-parts. Larger models con-sume more energy, andplasma TVs can use threetimes as much as energy asother TV sets. (In the pastcouple of years, manufactur-ers such as Panasonic andSamsung have introducedplasma TVs they say are 50percent more energy efficientthan their predecessors.)

Manufacturers, whole-salers and national electron-ics chains are dedicated tomaking and offering moreenergy-efficient models asquickly as possible, but mostdecry the legislative impera-tive being proposed in Cali-fornia. While they applaudthe spirit of reducing energy

consumption, they feelmandatory energy-efficiencyrequirements would severelycut into retailers’ sales.

Local HDTV dealer JerrySodaro, vice president ofSodaro’s Electronic Sales onCharleston’s West Side, said,“A lot of the units we sellhave Energy Star ratings.The brands we have had forthe past couple of years havepredominately had EnergyStar labels on them.”

In the meantime,Cnet.com offers the follow-ing suggestions to let youcurb your energy costs with-out sacrificing that fantasticflat-screen quality:

• Turn your TV offwhen it’s not being used

While you might initiallyfile this tip under “well,duh!”, it’s worth cultivating

as a money- and energy-sav-ing habit.

• Turn off the QuickStart option

Many HDTVs have aQuick Start or similaroption, which makes the setturn on more quickly afterpressing the power button.For that speed, however,you’re apt to draw up to 50times as much energy. A lit-tle patience will pay off inyour power bill total.

• Turn down the LCD’sbacklight

Many LCD models allowyou to control the intensityof the backlight in the TV.Turning down the backlightnot only reduces power con-sumption, but also makesthe TV image less bright,generally resulting in betterimage quality.

• Turn on the power-saver mode

Many recent HDTV mod-els have a power-saver modespecifically to reduce energyconsumption.

• Reduce light outputwith other settings

Changing your TV’s pic-ture settings can behooveboth picture quality andpower savings. You can enlista professional installer tocalibrate the settings or,through some Internetresearch, find instructionsfor your particular model.

According to the ImagingScience Foundation, whichprovides professional cali-bration services, calibrationscan save 30 to 50 percent ofenergy consumption.

• Control room lightingIf you don’t like the notion

of making your flat-screenTV’s images less bright justto save some bucks, anoption is to control the lightin your home theater room.

• Buy a smaller screenA smaller set will usually

reduce your power con-sumption.

• Watch TV togetherSharing is caring and

cost-cutting. Be sociable.Jointly occupy the sofasand watch shows together.Having a TV in every roomis a luxury and a conven-ience, but it’s also an energyburden.

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BByy CClliinntt TThhoommaassCTHOMAS@CNPAPERS.COM

(304)-348-1232

Last year lookedextremely promising forBlu-ray as the undisputedsuccessor to standardDVD players.

Blu-ray player priceswent down significantly in2008, to $200 or less forsome models. A recentNew York Times articlequoted a Consumer Elec-tronics Association sourcewho predicted that NorthAmerican consumers willspend $1.3 billion on Blu-ray players this year.

At Sodaro’s ElectronicSales on West WashingtonStreet in Charleston, com-pany Vice President JerrySodaro said the Blu-rayplayers’ popularity haskept them short-lived ontheir shelves.

“We have a pretty shortsupply now; we’ve beenselling a lot of them,”Sodaro said. “We’re soldout of some of them.”

However, Blu-ray isfinding its seeminglyprized, top-of-the-heapstatus assailed by thelikes of companies such asApple and Netflix. Theyand other digital-mediaoutlets are enabling con-sumers to directly down-

load high-definitionmovies and shows to theirtelevisions and home com-puters, circumventing aseparate DVD player foran attached box.

In 2007, Netflix institut-ed its “Watch It Now” fea-ture, while Amazon.comhas promoted its Unboxvideo download service.

Earlier this year, LGElectronics announced itsplans to manufacture anew line of high-definitiontelevisions that will connectdirectly to the Internet,requiring no set-top box. Assuch, the televisions will becapable of playing TVshows and movies fromonline video-on-demandservices such as Netflix.

Blu-ray format faces Internetdigital-download challengers

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BCALWELL@CNPAPERS.COM348-5188

As digital camera technol-ogy continues to advance,digital photo frames arekeeping pace with a few oftheir own high-tech bellsand whistles.

A digital picture frame isan LCD screen in the formof a photo frame that dis-plays pictures from digitalcameras. By inserting thecamera’s memory card intothe frame, the pictures aredownloaded to the frame fordisplay. Many frames alsohave USB ports that allowthem to be connected to com-puters.

Photos can be displayed asslideshows, or they can beset to show just one image.

But these days, digitalframes do much more. Theycan have Web browsers,streaming Internet radioand text news feeds.

Some come with dedicatede-mail addresses and WiFicapability so that picturescan be beamed to the frame.

According to John Merrill,owner of Merrill Photo Sup-ply in Charleston, digitalframes were introducedabout a year or two afterdigital cameras came on themarket.

“At first, they were verysmall and expensive, andthe number of pictures youcould download on them waslimited,” Merrill said.

Most of the early digitalframes were 4-inches-by-6-inches.

“They’re bigger now, and

the quality is better andthey have remote controlcapability, which they didn’thave initially,” he said.

Merrill said the averageprice of a good digital photoframe would be in the $100range.

“For us, it’s somewhat of alimited market. It’s more ofa gift-giving type thing.”

As the demand for filmcontinues to diminish, digi-tal frames are a popularoption to showcase digitalphotos.

“Digital is king today. It’samazing how fast the mar-ket adapted to it,” he said.

Merrill Photo sells Pro-master brand digital photoframes, but there are manyother manufacturers of digi-tal frames.

The Kodak EasyShare

EX811 is a Wi-Fi-enabledframe. It has 128 megabytesof onboard memory and aheadphone jack.

According to experts, agood digital frame shouldhave a resolution of no lessthan 640 by 480 pixels. Lesspixel resolution than thatand the photos will not lookgood.

Another thing to consideris the frame’s “aspect ratio,”or relationship betweenwidth and length.

According to PC Magazine,most frames come in either4:3 or 15:9 ratios. Mostpoint-and-shoot digital cam-eras capture photos in the4:3 aspect ratio. Frameswith the wider 15:9 ratiowill require that the image

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Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of theSenate Commerce Commit-tee, is among the officialswho have drafted bills andotherwise advocated recent-ly to move the deadline forDTV transition from Feb.17 to possibly June 12.

Also in January, Presi-dent Barack Obama’s tran-sition team urged theHouse Energy & Commerceand Senate Commerce com-mittees to approve legisla-tion to delay the Feb. 17change.

Obama transition teamco-chairman John Podestatold the committees thatpoor planning has left con-sumers, especially low-income, rural, disabled andelderly ones, “vulnerable.”Moreover, he said, millionsof Americans would nothave received their analog-to-DTV converter boxcoupons by Feb. 17.

“We respectfully reiteratethat only legislation thatincludes a delay of limitedand specific duration willprovide Congress and thenew administration a real-istic opportunity to resusci-tate and modify the coupon

program,” Podesta wrote inhis appeal to Congress.

On Feb. 17, all full-powerbroadcast television sta-tions in the United Statesare required to discontinuebroadcasting on analog air-waves and begin broadcast-ing only in digital. Digitalbroadcasting permits sta-tions to offer improved pic-ture and sound quality andadditional channels, butthose TV owners withoutdigital tuners or converterboxes would lose theirtransmissions. Consumerswith cable or satellite TVare already prepared for theswitch-over, but approxi-mately 15 percent of theAmerican population watch-es analog TV and wouldrequire the converter box.

In December, NielsenMedia Research estimatedthat 7.8 million Americanhouseholds were not readyfor the analog-to-digitaltransmission switch.

A government program toprovide $40 coupons to par-tially subsidize the pur-chase of converter boxes hasnot kept pace with demand,prompting the conversionextension requests.

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UUnniivveerrssaall mmoouunnttss ccaann hheellpp wwiitthh hhoommee tthheeaatteerr ccoommppoonneennttss(ARA) - If you'd rather

watch movies at home thango to the theater, you're notalone. About 73 percent ofyour fellow movie-loversfeel the same, according toone Associated Press-AOLpoll. The majority ofrespondents said theywould rather watchmovies at home, citingcrowds, uncomfortableseats, expensive ticketsand costly concessionsamong the aggravations of

going out to the movies.If the idea of having your

own home theater isappealing, you don't haveto pay pros to do the job foryou. You can enjoy a hometheater experience withoutthe expense of professionalinstallation by doing ityourself.

Proper mounting of allcomponents of your hometheater system is impor-tant for both aesthetics andsafety.

If you've purchased aprojector, a ceiling mountwill give you the best the-ater experience. Sanus Sys-tems, a leadingmanufacturer of mounts foraudio-visual components,makes a universal projectorceiling mount simpleenough to be installed bythe average do-it-yourselfer.

If you've opted for a flat-screen TV, Sanus alsomakes a variety of TVmounts that will allow you

to put the screen on thewall and angle it to meetyour needs.

Audio components likespeakers also perform bestwhen wall mounted. Andyou'll want to consider plac-ing components like theDVD player and satellitereceiver on the wall too.

Visit www.sanus.com tosee the range of mountsavailable for all compo-nents of home theatersystems.

CHARLESTON • BECKLEY • CHAPMANVILLE

PHYSICIANS,INC.

AUDIOLOGISTSLisa A. Papa, M.S., CCC-A

Mary-Sue Manahan, M.A., CCC-AJanet D. Lauerman, M.A., CCC-A

PHYSICIANSR. Austin Wallace, M.D.Robert E. Pollard, M.D.

Michael S. Beasley, M.D.

EYE & EAR CLINIC PHYSICIANS, INC.

CALL ONE OF OUR CERTIFIED, LICENSED AUDIOLOGISTS304-353-0294 or 1-800-642-3049 ext.294

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