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Plasma TV Pros has created this tutorial to help you understand the reasons for and benefits of HDTV technology.

HIGHLIGHTS OF PLASMA MONITORS

Higher resolution
Plasma display devices have higher resolution than conventional TV sets, and are capable of displaying full HDTV and DTV signals as well as XGA, SVGA and VGA signals from a computer. For example, you can get plasma displays with a 1024 x 1024 pixel high-resolution that can display images at true 1080i and 720p HDTV resolution, as well as 480i and 480p HD signals.

No scan lines
Conventional CRTs use an electron beam to scan the picture tube from top to bottom at regular intervals, lighting the phosphors to create the image. In the case of standard (NTSC) TV, visible scan lines can be seen. Most plasma displays include built-in line doubling to further improve image quality when viewing standard analog video sources such as TV broadcasts and VCR tapes.

Exceptional color accuracy
High-end plasma displays are capable of displaying 16.77 million colors -- providing superb color realism with exceptionally subtle gradations between colors.

Widescreen aspect ratio
Plasma display devices have a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, the relationship between the screen's width and height. This is the proper aspect ratio for HDTV, and also allows many DVD-Video movies to be viewed in widescreen format, as originally seen in the theater.

Perfectly flat screen
Plasma display monitors have screens that are perfectly flat, with no curvature whatsoever. This eliminates the edge distortion that can occur in CRT displays.

Uniform screen brightness
Unlike some rear and front projection televisions that suffer from uneven screen brightness -- seen as "hot spots" in the middle of the screen or a darkening near the edges and especially corners -- plasma displays illuminate all pixels evenly across the screen.

Slim, space-saving design
Plasma display monitors are only a few inches thin-providing installation options never before possible. In addition to stand mounting, they can be hung on a wall or from a ceiling, allowing you to enjoy big-screen home theater impact from a component that doesn't dominate floor space. Conventional TVs and front projectors by comparison take up far more real estate and are much more limited in placement flexibility.

Plasma monitors have an elegant, understated "picture frame" appearance that blends inconspicuously with any dŽcor; with a chassis not much wider than the display screen itself.

Because they eliminate the need for a front projection unit and a projection screen, plasma display monitors are also ideal for use in a wide variety of business and commercial applications where the use of a front projector would not be feasible.

Wide viewing angle
Plasma displays offer a viewing angle of 160 degrees (top to bottom and left to right) -- much better than rear projection TVs and LCD displays. This allows a larger number of viewers to enjoy proper image reproduction from a wider variety of locations throughout the room.

Universal display capability
Most plasma monitors can accept any video format formats. Typically, they will include composite video (NTSC, PAL SECAM) (standard RCA jacks), S-video and component video inputs, plus one or more RGB inputs to accept the video output from a computer.

Whether you want to view a sporting event on HDTV, a DVD-Video movie, a satellite broadcast or even surf the Internet with incredible big screen impact, chances are a plasma monitor will accommodate your needs.

Immunity from magnetic fields
Because plasma displays do not use electron beams, as conventional CRT displays do, they are immune to the effects of magnetic fields. Components such as loudspeakers that contain strong magnets can distort the picture if placed too close a standard TV (which has a CRT). On the other hand, plasma displays can be placed in close proximity to any type of loudspeaker and not experience image distortion.

What is high definition television (HDTV) all about?

Imagine while watching the Masters Tournament, you are able to “read the green” while Tiger is putting….

Imagine a picture is so clear that you can actually see the blades of grass of Pasadena’s Rose Bowl….

This is the essence of high definition and digital television broadcasting which is becoming the new standard throughout the United States.Of course in order to display the signal of digital broadcasting in high definition you need to have equipment capable of handling high definition.This is where the technology of plasma, LCD, DLP, and certain other mediums of high definition reception have been competing.

Changing the standards….

The usual National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) analog TV screen in the U.S. has 525 scan lines, with 480 actually visible. The usual TV has an effective picture resolution of about 210,000 pixels. In the highest resolution digital TV formats, each picture contains about 2 million pixels. This means about 10 times more picture detail on the HDTV screen!

DTV may be in either 4:3 or 16:9, as shown in the following figure:

The typical TV show uses 35-mm film (or is recorded direct-to-video using NTSC equipment). In the case of film, the broadcaster converts it to an analog TV signal for broadcasting. Standard 35-mm film has an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, meaning it is 1.37 times as wide is it high. A conventional TV screen has a 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio, so the conversion is easy.

To deal with HDTV's new standards, broadcasters are upgrading to all new equipment, such as cameras, remote broadcast units, control rooms, cables, and sound equipment. This is because digital TV has:

  • Wider images
  • Much more detailed pictures
  • 5.1 channel CD-quality Dolby Digital (AC-3) surround sound

The aspect ratio (width to height) of digital TV is 16:9 (1.78:1), which is closer to the ratios used in theatrical movies, typically 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. Currently broadcasters must either pan or scan the image (crop the full picture of the film down to 4:3, eliminating part of every scene in the process) or letterbox it (present the full picture only on the middle part of the screen, with black bars above and below it). With a 16:9 screen, panning and scanning a theatrical movie doesn't remove so much from the original picture and letterboxing doesn't block out so much of your screen.

 

Common Myths: As published by the National Association of Broadcasters….

Myth : I already have Digital Television because I have digital cable.

Fact: Fact: Maybe yes, maybe no. Digital cable is not necessarily Digital TV (DTV) from broadcasters. DTV is received via free over-the-air digital signals. Digital TV has the capability to offer consumers five times the resolution than that of the current analog signal, and only a few premium cable channels offer this.

Myth : High-definition Television (HDTV) means "Digital Television."

Fact: While HDTV signals deliver the highest quality of DTV visually and aurally, it is only one benefit to DTV. In addition to HDTV, Digital TV can offer a second type of signal, Standard-Definition Television (SDTV). The magic of SDTV is that it gives broadcasters the flexibility to multicast programming, bringing viewers three times more over-the-air content. Digital TV's multicasting ability gives viewers expanded choice in television programs broadcast from the same station at the same time. For example, with multicasting, viewers can choose to watch the news, sports, a sitcom or children's programming coming from the same station at 5 p.m.

Myth:Once broadcasters’ transition from analog to digital, analog televisions will be obsolete.

Fact:No. Set-top boxes are available now and will continue to be available to consumers after the transition is complete. However, to reap the full benefits of Digital TV, including superior sound and clarity, you must own a Digital TV set. An analog television, with the addition of a set-top box, will still allow viewers to enjoy all of the programming they have always enjoyed in addition to the benefits of Digital TV including multicasting, enhanced sound quality and data casting available through digital broadcasting.

Myth:You can't see a big difference between analog TV and DTV.

Fact: Viewers can't ignore the dramatic improvements offered by the digital television conversion. Visually, HDTV captures viewers with crystal clear resolution and razor sharp detail. Individual hairs, labels on footballs and the subtle effect of wind blowing through grass are all clearly visible through HDTV. Also, the resolution provides an image akin to movie-theater screens. Combined with the capacity to deliver enhanced Dolby Digital surround sound, HDTV produces an advanced home theater effect. Digital TV automatically provides viewers with sharper images, better sound, and more viewing options than have ever been available over the air.

 

DLP Home Theater Options – Re-creating the cinema at home

So you are thinking building a personal home theater, HDTV or A/V room but you don’t want to be limited to the size of plasmas or LCD’s.If you have the space and want to experience the ultimate cinema feel, there is no better choice than DLP (Digital Light Processing) front end projection technology.

Going beyond the plasma and LCD flat panel size barriers of 65 inches requires the right building conditions, (which is essentially space) and when done properly it will make you forget about your local cinema chain forever.

The latest technologies in DLP projectors easily handle the highest in HDTV resolution on screen sizes that can range from 80 inches to 30 feet wide.

This is exactly how the technology works:


(Copyright Texas Instruments DLP Technology Center)

THE SEMICONDUCTOR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

At the heart of every DLP™ projection system is an optical semiconductor known as the Digital Micromirror Device, or DMD chip, which was invented by Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments in 1987.

The DMD chip is probably the world's most sophisticated light switch. It contains a rectangular array of up to 1.3 million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors; each of these micromirrors measures less than one-fifth the width of a human hair, and corresponds to one pixel in a projected image.

When a DMD chip is coordinated with a digital video or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, its mirrors can reflect an all-digital image onto a screen or other surface. The DMD and the sophisticated electronics that surround it are what we call Digital Light Processing™ technology

.

DIGITAL LIGHT PROCESSING I: THE GRAYSCALE IMAGE

A DMD panel's micromirrors are mounted on tiny hinges that enable them to tilt either toward the light source in a DLP™ projection system (ON) or away from it (OFF)-creating a light or dark pixel on the projection surface.

The bit-streamed image code entering the semiconductor directs each mirror to switch on and off up to several thousand times per second. When a mirror is switched on more frequently than off, it reflects a light gray pixel; a mirror that's switched off more frequently reflects a darker gray pixel.

In this way, the mirrors in a DLP™ projection system can reflect pixels in up to 1,024 shades of gray to convert thevideo or graphic signal entering the DMD into a highly detailed grayscale image.

 

DIGITAL LIGHT PROCESSING II: ADDING COLOR

The white light generated by the lamp in a DLP™ projection system passes through a color wheel as it travels to the surface of the DMD panel. The color wheel filters the light into red, green, and blue, from which a single-chip DLP™ projection system can create at least 16.7 million colors. And the 3-DMD chip system found in DLP Cinema™ projection systems is capable of producing no fewer than 35 trillion colors.


The on and off states of each micromirror are coordinated with these three basic building blocks of color. For example, a mirror responsible for projecting a purple pixel will only reflect red and blue light to the projection surface; our eyes then blend these rapidly alternating flashes to see the intended hue in a projected image.

APPLICATIONS AND CONFIGURATIONS

1-CHIP DLP™ PROJECTION SYSTEM

Televisions, home theater systems and business projectors using DLP™ technology rely on a single DMD chip configuration like the one described above.

White light passes through a color wheel filter, causing red, green and blue light to be shone in sequence on the surface of the DMD. The switching of the mirrors and the proportion of time they are 'on' or 'off' is coordinated according to the color shining on them. The human visual system integrates the sequential color and sees a full-color image.

3-CHIP DLP™ PROJECTION SYSTEM

DLP™ technology-enabled projectors for very high image quality or high brightness applications such as cinema and large venue displays rely on a 3-DMD-chip configuration to produce stunning images, whether moving or still.

In a 3-chip system, the white light generated by the lamp passes through a prism that divides it into red, green and blue. Each DMD chip is dedicated to one of these three colors; the colored light that each micromirror reflects is then combined and passed through the projection lens to form a single pixel in the image.

For more information about Signature AV – DLP installations or for a free site survey, please call and schedule an appointment.  Or click here to view the Signature AV home page.

Technology and Custom Installations

The technology of recent years has been an amazing vehicle propelling us into the 21st century at light speeds. Of course coming along with it has been the sophistication levels of complexity of audio and visual equipment and their overall capabilities.

True custom installation is very much considered an art form. Generally, custom installation involves several layers of craftsmanship, each having a vital role in creating the perfect home or business a/v environment. Signature AV employs the most talented audio visual/network engineers, interior designers, architects and master craftsman to be able to offer our customers the most expansive array of options when considering an a/v solution.

The business of custom a/v installation is very different from what local “superstores” and their “nationwide installation network” are offering in an inexpensive installation package. Usually these services offer very little beyond having equipment delivered to your home and set up in a purely operational fashion.