Christine Peppler asked:


In the coming year, millions of consumers will be considering the purchase of a new television. Those beautiful plasma screen displays will scream at shoppers from the display floor with their vibrant, life like colors and detail. But undoubtedly, wary shoppers will have heard the rumors or perhaps have known someone who bought a plasma television in 1999 which has already moved on to television heaven just seven short years later. It seems to a prudent shopper that perhaps a new plasma TV isn’t the choice for them if a long term relationship is desired.

But are the rumors false? Has plasma undergone a bit of reinvention? Was this lack of longevity a symptom of a fledgling technology that has now perhaps matured? Is a plasma television now more reliable, a screen to be around for the long haul?

In a wordyes.
With lower power usage and changes with the mix of gases in the panels, the longevity of plasma televisions has been significantly enhanced. The lifespan of a television display is measured in “half life”; the hours of use before the screen has dimmed to only 50% of its original brightness. In recent years, plasma television manufacturers have been touting a half-life which is equivalent to that of other screens such as the higher priced LCDs; around 60,000 hours. From this, consumers can see that the lifespan of a plasma screen is dependent upon how much it is viewed. For instance, if a plasma television is on for 6 hours a day, 365 days a year (2190 hours per year), it should last just over 27 years.

Knowing this, it becomes clear that the life of the screen on a plasma television can be significantly influenced by how it is used. Turning off the television when no one is viewing it could certainly extend its life. Adjusting the brightness is important as well; maximum levels are seldom required or recommended and can unnecessarily cause pre-mature aging of the phosphors.

Additional changes over the years for plasma televisions include technologies aimed at reducing the risk of “burn in”; another significant concern about the “character” of plasma displays that developed during its youth. Features such as pixel shifting, pixel orbiter, and motion adaptation all describe methods of moving the image on a plasma screen which is imperceptible to the human eye but effective in reducing the risk of burn-in. With these added features, many plasma manufacturers now claim their screens have no greater risk of burn in than the traditional CRT, “tube” televisions.

As with anything, consumers need to compare brands as they aren’t all created equally. Reviewing the facts from the manufacturer is important. In general, it is best to stick with the more reputable and well known brands as a bargain “off-brand” in the long term may not save money if the quality and dependability are lacking.

There are many excellent technologies to choose from when buying a new television. Which type of display is best is dependent upon each individuals wishes, but plasma televisions certainly deserve the full attention of buyers as they do not warrant the negative reputation developed during their formative years in regards to longevity.



Caffeinated Content

Mark St. Denis asked:


When you are faced with the tough decision of whether to purchase a flat screen plasma television or a television that features a liquid crystal display. Several questions must be answered before you want to consider the pricing and the brand names of each kind of product. These questions include how big or small do you want the television, how long do you need the television to last, and also where you are going to place the television. You could want a projection television for your living room and a plasma screen in your bedroom. Making a wise decision is very important in the consumer purchasing process.

One issue to think about is the image “burn-in” on plasma television screens. Bright images may “burn” and spot on the screen and may be bothersome.

Another issue is the bulb replacement cost. Often the cost of replacing a LCD screen bulb can be more than the cost of replacing the entire television set itself. Plasma typically will last 30,000-60,000 hours of operation before the bulb will go out. After that time the bulb will be working at half the efficiency as a new bulb.

LCD televisions typically weigh less than Plasma screens at the same comparable size. Also, plasma television sets are more fragile in transportation so take that into consideration when purchasing a television with or without a product warranty.
When selecting a flat screen television you need to consider the ranges of sizes for each of the two kinds of products, plasma and lcd. Plasma televisions are typically only available in sizes bigger than 32 inches. Some plasma screen manufacturers are producing screens that are 103 inches in size. At that size you may as well consider purchasing a high definition projector setup. On the other hand if you are looking for a quality television for smaller purposes (i.e. the bathroom or kitchen) you will want to consider the lcd variety. LCD television screens range in sizes all the way from 13 inches to 45 inches and up. Some LCD televisions are 100 inches and bigger. If you are looking for a clear solution to bigger screens once again I would suggest that you consider a HD projector as a alternative solution.

Plasma television sets run hotter, need alot more power and are more heavier than their lcd counterparts. If you want to put a flatscreen television in your kitchen or bathroom I would suggest a LCD television set.

As far as the thickness of the television set, the LCD is only slightly thinner than a plasma television. This is not a huge difference between the two.

Do you live in a high altitude climate? LCD’s tend to perform better in higher altitude locations than the plasma televisions. High altitudes affect the plasma screen because of the pressure and stress put on the inside of the television set. If you live in the mountains I suggest you purchase a LCD television.

LCD televisions and Plasma televisions both come in High Definition quality variations.

After considering these differences between the two types of flatcreen televisions I would suggest picking the best kind for your situation and finding a low price. Good luck on your purchase!



Website content

Philip Sumpter asked:


several years of watching Satellite and Cable networks steadily increase their rates, some consumers fell victim to the rising costs left by an ailing economy. They either downgraded their subscriptions to basic service or eliminated them altogether when turning to free Internet TV. In doing so saved about $50.00 off their monthly bills while gaining access to favorite shows, episodes, movies, sports, and other great content from the Internet

Video is becoming more and more available via alternative technology, portability, and mobile devices that can access free Internet content instantly. Many believe including myself that it’s better to reinvest money into television on a PC which in hindsight helps combat an ailing economy, raising costs, and can add an extra TV when needed.

Just a couple of years ago, Internet video watchers increased dramatically. This rise was attributed to websites such as Joost, Hulu, Fancast, YouTube, and others providing free content from Satellite/Cable broadcasters such a,s ABC, NBC, CBS Fox, etc. Today, this enormous video on-demand library includes everything from “Bones” and “CNN” to “Shopping Online” and “30 Rock.”

To support this rising interest, research shows the highest number of online video watchers to be among the young generation (pre-teens, teens, 20s, and 30s). But the number of offline video watchers still remain number one. In addition, the older generation (40s and up) is taking more interest in television on the Internet each year.

These consumers fall into a select group of live TV and video watchers called cord cutters which is a loosely defined term when viewers either cancel or downgrade their paid TV services in favor of television on Internet. Although home video watchers are at an all-time high according to the Nielsen Media Research and faces no immediate threat from free Internet media, online video watchers are growing ever so slightly.

As a result: This watching TV online platform that continues to provide free and newly added content such as, television episodes, sports, movies, news, radio, and music from across the globe, promotes a greater interest that will cause more people not to buy subscription video–if they can get the same stuff totally free.

Cutting TV Costs with Television on PC

Even though a figure can’t be placed on the number of cord cutters, this niche is still relatively small, perhaps at 1% (+/-) out of the total number of TV and video watchers. Subsequently, it could have something to do with some of the drawbacks. Watching TV shows online isn’t the same as television relaxing on a couch with a remote. However, with an ailing economy and high costs that plunge deeper into the pockets, more consumers are ditching paid TV.

For college students, families, and the unemployed with bills to pay, there is no monthly expense when watching television online. In addition, the upside is having more TV variety, savings, freedom, flexibility, and mobility than traditional television. Using a laptop with an Internet broadband or wireless (wifi) connection does wonders when on the go, and creates instant TV from any location while at home or when traveling Worldwide.

Internet media providers especially the top ones are gaining more Worldwide appeal than ever before. This in turn made some eye brows rise in the paid TV industry who sees this as a potential revenue making opportunity. Once this trend really booms, and it will someday, consumers will have access to more free channels, stations, and videos across the globe.

Whether consumers find more or less time to watch television, Satellite/Cable networks don’t have the answers to everyone’s lifestyle. There are all kinds of set-top boxes which one can buy/rent and download/watch TV shows, videos, and movies while paying $0.99 or more per episode or movie. On the other hand, software, live feeds networks, and hardware can be utilized as alternative gateways to delivering streaming live and recorded channels, videos, movies, and sports across the globe.

Internet television is a means to an end when it comes to paying high Cable/Satellite TV costs and lack of quality entertainment with free-to-air television. When consumers are left with no other choices and must either cancel or downgrade from their paid media, watching TV shows online has its advantages.

There are free, cheap, and high cost ways to watching Internet television. But choosing the best gateway that brings television to ones PC depends on his/her budget, tech know-how, time on hand, and interest.

Television

loveleenchawla asked:


Watching Television with family: A Sociological Analysis(with respect to India)

Explanation of Media

With the passage of time media has become the base of our society. It had been helping us by providing useful information relating to politics, soaps, movies day to day life affairs, tragedies, historical materials, geographical knowledge, temperature of places , notification about events, synopsis of share market etc. It had been providing us information of the above mentioned types through the medium of T.V, newspapers, internet spontaneously without any break, In the last 50 years we had seen that the media influence has grown exponentially with the advance of technology, first there was the telegraph, then the radio, the newspaper, magazines, television and now the internet.

Then we must that we live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do.

A common person in the city usually wakes up checks the T.V news or newspaper, goes to work, makes a few phone calls, eats with their family when possible and makes his decisions based on the information that he has either from their co workers, news, T.V, friends, family, financial reports, etc.

What we need to be aware is that most of our decisions, beliefs and values are based on what we know for a fact, our assumptions and our own experience. In our work we usually know what we have to do based on our experience and studies, however on our daily lives we rely on the media to get the current news and facts about what is important and what we should be aware of.

We have put our trust on the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and education. However, the influence of mass media on our kids, teenagers and society is so big that we should know how it really works. But in the past and now also T.V is one of the medium which had been accepted the most in general public as a source of media.

Evolution of Television

The word T.V had came from the full meaning television. The first demonstration of T.V was invented by John Logie Baird in Hastings, England in 1923. But the first concept of the T.V was a sketch done by a 14-year-old farm boy named Philo T. Farnsworth in 1922. On September 7, 1927, he finally created a television system that could not only display, but transmit signals between separate rooms. But the actual evolution of television can be observed from the fossils found in American garbage dumps clearly show the evolution of the radio into the television set. Layers of fossil garbage from the WWI era (10 million years ago) contain fragments of radios that use vacuum tubes. The first televisions appear in the WWII layer (8 million years ago) that lies immediately above the WWI layer. The components in these early television sets are nearly identical with those in the WWI radios, so the radio clearly evolved into the television. Both the radio and television show signs of further evolution, with transistors replacing tubes in later models. Radios evolved into televisions through a process of random mutations and natural selection , Over a period of 2 million years, the radio gradually evolved into a television set. Although the transitional forms have never been discovered, but after a detail analysis it was found that One day, on a whim, a worker decided to add a picture tube to the radio. The picture tube didn’t actually do anything, because there weren’t any horizontal or vertical deflection circuits yet, but the little white dot in the center of the screen impressed the inspector so much that he changed the plans so that all future radios would have picture tubes. Some years later, another worker added deflection circuitry to make the little dot move across the screen from left to right and top to bottom. Since this was much more fun to look at, it was incorporated into the plans. Of course it cost more to build radios this way, but for some reason the moving light spot added some survival benefit in the electronics market. Since consumers would not buy a radio without a moving dot, all competing radios were built this way.

And at exactly the same time, somebody at a radio station decided to hook a camera up to the transmitter, instead of a microphone, just to see what would happen. The image was broadcast from the radio station to the television set, and the broadcast industry was born and like this evolution of television takes place.

Relationship of T.V With Family In The Early Days:

After the evolution of T.V we had seen that in the earlier days the scope of television was not so wide because one of the reason was that at that time most of the families does not get the chance of buying T.V because of high installation charges , and another reason was that after having install also by some families then also we get to see that the channels in T.V was not so vast , as there were only one or two channels which family members usually see together ,and at that time the programmes in T.V was basically no A GRADED soaps, movies, but there was cultural shows like dance show like Odissi ,baratnatyam, kucipuddi , and then there was shows like chandrakanta , bikram betal , Mahabharata , Ramayana , yeh mera circus hai , ardhangini , jai hanuman, DD news and also movies which composed of family relations and so these type of serials and movies was basically watch by all ( grand parents , father , mother, children ) and by watching these kinds of things most of the families members had not suffered like this days but had gained knowledge about our history and culture which had helped them to follow the social norms, behavior, values of the society and by following these things family members mainly the young members had learned certain things like how to give respect to elders, , how to talked with elders , then they have also learned how to give respect to teachers in school and as at that time there was no stuffs like violence ,pornography shown on T.V so the family members were not badly effect like this days happening . Many well known researchers had found that at the early period as the scope of T.V was very much less so the impact of the T.V was very less but its impact was mostly on welfare of family by providing them useful information about their necessity like news, sports, religious information ,cultural programmes , education knowledge based programmes , and musical shows and programmes

Relationship of T.V With Family In The Present Days:



In the earlier period we have seen that the scope and relationship of T.V with family was not so large but now with the passage of time it was seen that the cost of T.V have reduced a lot and therefore a home without a television was not found anymore.

And now with the introduction of cable lines and dish TV , the scope of T.V had widen itself very much , and therefore through the T.V the family members can see different types of channels like religious channel, adventures channel, sports channel , music channel, history channel , movie channel , news channel , information channel and cartoon channel and so the family members can see the channel whatever they like to see .and also we had taken a note that these days most of the people are devoting most of their time in T.V , like the young ones are devoting their time on cartoon channels and the teenagers are devoting their time on fashion channels ,music channels and video songs channels and also we had taken a note that the elders members in the families are devoting their time in daily soaps like kyunki shaas bhi kabhi bahu thi , kasauti zindagi ki , left right left , kkusum , heena , office office , ek larki mahole me rahne oli , kahani ghar ghar ki and kahi kisi roz and by seeing these things the elder family members are seeing and learning the trend from the T.V and copying and using these trends as their own lifestyle . we had also taken a note that with the introduction of new channel like sony , star plus , zee t.v family members are influencing day by day , at first we used to see that family members usually see the T.V together but nowadays the family members are seeing television ingroups and also in separate rooms because in order not to see those kinds of stuffs with elders , now a days the relationship of television had gone so vast that pornography are wide been seen in television and which results in destruction of memory of the family members and as result they cannot control themselves and causing them to rape women and girls and so we can hold T.V as one of the culprits for rape .

We had also seen that lots of families are being breaking up to smaller families from the joint families by seeing television soaps , and we had seen also that lots of children are not scoring well in exams because most of the time these children are making a bond relationship with T.V channels cartoons and we had also seen these days teenagers are behaving very badly with the elders ones by copying the behavior made by dramatizing in T.V .We had also seen that the children used to gets their eyes badly effect by seeing T.V for longer hours . Then we had also seen that grand parents are not being served well by the house wives because due to immense relationship with the T.V. they forgot to serve the grant parents.

Then in the present days we had also seen that the relationship of T.V had got so broaden up with the family members that each and every offices are keeping T.V in their blocks .Then we had also taken a note that the advertisement agency are putting their advertisement on T.V and through this the family members are getting information about latest trends, latest products, and making a change in family relationship by those products .Then we had also seen that by watching the daily soaps in T.V , the relationship with T.V gets so developed that the family members sometimes felt to cry by watching the work of the dramatician in T.V soaps and also sometimes they became very harsh by seeing the creature like behavior made by the dramaticians in T.V.

Relationship of T.V In High Class Society:

We had also observed that the relationship of family with T.V also varies from class to class , we had seen that in high class families the relationship was much more broader than in middle class families , here the scope of T.V was so much that the each rooms here are composed with T.V and then each family members are having different tastes for which they are following different channels like the elder ones are mostly busy with share market information, market turnover information mainly with the fall and rise in prices and also the elder female members by seeing T.V gets about market information and therefore they go to market for shopping daily for following the new trends in the world . Then we had also found that in these class party is mainly a part for their living and so all the family members always keep a watch in the T.V for upcoming parties and events. Then we had also found that children in these class are being mostly neglected by their elders because they are mostly busy in their work and so these children make a good relationship with the T.V and devote most of their time on .TV mainly on cartoons , pornography films and which in return pushed them to become a social evil for th society and also cause a bad effect for their studies.

Relationship of T.V In Middle / Low Class Society:

Here in these society the relationship and scope of T.V was not wider as comparison to the high class society , as the number of T.V was not so much in these class , and so we can see the family members usually see the T.V in common and the privacy of seeing the T.V easily not found in these class, here we can also found that due to the low income of the family members , usually they dont get chance of buying things even though they follow the T.V and so we can see influence by T.V in these class is not good.

Here due to low number of T.V in these class the children usually not get the chance of seeing the cartoons, pornography films separately so the relationship does not get so much developed as it developed in the above mentioned society , so the damaged caused by the T.V on the children is not there and so there is no influence over the studies of the children here.

Positive Gains Derived From T.V :

Though in the present days the relationship of television with the family had been vast and created lots of problems in present day life of the families still it had helped and gave the families in many ways and they are as follows :

1. by making the relationship with T.V the family members like the womens can learn the process of making new food dishes which they can prefer for their lunch ,breakfast and dinner.

2. by making relationship with T.V the family members can easily tour the world .

3. by making relationship with T.V the children in the families can learnt lots of things , which in return can help them for their general knowledge studies and can also helped to participate in debates, and can also helped them to make their article .

4. by making relationship with T.V the family members can see live cricket matches by sitting in home through T.V

5. by making relationship with T.V the family members can see live operation in hospital through T.V.

6. by making relationship with T.V the family members can advertise on it and can derive gains for their business .

7. by making relationship with T.V the family members can obtain share market information.

8. by making relationship with T.V the family members can participate in competition on going topics and hence can achieve awards in respective fields shown on T.V.

9. by making relationship with T.V the family members can hear and see news from the whole globe through the medium of media.

10. by making relationship with T.V the family members can make themselves aware of the dates of polio vaccines and also the desired place at which the vaccination programmes will held.

Major Impacts of T.V:



1. Impact on Kids

Television is one of the most prevalent media influences in kids’ lives. According to Kids’ Take on Media, a survey conducted in 2003 by the Canadian Teachers Federation, watching TV is a daily pastime for 75 percent of Canadian children, both boys and girls from Grade 3 to Grade 10, then how much impact TV has on children depends on many factors like : how much they watch, their age and personality, whether they watch alone or with adults, and whether their parents talk with them about what they see on TV. So to minimize the potential negative effects of television, it’s important to understand what the impact of television can be on children. Then over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people, While a direct “cause and effect” link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages. Researchers have identified potential responses to media i.e. : Increased fearalso known as the “mean and scary world” syndrome Children, particularly girls, are much more likely than adults to be portrayed as victims of violence on TV, and this can make them more afraid of the world around them. Some of the most violent TV shows are children’s cartoons, in which violence is portrayed as humorousand realistic consequences of violence are seldom shown. This can be especially true of young children, who are more likely to exhibit aggressive Behaviour after viewing violent TV shows or movies.

2. Impact on health

By watching T.V for longer hours most of the family members became the prey for obesity and this obesity pushed them for having various kinds of diseases , reports from newspapers had shown us that most of the heart attacks are causing to the people because of the obesity.

3. Impact of violence

By watching T.V for longer hours, mainly the violence part in movies ,most of the family members thereby gets influenced and gets frusteted out and cause violence in home and also in society, like beating of wives, children, killing and hearting the other societies members.

4. Impact of blindness

By watching T.V for longer hours , most of the family members mainly the grant parents becomes blind and even the children also become blind by watching cartoons for longer hours

5. Impact on brain

By watching T.V for longer hours , the concentration power of human being gets destroyed and therefore they cannot concentrate on studies as well as on business matters and on official matters.

Conclusion:

This article has brought out a total analyze of T.V relationship with family , in the first halves of the article we have seen the definition of media and the evolution of T.V, then in the middle halves of the article we have analyzed and compare the relationship of T.V with family members by throwing lights in the early period and also in the present period and then we have discussed about the positive gains that have been derived from the T.V and then in the lower halves of the article we have focused on the major impacts of T.V and came to concluded that relationship of T.V with family at one side gives families privileges and on the another side it gives the families mostly the bad effects and so for the welfare of family in our society I would recommend that relationship with T.V should be kept in a safe distance from the family by the family members like that relationship that family members used to keep in zoo from animals.

Bibliography:

T.B BOTTOMORE, A Guide to Problem and Literature.

C N SHANKAR RAO, Sociology, S. Chand & Company.

CN SHANKAR RAO, Indian Sociology, S. Chand & Company.

RAM AHUJA, Indian society, Rawat Publication.

Keywords: watching television, media, pros and cons of TV



Television

Christine Peppler asked:


Changes are coming in the world of television. Traditional over-the-air television broadcasts will cease on February 18, 2009 and all stations will broadcast digitally. Although the majority of consumers already have the equipment and services necessary to continue to receive their television programming, there will still be an estimated 20 million who will need to take action if they want to continue viewing programming.

The digital switch over will occur in order to free up those portions of the broadcast spectrum, which traditional analog broadcasts currently occupy, for use by wireless and broadband services. Improved communications for public and safety services and more affordable high speed internet are just two of the potential benefits of the switch.

For most consumers who utilize cable or satellite TV services no action prior to the change over should be necessary as the set-top boxes or receivers they use will allow them to receive the digital signals. However, for those households who receive their television programming exclusively through over-the-air analog broadcasts, additional equipment will be needed in most instances.

Consumers who have purchased a television set in the past year or two may already have a set with a digital tuner which will allow them to pick up the new signals. However, because not every television manufactured prior to March 1, 2007 was required to have a digital tuner having a newer television may not exempt consumers from needing to seek out additional equipment.

For those households with a television that does not currently have a digital tuner and which receive programming over-the-air, one of three options are available.

Purchase a digital ready television

Subscribe to a cable or satellite TV service

Obtain a set top box to allow an existing television to receive digital television signals

Purchasing a new television of course carries a price tag. Depending upon the size and display type, a new television could run from a couple of hundred to a few thousand dollars. Subscribing to a cable or satellite TV service would provide additional programming options and would eliminate the need to purchase additional equipment but would involve adding another monthly bill onto the household budget for homes that dont currently subscribe to such services. The final option, which is probably the least expensive, is to purchase a set-top converter box; the cost of which is anticipated to be around $50 by the 2009 change over.

To assist consumers who receive over-the-air television programming without cable or satellite TV services, the US Department of Commerce will be providing a coupon program beginning in 2008. The program will reportedly provide up to two $40 vouchers per household to help offset the cost of this change for such households.

Certainly the change over to digital television should provide a needed boost for emergency services communications and wireless capabilities while improving television signal efficiency and quality for home viewers. Like most change however, it will not be completely without pain, as millions of home viewers on a budget may find they need to take action if they wish to keep their current television service.



Kansieo.com

Adrian Adams asked:


Television has a long and interesting history. In addition, it has undergone a great number of changes in order to become the type of entertainment we know it to be today. As such, there is no one inventor that can be credited for the development of modern day television. Rather, it is the result of new inventors continually improving on old ideas.

In the Beginning

The beginning roots of television can be traced back to 1862, which is when the first still images were transmitted over wires. This early invention, which was developed by Abbe Giovanna Caselli, was called the Pantelegraph. It wasn’t until 14 years later, however, that George Carey began to experiment with the idea of television. His invention was called a selenium camera and it made it possible for people to see with electricity. It was during this same timeframe that Eugen Goldstein came up with the term cathode rays, which described the process of light being emitted as the result of an electric current being forced through a vacuum tube.

Inventors Find Success

In 1884, the first real successful transmission of images took place. At this time, Paul Nipkow was able to successfully send 18 lines of resolution with the help of his electric telescope. In 1900, the word “television” was used for the first time to describe this special new invention when it was demonstrated at the World’s Fair in Paris. Afterward, the concept of television really took off as inventors explored different ways to develop the system.

By 1906, the first mechanical television system was invented by Boris Rosing. A year later, Rosing and another inventor by the name of Campbell Swinton each developed their own method of electronic scanning in order to reproduce images. In 1923, Vladamir Zworkin patented Swinton’s invention, which was called the iconscope or an electric eye. This later became the basis of the future of television.

Television Finds its Way Into Households

In 1928, the first long distance usage of television took place when Bell Telephone and the U.S. Department of Commerce successfully transmitted from Washington D.C. to New York City. That same year, the Federal Radio Commission issued its first license for a television station to Charles Jenkins. The following year, the first television studio was opened by John Baird and Jenkins broadcast his first television commercial in 1930.

Television got a slow start at first, finding its way into just 200 homes throughout the world in 1936. By 1948, however, this number jumped to one million in the United States alone. Today, one would be hard pressed to find a home without a television - the invention has certainly come a long way in a short period of time.



Kansieo.com

Keith Longmire asked:


Not many people seem to know this… By the end of 2012 the UK will have been the only country in the world to have totally made the switchover to all digital television. The digital switchover starts in 2008 - less than 2 short years away.

A recent Which Report (Which is the major consumer champion in the UK) shows that in many areas the awareness of the digital switchover is less than 2 %. Even in the Borders Television region - the first to make the change - only about a third of the people surveyed knew what was going to happen.

It really does seem that the UK is sleepwalking in to the Digital Switchover.

Not surprisingly, the whole switchover programme is being watched with keen interest by other nations around the World. The benefits of digital television for broadcasters, manufacturers and programme makers are pretty clear. The new media is already changing programme making - Planet Earth, currently showing on the BBC - is a prime example of what can be achieved. And of course the manufacturers are positively drooling at the thought of all the new televisions, video recorders and set-top boxes they expect to sell.

Consumers are set to benefit too - better pictures and sound, high definition television, interactivity, movies on demand… The list goes on. Governments have a keen commercial interest too. They own the air waves. And digital television takes up much less band width than conventional analogue signals. So the move to digital frees up precious broadcasting capacity that Governments are keen to sell to the highest bidders. The sale of the mobile telephone spectrum for 3G providers raised over 20 billion. Who would bet that the sale of the television spectrum won’t raise significantly more?

The move to digital television benefits us all. So why do so few people know what is happening?

Simply being able to receive digital television is only part of the issue. Just about every television bought more than 12 months ago, and a good percentage of those being sold now, are effectively obsolete. All of them will need a separate satellite receiver or set top decoder box to receive digital signals. Every video recorder will also need an additional decoder.

The UK Government puts the average cost per household to upgrade to digital television at 132 ($210). I feel the real figure is likely to be 4 or times this level. Most homes in the UK have upwards of 4 televisions - each and every one will need significant investment to receive digital television signals.

In the UK 68% of homes already receive digital television in some form- satellite (which means BSkyB - the only UK satellite television provider), cable or terrestrial freeview. In almost all cases digital television is only watched on the main television in the house. The other sets are still restricted to the main analogue, terrestrial stations. From 2008 this has all got to change.

It’s time to wake up. We are at the threshold of the biggest change in the television experience since it was first invented.

Start planning your own digital switchover now.



Create a video blog

Richard Gazzo asked:


sions previous to the Plasma TV explosion used the (CRT) cathode ray tube to give users the ability to watch television. CRT televisions works by shooting out a beam of negative charged particles called electrons into a large glass tube. These negative electrons

For the past 75 years, the vast majority of televisions have been built around the same technology, the cathode ray tube (CRT). In a CRT television, a gun fires a beam of electrons (negatively-charged particles) inside a large glass tube. The electrons illuminate phosphor atoms inside the tube (screen), this allows the TV picture to be produced by illuminating different areas of the phosphor coating, this is what gives you the CRT television.

Now welcome to the new face of television, Plasma TV. Plasma has taken the home theater market by storm because of their amazing picture quality and very thin design. The idea of plasma display panels began in 1964 at the University of Illinois. The first displays were very primitive using only points of light created in the laboratory. As time went on digital processing, and other technology, made vivid plasma displays a reality.

Plasma televisions use a much different type of technology thatn CRT models, they use something called pixels. Using a video signal the pixels on the flat screen light up with a high-energy beam of electrons that are separated into the 3 primary colors, red, green and blue. From the illuminated fluorescent lights pixels you get the full color spectrum that produces a full range of colors that give you the image on the screen. Each pixel on the screen has three fluorescent lights in it, a green, red and a blue fluorescent light. Each fluorescent light in the pixel can produce 16 million colors, giving you amazing colors and overall picture quality that you can’t finder in regular CRT televisions.

Another feature that you can’t find in CRT TVs is the widescreen design found on Plasma televisions. The (16:9) aspect ratio is the same dimensions used in movie theaters. This feature gives Plasma flat screen high definition television models a cinematic feel, that is great for watching feature films, concerts, Monday Night Football or anything else you can imagine.

And unlike conventional television models, there are no scan lines on plasma televisions, so the picture is much sharper. The viewing angle is far superior than CRT, there is 170 degree viewing angle so you can basically watch the TV from any area in the room. As I mentioned before Plasma Tvs are very thin, only 3.3 inches in width. This makes them perfect for hanging on your wall, freeing up space in your home. Just like a picture frame, you can now hang your television on your wall!

So who manufacturers these thin TV displays? You can choose from numerous brand names which I’m sure you are familiar with such as, Sony, Sharp, Hitachi and Samsung to name a few. Plasma isn’t the only technology available if you are a HDTV buff, you should also check out LCD televisions and rear projection TVs.

And if you want to find a cheap plasma TV, check out the discount deals available through internet, particularly Amazon.com and Ebay.com. Those 2 online merchants are trusted and can offer not only new, but used and refurbished models for even bigger savings.

Kansieo.com

Roberto Sedycias asked:


One of the most frequently asked questions related to television is, `Where`s the remote?` When the first simple television (televisores) was built in 1928, it did not come with a remote. The entire wonder consisted of a disk, a light (which tended to make the images orange in appearance) and a moderate need for electricity.

By the 1930`s, televisions (televisores) had evolved to all electrical components. The typical screen was about 6X8 inches and generally was mounted in a much larger cabinet. By the late 1930`s televisions were made by several manufacturers in the United States and throughout Europe and the Soviet Union.

World War II slowed recreational television progress while turning that technology to the necessary military communications. Many communication devices were made accessible using television cable. Unlike the Viet Nam War, civilians were not able to watch the battles that had been fought and radio was still highly sought for news and entertainment.

By 1945, many American families believed they had suffered enough hardship from the war and rewarded themselves with televisions (televisores). The pictures were of a better quality than in earlier televisions and only in black and white. Programming other than news had caught on and gradually, game shows, sports and other programs of interest were available.

Technically, the ability to produce programs in color occurred in the late 1940`s, however it was in the mid 1960`s that major broadcasters began to produce their programming in color. Early colored televisions did not provide exact color replication. One often noticed unnatural tint which was correctable by manipulating the `tint` dial on the television.

For those of us old enough to remember the assignation of John F. Kennedy, we will also remember his lying in state and his funeral and burial all shown on major broadcast stations. This was the first major event in American history that could be viewed by people all across the United States on television (televisores). Despite miles of separation, people in the USA felt more connected to one another because of this new technology.

The 1970`s brought about the greatest surge of television purchases. Major appliance stores (Sears and others) had banks of televisions on display. Daytime television and `Soap Operas` became favorites of many stay at home mothers. Game shows became more plentiful as did movies which introduced us to favorites such as John Waynne, Robert Young, `Beaver Cleaver` and many, many more. These were idyllic families, devoid of abuse, less than charitable language, arguments, and other behaviors evidenced in today`s homes and societies. Television commercials changed the `tools` of childhood which previously had been invented and make believe to Barbie and Ken dolls, talking bears, more sophisticated bicycles and wagons and the like.

Satellites influenced further changes in television (televisores) in the mid 1980`s. Pay for view programming became possible through the encryption of programming and transmitting via cable and only to viewers who had the additional equipment to view such programs.

Today, digital and satellite television (televisores) deliver the clearest images to the viewer and provide several hundred channels from which to choose. Televisions have grown from 6×8 picture tubes in huge cabinets to slim instruments sitting atop pedestals. Large screen television gives the appearance of football players kicking off in one`s living room and monster trucks driving directly at the viewer. Television today may be accessed from one`s computer as well as by cell phone.

I can`t imagine what I would see in a crystal ball if I were to search for changes in television technology, but I know that improvements and innovative concepts are explored daily.

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author’s name and all the URLs (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.



Kansieo.com