Apr
9
Interlaced Versus Progressive
Filed Under HDTV | Leave a Comment
I touched on this a while back but wanted to expand a little as it’s something that’s going to remain relevant, as long as we have 1080i cable and satellite broadcasts (hint for a very long time to come). Interlaced video, sometimes called interlaced scan, creates images on-screen by filling every other row of scan lines with an image and then alternating to the other row in rapid succession.
This “interlacing” happens so fast that it appears seamless and for all intents and purposes it is, but there is of course another way to render video images on-screen. Progressive scan omits the alternating rows of video altogether and fills the entire screen with one big, smooth image often with no visible jaggedness whatsoever.
In the past, I was always quick to defend interlaced video and I still enjoy it but of course as time marches on and 1080p displays become more common I find myself caring less about progressive versus interlaced and more about the overall resolution.
Apr
8
Last week we talked about mounting flat-panel televisions on metal studs, this week let’s talk about anther tricky mounting surface, brick and concrete walls. Firstly know that yes, it’s absolutely possible and even preferable in some circumstances to mount televisions on these surfaces, but just as with metal-stud installations there are a few things to keep in mind before proceeding.
Right off the bat we’ll of course be using different fasteners to anchor the mount to the wall than we would if we were talking about wood studs, specifically we’ll be using concrete anchors. Call them what you may, lag bolts, anchors, expanding bolts etc. The basic premise is to drill a hole into the brick or concrete and then place the anchor through the mount and into the hole.
The anchor is then expanded by tightening a bolt which pulls the end of the anchor in toward you. Simple story made even simpler, the bolt is wedged so hard into the hole it become rock solid that is if you drill the hole correctly… I have to admit the only television we’ve ever had fall was one previously hanging off a brick wall. In short the guy drilling the holes awed them out (made too big) and the bolts didn’t get the proper expansion, result was one busted television but luckily no busted people.
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Apr
7
Projectors and Keystone
Filed Under Home Theater Projectors | Leave a Comment
Without getting into a longwinded conversation on projector mounting 101, suffice to say there’s the right way and every other way to mount a projector. Sure lens shift can help you overcome some obstacles in the light path but even lens shift has its limits, once you go beyond those your back on the bad side of wrong.
Here’s my point and I’ll make it quick. It’s fine to be a few inches above, below, to the left or right of the screen with a projector with lens shift, but you want to (if at all possible) avoid using digital keystone correction.
Keystone presents itself as the image bowing out from the top or bottom in some cases in a “V” pattern, i.e. the top of the screen is larger than the bottom or vice versa. Using digital keystone correction to overcome this bowing can introduce a moiré pattern around fine lines in the image that are spaced closely together; as such keystone correction should be a last resort scenario.
Apr
6
Multipurpose Home Theaters
Filed Under Home Theater Design | Leave a Comment
While it might not be the first thing anyone thinks of when they hear the phrase home theater, our dedicated theaters can accommodate a variety of activities in addition to watching movies. Whether it’s the kid’s play or a business presentation home theaters can easily serve multiple purposes, however getting the most out your room takes some preparation.
Starting with the kids play’s, if you’re going to build a stage then by all means build a stage and do it right, if not don’t bother. Too often I see these half-stages or lips as I like to call them, which really wind up being more of an obstacle than a place to perform or address the audience in your home theater.
As far as presentations go, simply put if your presentation involves a power point display you’ll want to make sure you have some way of connecting your laptop to the display/projector. If your laptop has a VGA out you’ll want to run the proper cable ahead of time and likewise for an s-video out. Some business projectors have the ability to display networked video but this hasn’t been widely adopted for consumer projectors as yet.
Apr
5
Bass Shakers
Filed Under Equipment | Leave a Comment
Bass Shakers, Butt Kickers, Tactile Transducers or whatever you happen to call them; were all the rage a few years ago and in some circles they’re still quite popular, but perhaps not quite as popular as many would have expected. I have a few opinions (shocker I know) on why Bass Shakers might have dipped in popularity.
Number one no matter what you happen to think of Tactile Transducers the lack of soundtracks with discrete, dedicated motion channels have slowed the adoption rate of the entire genera. I suppose I should say readily available dedicated channels. D-Box has been quite active with their system of late but sadly a “universal” motion effects channel never seemed to materialize; with the next-generation audio formats (TrueHD, DTS-MA HD).
Now, I saved my two-cents for the end because I hate to be a downer, at least not right at the beginning of a post. I’m not a big fan of Tactile Transducers, ok that was a gross understatement, I really can’t stand these things. Yeah I know they buzz and bump the couch around and that’s big giggles for about 20 minutes, it’s the rest of my time watching the movie that I’m concerned with however.
I’ve even “experienced” top of the line Tactile Transducer demonstrations (the Runco/D-Box demo at CEDIA last year) and felt more annoyed than entertained, but hey to each their own. That said, I know folks who love Bass Shakers and I say more power to em. My only caution however would be to try before you buy, the novelty may not last through an entire chapter much less the whole movie.
Apr
4
In my 17 years of involvement with custom audio/video I’ve had a lot of conversations on the subject, a lot of the same conversations as a matter of fact but one subject has never come up, not even once. In all the years of talking with client after client I’ve never heard anyone say, “we pulled too much wire” or “I really wish we’d had you guys run fewer cables”.
I suppose this falls right in-line with (although not nearly as famously as) you can never be too rich or too thin, back to the point. If you’re pre-wiring a new home, remodeling an existing home or just running some cable to your current home theater, run extra cables. Why run extra cables you ask? Because in just about every case I’ve witnessed there’s no such thing as an extra cable. i.e. you’ll eventually find a use for it.
I’ve mentioned this before but networked home theater devices are becoming more and more common, who had the foresight to run Ethernet to their equipment rack 10-15 years ago? It’s almost a given that no matter how many cables you run, eventually, sometime down the road you’re going to find use for another CAT-5, component, HDMI or Ethernet cable. Simply put it cost less to run them now versus later. Or just think of it the way our installation team does, always run a spare.
Apr
3
Buying Used Projectors
Filed Under Home Theater Projectors | 1 Comment
Projectors are obviously one of the costlier items in a home theater; as such it should come as no surprise to learn a healthy market for used projectors exists. All sorts of projectors can be found used, LCD, DLP, CRT etc. etc. There are of course a few things to consider before investing in a used home theater projector.
First off understand that projectors are more volatile (not the exact word I was looking for but close enough) than direct-view displays, the main reason is heat. Projectors have quite a bit more work to do than direct-view’s starting with not having the luxury of projecting light into a sealed cabinet. Add to that, the screen is in many cases two to three times the size of the average direct-view display and it’s easy to see how projectors are more prone to failure.
I say this not to discourage anyone from buying a projector (we love ours) but to draw attention to the importance of a warranty with a projector. Once you buy used (with minor exception) you’re on your own. This is where it gets tricky, paying 10% off retail for a year old projector clearly isn’t worth the associated risk, paying less than half the retail for a two year old projector on the other hand may well be.
Apr
2
Hanging flat-panel televisions (plasma, LCD, etc.) in multi-dwelling, high-rise buildings can offer some unique challenges versus typical single-family construction. Right off the bat we’re looking at metal stud construction which doesn’t provide the same load capacity as wood studs. More problematic than the actual load capacity however is the nature of metal studs to “twist” under load.
This twisting is due to the fact that metal-studs are used in buildings with concrete and steel load-dispersion and therefore don’t necessarily have to “support” the walls themselves. In essence all a metal-stud wall has to hold up is the sheetrock attached to it, natrually heavey objects mounted on these walls can present a problem. The good news however is the average full-sized sheet of drywall is heavier than the television we’ll be mounting.
Ok back to my point, in order to reduce twisting and to just give the mount a slightly firmer foundation; I like to take a piece of plywood (painted the same color as the wall) and mount it to the wall and then mount the wall-mount to that. This affords us the ability to hit the metal-studs with more screws and by cutting the plywood slightly taller than the mount, you can get even more spread to disperse the load on. By the way, you’ll want to pre-drill (pilot) holes before trying to sink a screw into metal studs.
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Apr
1
Keeping Specifications in Perspective
Filed Under Equipment | Leave a Comment
I’ll try my best to keep this as simple and to the point as possible, although that might be an overly optimistic goal considering the subject matter. I want to talk about specifications and expectations a bit, specifically with regard to displays (LCD, plasma, projectors etc.) but I suppose it applies just as well to any piece of gear.
Firstly manufacturers fib about product specifications all the time. Some manufacturers are worse than others but at one time or another just about every one of them has done it. Still think you can make informed buying decisions based on specifications? If so then that’s fine too, just keep in mind that you’ll get better results doing this comparing manufacturer (a) to manufacturer (a) on specs than (a) to (b). It’s entirely possible (a) and (b) used two completely different methods to arrive at that specification.
This brings me to my next point, sometimes specifications are the last thing someone wants to hear about. I’ll give you an example. Recently I had a client in our showroom and we had just finished looking at two very different projectors, one retailed for about $2k and the other for $5k. While we were wrapping up (in the 2k room) a customer came in and started raving about the $2k projector, adjectives and praise were tumbling out of his mouth a hundred miles an hour.
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