All Blu-ray players have a built-in feature called upscaling. Upscaling will improve the resolution and quality of standard DVDs when you use an HDMI cable to connect the Blu-ray player to your HDTV. There isn't any trick to making upscaling work, but you must use an HDMI cable to connect the components. There isn't anything else that you need to do because the process is … [Read more...]
Tips for Setting Up a Home Theater
If you have decided to make the leap and set up a home theater, here are some starter tips for setting up a home theater the right way. Tip 1: Investigate and choose the HDTV technology that you wish to use for your home theater. The main choices are plasma, LCD and LED. Projectors are used for high-end home theater installations. Plasma can produce some of the best colors … [Read more...]
4K Resolution for Home Theaters Is Here
4K digital resolution has been used for Hollywood movies filmed in digital formats for a number of years. At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), 4K moved into home theater use when several HDTV manufacturers displayed 4K resolution demo TVs. 4K refers to a 4096 pixel width for the resolution of the video, which more than doubles the 1920 pixel width of the 1080p high … [Read more...]
What is the Difference Between a $20 HDMI Cable and a $100 Cable?
This isn't really a trick question, but it is one where you will rarely get an honest answer from the sales person in your favorite electronics store. Prices for HDMI cables vary widely. You can find cables that sell for less than $10 and will also find major name brands selling for more than $100. The real difference between an $20 cable and a $100 cable is $80. Wire is … [Read more...]
HDMI Cable Buying Tips
We take the mystery out of buying an HDMI cable for your home theater. There are only a few important features to look for and we cover them all. It is easy to select a good quality HDMI cable if you follow these tips. There is a lot of confusion about the different specification or versions for HDMI cables. Should you select an HDMI 1.3 or can you use a 2.1 cable? Do you … [Read more...]
Glasses-Free 3D Technology Shown at CES 2011
I saw four companies displaying glasses-free 3D TV prototypes at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Each used the same approach with technology. Sony, Toshiba, LG and eLocity each displayed glasses-free 3D televisions using lenticular lens technology. Back in August when Toshiba first announced that they were going to introduce a glasses-free 3D HDTV, I … [Read more...]
Blu-ray 3D Movies Starting to Arrive
Although the hardware component needed to view the new Blu-ray 3D movies has been available since about may of 2010, the most important part has been missing: Blu-ray 3D movies. Some manufacturers, such as Panasonic and Samsung, have bundled 3D movies with a basic package of other required components, such as LC shutter glasses, but their bundles are designed to work with … [Read more...]
HQFS 3D Movies – How They Work
HQFS was probably one of the best 3D home theater viewing technologies until the introduction of Blu-ray 3D technology in 2010. The 3D quality of HQFS is pretty good and unlike the new technology, it works with most older televisions. HQFS stands for High Quality Field Sequential. HQFS is the forerunner to the current liquid crystal shutter glasses technology that is … [Read more...]
Active versus Passive 3D Technology
The differences between active and passive 3D technology are sometimes confused, but are actually easy to understand. The differences between active and passive 3D technology has to do with whether information is communicated during the 3D viewing process that creates of change of state required for the viewing process. Currently, the only active technology is liquid crystal … [Read more...]
Anaglyph 3D Movie Technology – How It Works
Up until 2010, if you wanted to watch movies in your home theater in 3D, you only really had two choices: anaglyph movies and HQFS movies. The first is the one that you are probably most familiar with, because it uses glasses with two differently colored lenses. Anaglyph technology uses glasses with two chromatically opposed (contrasting) colored lenses to separate two … [Read more...]