LCD TV Projector Monitor

LCD TV Projector, Flat Screen Plasma Monitor

Lcd vs Plasma

LCD v DLP projectors
by Kenny Hemphill


If you've been thinking about buying a home theater projector and read reviews or done a little bit of research, you'll be aware that there are two technologies competing for the contents of your wallet.

Both LCD and DLP are used in projectors suitable for home theaters, but they work in quite different ways and produce slightly different results. If you ask around - particularly in electronics stores, you're likely to be provided with a mass of information that's confusing and often just plain wrong. So here, in an effort to clear the fog surrounding projectors, is our guide to LCD v DLP.

LCD

LCD projectors have three separate LCD panels, one for red, one for green, and one for blue components of the image being processed by the projector. As light passess through the LCD panels, individual pixels (or picture elements) can be either opened or closed to either allow light to pass through or be filtered out. In this way the light is modulated and an image projected on to the screen.

LCD projectors have historically had three main advantages over DLP. They produce more accurate colors (due to the three separate LCD panels), they produce a slightly sharper image (although this is as good as undetectable when watching movies) and they are more light-efficient, which means they produce brighter images using less power.

However, LCD projectors also have some disadvantages, although as the technology improves these are becoming less and less relevant. The first of these is pixelation, or what's known as the screen door effect. This means that sometimes you can see the individual pixels and it looks as though you are viewing the image through a 'screendoor.' The second historic disadvantage of LCD v DLP is that LCD doesn't produce absolute black, which means that contrast is less than you would get with DLP.

However, the advent of higher resoltion LCD projectors (particularly 'HD-ready' projectors which have a horizontal resolution of 768 pixels or greater) means that pixelation is less of a problem than it used to be. And the improved ability of LCDs to produce high-contrast images is also allowing them to be taken more seriously by home theater enthusiasts.

DLP

Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a technology developed by Texas Instruments and it works by projecting light from the projector's lamp onto a DLP chip, made up of thousands of tiny mirrors. Each mirror represents a single pixel and directs the light projected onto it either into the lens path to turn the pixel on or away from it to turn it off. Most DLP projectors have only one chip, so in order to reproduce color, a color wheel consisting of red, green, blue and sometimes, white filters is used. The wheel spins between the lamp and the chip and changes the color of the light hitting the chip from red, to green, blue. Each mirror on the DLP chip tilts towards or away from the lens path depending on how much of a particular colour light is required for that pixel at any given instant.

The key advantages DLP has in the LCD v DLP debate is that DLP projectors tend to be smaller and lighter, have better contrast, and don't suffer the same pixelation problems as LCD projectors. There is one problem that some users report with DLP projectors, although it appears to only affect a very small number of people. Because of the way DLP works, at any given instant, the image on screen is either red, green, or blue. However, the images change so quickly, that the human eye doesn't detect this and your brain puts the red, green and blue images together to make a complete frame of video. Unfortunately, some people can see the individual colours, and others can detect them enough to cause eye-strain and headaches. However, technology has improved significantly with the introduction of six-color wheels and faster rotation speeds. The rainbow effect should be a problem for even fewer people. The best way to find out if you're affected is to try out a DLP projector, perhaps by hiring one, before you buy.

Technology in both LCD and DLP projectors is improving all the time. However, at the time of writing DLP still has a slight edge in the home theater market.


About the Author
Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner



Office Organization: How to Use the Tool Professional Organizers Love by Karen Fritscher-Porter


Many professional organizers don't leave either home or office without one tool. What is it? Drum roll please…

…The answer is a labelmaker. "Most organizers favorite tool is the electronic labelmaker," confirms Diane Hatcher, president of Timesavers Professional Organizing Services, Cooper City, Florida (www.timesaversusa.com). "I particularly use a Brother PT65. It's a portable labelmaker. And almost everybody that sees mine wants one."

So why the love affair between professional organizers and labelmakers? It's because of what you can do with this little inexpensive object (which is less clunky and more portable than its fading cousin, the typewriter). Essentially, a labelmaker spits out self-adhesive tape with the words and phrases you type onto its keyboard. (A label printer that attaches to and works in conjunction with your computer would use your computer keyboard as the input device). You can view what you're inputting on a tiny screen on portable labelmakers, usually an LCD display similar to ones seen on cameras or handheld calculators.

And while label makers are fun gadgets, they're more than just that. They're practical and useful devices. For instance, here are several ways Hatcher says you can use a labelmaker in an office setting:

1. Label open shelves for supplies or in a supply cabinet. (e.g. "8 1/2 X 11 paper," "bond paper," and "ivory card stock")

2. Label file folders. (e.g. "Jane Doe" and "travel expenses")

3. Label edges of notebooks/binders. (e.g. "organizing conference/March 2004" and "reference information")

4. Label stacking trays on your desk or elsewhere. (e.g. "incoming," "outgoing," and "pending")

5. Label cupboards and drawers. (e.g. "utensils," "coffee supplies," and "property of xyz department" in a shared kitchen/work room.)

By now you probably realize the list of labeling opportunities is endless and not just limited to paper file folders. In fact, if you place a label(such as "projector," "coffee" or "flip chart markers")in the designated spot for an item, when that item is checked out or depleted, you'll quickly know to look for its user or add it to your shopping list.

Pending your labelmaker choice, tape refills come in multiple colors and sizes. For instance, you can have gold writing on a clear background or the popular black writing on a white background. Tape could be a half inch wide or even an inch wide. Prices for tape cartridge refills vary. Label-making devices with a built-in automatic cutter will slice the tape to the appropriate length (versus using handheld scissors). "My labelmaker prints five sizes of type in seven styles on one or two lines," says Hatcher. "And I can purchase refill tapes in colors such as gold, silver, pink or blue."

Label-making gadgets usually operate on batteries though AC adapters are sometimes an option too. Some labeling systems use software and a USB cable that connects a labelmaker to your computer. Other systems are portable handheld devices making it easier for you to label at any location in the office.

Manufacturers often call label-making devices different names such as handheld labeling system, electronic labeling system, label printer, handheld labelmaker and electronic labeler. Sizes vary from small handheld devices that you can hold in one hand to large ones about the size of an adding machine. And prices vary starting from $20 to $30 and rising with added features. Look for label-making systems at your nearest office supply retailer. Many other type retailers sell them too. Or do a search with the label-making device terms noted above on the Web. Happy labeling!

© 2004 Karen Fritscher-Porter




About the Author
Karen Fritscher-Porter is the publisher and editor of The Effective Admin, a FREE monthly e-zine for administrative support professionals who want practical tips to advance their career and simplify their daily job duties. Learn more about The Effective Admin and sign up today to receive your FREE issues full of helpful career and workplace tips at http://www.admin-ezine.com.



The Right Speaker makes a BIG DIFFERENCE
by Khoo Kheng-Hor


MORE and more corporations in Malaysia have awoken to the necessity of training and developing their people these days. Hence, many local speakers have emerged in recent years just as many foreign ones have already been flocking to Malaysia as far back as two decades ago.
With so many speakers available in the market, the success of your event lies in selecting the right speaker who would make a big difference in your conference or seminar.

Here are some tips.

First, discard the “white is superior” mindset. Although there are some really good foreign speakers from the West, there are also many who are unable to deliver. To select a speaker to grace your conference or engage one to run an in-house seminar primarily on the basis of skin color alone could end in disappointment.

Selection of a speaker should be based on the desired content appropriate to your conference theme or meeting your training needs, and the competence of the speaker to deliver. If you care to look around our own backyard – Malaysia – you may find some local speakers who are really good in their respective specialization.

The next thing to consider is: Can you afford the really good ones?

There are many people representing cash-rich corporations and yet could become quite niggardly when it comes to paying for good speakers.

Just as luxury cars and branded time pieces don’t come cheap, don’t expect the top speakers to work for peanuts. And don’t try the “while we won’t pay you much but think of the exposure we can give you if you were to speak in our conference” approach. The really top speakers would just walk away even if they are too polite to laugh in your face.

On average, you should expect to fork out anything between USD5,000 to USD15,000 for any of the internationally-acclaimed speakers, even for just an hour’s presentation as in a conference. Although some people had made some noises when I gave them the same quotation for an hour’s presentation just as I had quoted for a day’s work, they had overlooked that whether a professional speaker spoke for an hour or a day, that very day could no longer be offered to another client. This is especially so when some traveling is involved. For an example, to speak in another city, say Beijing, a day before the event and a day after the event would be spent in traveling.

In Malaysia, good local speakers are available for RM7,000 to RM10,000 for up to a day’s presentation although for RM3,000 to RM6,000, you may still be able to get some who are relatively quite good albeit they may not be in the “internationally-acclaimed” league.

Speaking of “internationally-acclaimed” speakers, don’t be fooled by those who claimed to be “internationally-acclaimed” speakers from having spoken abroad. Find out who they have spoken for. If they spoke for multinationals that are household names like Cisco Systems, Citibank, GE, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, etc., then you could take their word for it. Just be aware that there are many event organizers who pay peanuts to local speakers to speak at overseas events, and such speakers would subsequently pose themselves off as “internationally-acclaimed” ones.

As I have mentioned, getting a good speaker makes a big difference. An inexperienced or incompetent one would either send the delegates to sleep or fail to get the key learning points across.

Last but not least, you ought to keep up with the times. Make use of the Internet in your search for the right speaker. There are many websites, e.g. www.eventclicks.com, www.cityspeakersinternational.co.uk, www.malaysiahronline.com, etc., where you can browse through a panel of speakers and peruse their resumes.

And just as you are in keeping with the times, make sure your selected speaker is also technically-inclined. As a self-respecting speaker will ask for an LCD projector since he or she will bring along a personal computer loaded with presentations on PowerPoint, you should discard the one who still uses transparencies on overhead projector.




About the Author
Khoo Kheng-Hor, a best-selling author of several books on the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in contemporary business management is a sought-after speaker in conferences and seminars throughout Asia. He can be reached at http://www.webpoint.com.sg/suntzu or suntzu333@yahoo.com

For more tips ‘n’ tricks resources, log on to http://www.tips.com. my now



Rear Projection TV Facts - Pros & Cons of Rear Projection in the Home Theater
by Andrew Ghigo


One of the big questions every home theater enthusiast has to face when planning a new home theater is whether to invest in a rear projection TV, or to opt for the two piece video projector - screen setup.


Both approaches have got their pros and cons. In this article, we discuss the advantageous and limitations of rear projection systems as a big screen solution in the home theater.



Rear Projection Television - An Affordable Option


A great deal of consumer appeal for Rear Projection TV systems arise out of the shear simplicity that this product offers as an immediate solution to getting a bigger TV.


No mess, no fuss, if you have the space, either visit your local big screen retailer - or better still, check at your favorite online electronics superstore - to order your product and get it delivered in just a few days; unpack the product and there you have a big screen TV in your living room ready for immediate use!


Rear Projection TV Facts:


As already stated, rear projection offers a most immediate solution to getting a bigger TV. Probably, this is also one of the main drivers behind rear projection television sales.


Yet the real 'culprit' behind the popularity of rear projection TV systems does not arise out of some particular benefit associated with rear projection, but out of the fact that most big screen retailers seem to give the impression that rear projection systems are cheaper than a front projection setup.


This may be true in retail stores, but not necessary so when buying online. The reality is that for a given budget level, prices online are such that front projectors will deliver a much more cinema-like experience for the same price bracket. Therefore, do not base your decision on price alone to decide between a front projection setup and a rear projection TV box.


Clearly, there is a market for both - the primary decisive factor should be your room size. If you don't have a large viewing room, a 40" to 60" diagonal TV will probably be more than adequate rendering a rear projection TV the ideal affordable solution - as long as it fits in the available space.


Size - or rather unit depth - is becoming less of a problem with modern LCD and DLP rear projection TV units. A typical 52” diagonal widescreen DLP or LCD rear projection TV set requires no more than 15-inches in depth; this contrasts heavily with a similar size CRT rear projection model which would normally require between 22 and 24 inches in depth.


What's more, considering that a similar size Plasma TV is still out of reach of most average household budgets, today's slim-styled LCD and DLP rear projection TV sets, with their lower prices yet high performance, are becoming the affordable 'immediate' big screen TV option in the television mass-market.



However prior to committing yourself to a rear projection TV, it is important to be fully aware of a few limitations associated with rear projection systems, namely: limited screen size, limited viewing angle, glare problems, poor aspect ratio management, poor use of floor-space, etc.


We take a look at each of these limitations in further detail below:



Screen size:
Rear projection TV systems come in screen sizes ranging from typical 42" up to a maximum of just over 70". This may or may not be a limitation. It is true that you can get a 100" projection with a home theater projector for the price of a high quality digital 50" rear projection TV, yet the screen size should be dimensioned to suit your room. If your room size does not support such big projections, rear projection is probably the way to go.


Viewing angles:
Rear projection TV systems used to have a rather limited viewing angle - with the optimum viewing position being one directly in front of and eye-level with the unit. Move away to either side, and color, contrast, and brightness will degrade substantially. A narrow viewing angle will limit the number of people who can watch the set due the lowering in picture quality at the extreme viewing angles. Most modern systems support a viewing angle of circa 150 degrees - which should be adequate for normal home theater use. However, it is always best to check on this prior to your purchase as some products are worse than others.


Reflections:
It is common that any light source at a complementary angle to your viewing-angle will result in glare - in particular if the unit makes use of a screen-saver (a clear protective material that covers the fragile screen itself). Glare can seriously degrade the picture quality. The only real solution is to take away the offending light source; in some cases the situation can improve if one removes the screen-saver – BUT remember that an unprotected screen is fragile and expensive to replace if damaged.


Floor-space:
Any rear projection TV is literally a large box with a relatively large footprint. It is true that modern slim-type models do exist that are no more than 15 to 18 inches in depth - depending on the screen size, yet the cheaper CRT-based rear projection TV sets will stand out by at least 24 to even 30 inches to allow for the necessary air-space between the back of the unit and the wall.





Remember to take this into your calculations when planning your home theater as these two feet or so will have to be deducted from your available viewing distance.


Rear Projection TV Speakers:
Forget all about them! Do not give any weighting to the speaker system coming with your rear projection unit. You would not be using them as you will surely want to replace these with your dedicated home theater surround receiver speaker system.

Do not even think of using the build-in speakers of your rear television set as a center channel replacement. They will just interfere with the sound coming out of your dedicated system - hence do not pay anything extra for this as you will surely be switching off your TV sound completely during a movie show.



Aspect ratios:
We have already mentioned a number of limitations associated with rear projection television, yet in comparison, these are just minor issues. The real serious limitation with a rear projection TV is aspect ratio management.


This is the trickiest of it all. Standard television comes only in 4:3 but rear projection TV systems come in both standard 4:3, and in the 16:9 widescreen format. Once you choose your format however, you have to live with it - so once again, you have to choose wisely.


The 4:3 (1.33) or 16:9 (1.78) referred to as the aspect ratio, is the ratio of the screen width with respect to the height of the image. All standard non-HDTV material is in the 4:3 format while most modern films come in one of the many widescreen formats - the most common being the 2.35, which in itself is not compatible with any of the fixed aspect ratio TV systems.


There are various ways to deal with this - including:



Image stretching to fill the available screen.

Use of black or gray bars on top and bottom of a 4:3 screen to show the movie in its correct aspect ratio as originally filmed, but then the effective film display will be smaller.

Pan and scan editing where only the most important portion of each frame is shown with the rest being discarded.




Image stretching and horizontal bars can be extremely irritating while in the 'pan and scan' you are giving up film information to have a full screen view. Worst of all, prolonged use of horizontal bars - especially black bars - leads to tube burn-out in CRT based systems at huge costs to you.


The incompatibility between screen formats renders the decision on aspect ratio a rather complicated issue when choosing a rear projection TV set. Surely, there is no such dilemma with a front projection setup, but if your only way forward is rear projection, then you will have to choose wisely.


Here no one can help you in your decision - it is simply a matter of preference. The best way to decide on aspect ratio is by first determining what you will be viewing most.


Making the Choice:


Surely, there is a market for both front and rear projection TVs – it is all a question of knowing what are the advantages and limitations of each with respect to your specific needs.



(c) 2004/2005 www.practical-home-theater-guide.com . All rights reserved.


About the Author
Andrew Ghigo – editor & publisher of http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com - a comprehensive home theater guide to home theater systems, product reviews and home theater design.


This article is an excerpt from a series of Projection TV Guides published on the same site


A Peek Into the Near Future of Electronics Technology
by Terry Mitchell


How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years? 10 years? Actually, they have only been around for about seven years, but it seems like they have been around much longer. Many of us can hardly remember life before DVDs. That can be attributed to how rapidly we can become acclimated to some innovations in electronics technology. I believe there are other electronics technologies, either just getting ready to take off, not widely available yet, or just around the corner, that are going to become adopted just as quickly in the near future.

Once such item is Voice over Internet Protocol, also known as VoIP. This innovation renders the whole concept of long distance virtually obsolete. It bypasses the traditional telephone company infrastructure and delivers phone service over a broadband internet connection to a regular phone. Similar to cell phones, this service is purchased based on a fixed and/or unlimited number of minutes. However, geographical divisions are generally made by country or continent, rather than by local calling areas or area codes. For example, a typical VoIP contract in the U.S. would stipulate unlimited calling to North America and 300 monthly minutes for calls to everywhere else. Unlike cell phone service, you are not charged for incoming calls. With VoIP service, area codes are not much of an issue, although you still must have one. However, some providers offer plans in which you can select any area code in your country or continent! The area code you choose mainly comes into play for those with traditional phone service who make calls to you. If you pick a California area code, for example, someone calling you from a traditional phone line would be billed as if they called California, even if they lived next door to you in New York.

One of the major advantages of VoIP is that it is less expensive than traditional phone service. Since it bypasses most of the phone companies' infrastructure, it also bypasses many of the taxes associated with it. So far, Congress has maintained a hands-off approach when it comes to taxing VoIP services. Most of the major phone companies are either now offering VoIP or plan to start by mid-2005. However, there are some smaller companies that are offering it at a much lower cost. Vonage (www.vonage.com) is a small company that was one of the pioneers of VoIP. Lingo (www.lingo.com) and Packet8 (www.packet8.com) are two other small companies offering VoIP at a cut-rate price.

Another such technology is Broadband over Power Line, or BPL. Already in wide use in many other countries and currently being tested in the U.S., BPL is the delivery of broadband internet service over traditional power lines. A computer is connected to a special modem which is simply plugged into an electrical outlet. This kind of service could prove useful for those who cannot get traditional broadband services like cable modem or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), as almost everyone has access to electricity now. Once refined, BPL could eventually prove to be cheaper and faster than these more established services and attract away some of their customers. By the way, be careful when you’re discussing BPL and make sure people don’t think you’re saying, "VPL." Otherwise, you might encounter quite a bit of snickering!

While we're on the subject of broadband internet services, several technologies just around the corner are going to make them much faster than they are today. The typical download speeds for broadband ranges from 1.5 to 10 megabits per second (mbps) today. Within the next year, speeds of 15-20 mbps will be available to the average consumer. Then, shortly thereafter, speeds of up to 25, 50, 75, and even 100 mbps will be available in some places. In the not-so-distant future, speeds of 25-100 mbps is will be quite common. "Fast TCP", which is currently being tested, has the potential to turbo-charge all forms of currently available broadband internet connections without requiring any infrastructure upgrades. It will better utilize the way in which data is broken down and put back together within traditional internet protocols.

All the major phone companies are currently in the process of replacing their copper wires with high capacity fiber optic lines. One example is Verizon's Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) initiative. Fiber optic lines will greatly increase the amount of bandwidth that can be delivered. Fiber optics will allow phone companies to deliver video, either via a cable TV-type platform or a TV over Internet Protocol (TVIP) platform (see my October 7 column), and faster DSL speeds. At the same time, the phone companies are working with Texas Instruments to develop a new, more technically efficient form of DSL, called Uni-DSL. Eventually, the current internet as we know it will be scrapped and completely replaced with a whole new internet called "Internet 2." This new internet is expected to provide speeds of up to 6000 times faster than current broadband connections!

Another technology item that you've probably heard a lot about recently is digital television. Digital TV uses a different wavelength than traditional analog TV and has a much wider bandwidth. It also has a picture that never gets "snowy" or "fuzzy." If the signal is not strong enough, you get no picture at all, rather than the fuzzy picture you sometimes get with analog. In order to receive digital signals over the airwaves, you must have a digital TV set (one with a digital tuner inside) or an analog TV with a set-top converter. Cable and satellite TV also use digital formats, but unlike broadcaster signals, their non-High Definition digital signals are automatically converted to a format an analog TV can process, so a digital TV or converter is not needed. High Definition Television formats, even on cable to satellite, require a digital TV or a converter (more on High Definition later).

All broadcasters are now doing some broadcasts on their digital channels in addition to their normal broadcasts on their analog channels, but they were originally supposed to completely convert over from analog signals to digital signals by the end of 2006. However, there is an exception that allows them to wait until 85% of the television sets in their market are digital. This could take 10 years or more to happen. Congress and the FCC are now looking at imposing a hard deadline on all broadcasters to convert to digital signals by 2009. Once they all convert to digital signals, their analog channels will taken back by the FCC and used for other purposes like emergency signals.

High Definition Television (HDTV) is one possible use of digital signals. HDTV uses the entire digital bandwidth and is the crystal clear format you've probably seen on TVs in electronics stores. It has no visible lines on the screen. Someone once described it as being like "watching a movie in the theater." Keep in mind that all HDTV is digital, but not all digital is HDTV. Along those same lines, not all digital TVs are HDTVs. Since digital TVs are very expensive and those with HDTV capability are even more expensive, consumers really need to keep this in mind.

The other possible use of digital signals is channel compression, often referred to as "multicasting." Non-HDTV programming does not utilize the entire width of a digital signal. Therefore, it is possible to compress two or more channels of programming into one digital signal. Satellite and cable operators do this all the time with their non-HDTV digital channels, but this process is transparent so many people don't realize it. Many broadcasters plan to use their digital signals this way during times when they are not being used for HDTV programming. For example, some plan to air all news and all weather channels in addition to their regular channels of programming.

TV recording and playback technology is changing as well. DVD recorders, which debuted about four years ago, have now become affordable to the average family. A couple of years ago, they were priced above $1000, but now you can get them for around $250, in many cases. The main sticking point now with DVD recorders is that not all of them will record/play all three of the competing formats: DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW. They will have have difficulty gaining wide acceptance from the public until one format is settled on or all recorders can record and play all three formats.

One the other hand, digital video recorders (DVRs) and personal video recorders (PVRs), just two names for something that is really the same thing, seem to be gaining quickly in popularity. DVRs/PVRs utilize a hard drive to record programs, without the need for discs or tapes. DVRs/PVRs with larger hard drives are becoming available and less expensive all the time. These devices can record one show while you are watching another. They can record more than one show at a time. They allow you to watch the part of a show that has already been recorded while the remainder of that show is still being recorded. They allow for easy scanning, searching, and skipping through recorded programs and even allow you to skip commercials with one touch of a button. They allow you to pause live programs while you answer the door or go to the restroom and then pick up where you left off when you get back. With these devices, recording can be automatic, i.e., you can program them to automatically record every episode of your favorite shows, no matter when they air. You can also have them automatically find and record programs that match your interests. In addition, video can be automatically downloaded to the device via a phone connection. TiVo, the leading brand in the industry, has announced that it will be teaming up with Netflix next year to allow downloading of movies on demand via a broadband internet connection (see my October 7 column for more details).

DVRs/PVRs are becoming so popular that cable and satellite TV providers have begun including them as add-ons to their receivers, either at no extra cost or for a small additional monthly fee. About the only shortcoming of DVRs/PVRs is the fact that they can't play pre-recorded DVDs or tapes, so you would still need your DVD player or VCR if you rent or purchase movies. However, hybrid devices which combine DVRs/PVRs with a DVD player/recorder and/or VCR are now hitting the market. Those devices would not only get rid of that problem but would also give you the option of permanently transferring a recorded show/movie from a hard drive to a recordable DVD.

Flat screen and flat panel TV technology is also starting to boom. Many people are confused about the difference between flat screen TVs and flat panel TVs. A flat screen TV uses the old cathode ray tube (CRT) technology for their picture tubes and are therefore bulky like traditional TV sets. However, they are different from traditional TV sets in that they have a flat screen. They deliver a picture that doesn't have as much glare as traditional, more round screens. Also, the picture will look the same to everyone in the room, no matter where they are sitting. The picture on a traditional screen looks distorted when viewing it from an angle.

Flat panel TVs, on the other hand, utilize either liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma technology instead of the old CRT technology and are generally just a few inches thick. Many of them can be hung on a wall. In fact, flat panel TVs that are flatter than a credit card will be coming soon! What's the difference between LCD and plasma? LCD is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of less than 30 inches and usually has a brighter picture and better contrast than plasma. LCD is used for flat panel computer monitors as well. Plasma is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of more than 30 inches and has a better color range than LCD. Plasma is becoming more common as TVs get bigger and flatter.

Although I'm not so sure about this one, I will include "entertainment PCs" because of their tremendous potential to revolutionize home entertainment. The concept of "entertainment PCs" is being hailed right now by both Microsoft and Intel. In fact, Microsoft has developed a special operating system for them. They could be used as the hub for all home entertainment and could enhance a family's experience of television, radio/music, and internet and actually help to combine all of these into one. They could be used to download content from the internet and play it on a TV. They could provide such sophisticated TV recording interfaces that VCRs, DVDs, and DVRs/PVRs could all eventually become obsolete. In addition, they could be a better source for photograph and home video editing and processing than regular PCs. With that being said, I'm not so sure that people will be willing to accept PCs as a source of home entertainment. Bill Gates begs to differ and is willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Obviously, not all of the cutting edge electronics technologies mentioned above will meet with great success. Some of them might actually go the way of Betamax, digital audio tape (DAT), and DIVX. However, many of them are sure to catch fire and become such an intricate part of our everyday lives that we'll wonder how we ever got along without them. Which ones will they be? Only time will tell.




About the Author
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer from Hopewell, VA. He operates a website, http://www.commenterry.com , on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media. Mr. Mitchell is also a trivia buff.