August PC/Laptop USB Freeview/HDTV Receiver - Black - Vista Compatible

This AUGUST USB Freeview HDTV Receiver is a "magic wand" as it can turn your laptop or desktop computer to a high definition personal multimedia centre that allows you to watch over 40 free digital channels, listen to over 20 digital radio stations, record your favourite TV programmes on your hard drive or burn it onto a DVD.

It comes with a professional and user friendly software interface, mini antenna and remote control. All you need to do is to plug the device into a USB port of your computer, insert the CD and install the software by following the instructions. Your computer will start working immediately for you as a portable TV and recorder. You can watch TV programmes live or record onto your hard drive to watch later.

An indoor antenna is provided to watch Freeview in the areas where the signal is strong, an amplified antenna may improve reception and a rooftop aerial should be used in some regions. An aerial adaptor is also provided for you to connect this device to your roof top aerial.

Please note that there may be difficulty to receive freeview TV signal by the included portable antenna in some areas where the signal is not sufficiently strong. This is due to that the freeview service (www.freeview.co.uk) in the UK does not fully support portable TV antenna at present. The reception will be improving along with the progress of Digital Switchover Program(http://www.digitaluk.co.uk). A signal amplifier or booster may improve reception capability in regions where the signal is marginally strong. (please note that reception capability may also be affected by various factors such as proximity to freeview TV/digital radio transmitters, tall building structures, thick walls, ceilings and etc.). A rooftop TV aerial may be required to watch freeview channels in regions where the signal is insufficient for a portable antenna.
Customer Review: TELITLIKITIS
I use an external aerial and it still will not pull in all channels the picture freezes and sometimes will not show a picture at all, waste of money, you get what you pay for!
Customer Review: Laptop TV
After an initial attempt with the supplied "aerial" and software we plugged it into the roof aerial cable and used Windows Media Centre instead. The supplied software was unable to pick up any freeview channels which is odd as our old freeview box had about 60 channels before it died, so we tried Windows Media Centre and got about 60. It is an amazing bit of kit for the money. The picture quality is superb and we can now record stuff without pratting about with video tapes. As we couldn't use the software we couldn't use the remote so bought a cyberlink media player remote which works fine. The bedroom TV and video was rarely used so can now be disposed of and we can just use the laptop as and when required. Thank you August!

The latest great thing in home theater displays is the emergence of 1080p resolution displays. p stands for progressive, which means the screen fills all at once at 1/60th of a second, versus i for interlaced, which means every other line, then the other half of the full picture, each field displaying at 1/30th of a second.

At this time, there is no source for broadcast 1080p programming. Instead, we have 1080i: two interlaced fields make a frame, at 1/30th second for each field.

Finger it out!

Take your fingers and spread them apart. That's a crude example of interlaced. When you bring the hands together, you combine both fields and you get the whole picture (one frame). It happens fast enough that you don't notice the effect unless there's motion on the screen, then you might see a difference in the smoothness of the motion.

Progressive is all the fingers at once. 720p is fewer pixels, faster: 1/60th second per frame.

1080 = 1920 x 1080 pixels | 720 = 1280 x 720 pixels

Till recently, HDTVs were either 720p or 1080i. Most TV transmissions were 1080i. I believe ABC adopted 720p because it would have shown sports with better pictures. I also remember back when Panasonic Broadcast underwrote ABC (as 720p) - or at least Monday Night Football. Fox and ESPN now also do 720P. The others are 1080i.

The new 1080p sets don't have the front end circuitry to actually receive that resolution. But, again, nothing is transmitting that res anyway. What the advantage is, is how these sets show 1080i - they have the pixel count to do it without trouble. They deinterlace the transmission and present it full frame without throwing away any detail. A 720p set has to downconvert a 1080i signal. In that downconversion you can lose some detail.

(BUT) OH SAY CAN YOU SEE?

But there's a more important issue - can you really see the difference in resolution between 1080i and 1080p? Tests of visual acuity to determine the resolution required of a television transmission system by the BBC's J.O. Drewery and R. Salmon determined that at 9 feet, a 50 inch screen at 720p's resolution will give you all the resolution you can see! At 9 feet, a 56 incher needs 1080i to avoid seeing the pixel structure.
If you sit farther or closer, you may need more resolution.

1080i vs 720p: MOTION CHANGES EVERYTHING

Motion is different issue. If you want to see motion clearly, then live action 720p is what looks best, compared to 1080i. Here's why: the information content of 720p is about the same as 1080i, though what it lacks in spatial resolution, it makes up for in temporal resolution (because the picture is at 1/60th of a second, not 1/30th x 2.) On 1080i, this would show as flickered or jagged edges on bright horizontal objects (like in the background of a camera pan.)

The good news? As the retailers hawk 1080p, you might find a killer deal on a 720p set and not give up anything in what I'll call 'effective' picture quality to get it.

Bob Wood has been heard in over 30 countries as he has created billions of impressions for advertisers in commercials, industrial narrations, and movie trailers. He has been the voice of tv and radio stations across North America. he may be reached at 512 281 6262. http://www.bobwoodvoiceovers.com

Samsung LE 40 B 750

Sapphire RADEON X1900 XTX - Graphics adapter - Radeon X1900 XTX - PCI Express x16 - 512 MB GDDR3 - Digital Visual Interface (DVI) - HDTV out / video in - retail

Quick to the punch, the next generation of virtual warriors are equipped with the tools of tomorrow with the hardware ingenuities of Sapphire! Providing the muscle behind every weighted swipe of a saber or recoil of an assault weapon, the Sapphire RADEON

HDTVs with 1080p resolution comprise of 1,920x1,080 pixels, which is the current highest HDTV resolution available in the market. Televisions like, the best Plasma TVs, are now capable of displaying images with this highest resolution in high definition broadcasts. These TVs offer more than double the resolution than the other step-down models, which typically have 1,366x768, 1,280x720, or 1,024x768 matrix formations. HDTV TVs with any of these resolutions fall under 720p category.

Prices of 1080p HDTVs are dropping to a range which is becoming affordable to people. Under such circumstances, the big question is whether you should go for a 720p HDTV resolution, or if you should spend a bit more and get 1080p HDTV. With all the interest that is being generated by 1080p Plasma TVs, the best solution would be to go in for 720p. The reasoning is that, with your viewing material being primarily in standard definition DVD, and HDTV broadcast of sports, there is hardly any difference in viewing between 720p vs 1080p. The HD broadcasts from Fox, ESPN, and ABC are in native 720p, and the images look as good when viewed on a 720p HDTV resolution. The enhancement of resolution in a 1080p HDTV will not be noticed at all since the broadcast signals have limitations to 720p.

There are few prime time broadcasts from CBS, NBC, and other networks which are in 1080i, and quite often your 1080p HDTV has the potential to display the images slightly sharper than what you would find in a 720p HDTV. This difference is not much in a real life scenario, and could be hardly noticed, since the 1080i signals viewed with a 720p HDTV resolution would look good to a high degree. Never-the-less, if you sit close to view a 1080p Plasma TV, viewing a program being broadcast in 1080i, you might notice some difference. But from a higher viewing distance, the difference cannot be noticed. Ideally you would want to get the right screen size and display resolution for the distance you will be sitting at.

The real advantage that you can get out of 1080p HDTV resolution is that, you can get the full effect of viewing from your HD DVD, and Blue Ray which are the only native 1080p sources. The pictures from HD DVD and Blue Ray discs are displayed on your TV screen as full 1920x1080 per frame of video, and are best viewed with 1080p HDTV. If you are a home theater enthusiast, and you have a hobby to upgrade your home theater hardware, 1080p HDTV resolution would indeed add more to your entertainment. Of course, you get this added benefit only if you sit at the right distance.

The trend of 1080p HDTV in the market is growing, as the price keeps on falling. People are going in for 1080p HDTV resolution as it comes within the manageable price range. However, a large majority of consumers are still not convinced about purchasing 1080p HDTVs yet, and would like to wait until the broadcasts are available to make any sense in having 1080p HDTV resolution. The market is still offering its best deals on 720p HDTVs, and for consumers who rents DVDs, or watches Sunday sports and action movies the picture quality of a 720p HDTV may be enough.

If you want to read more about Plasma TV & HDTV Resolution and find out more important details as well as a visual comparison (side by side pictures) of 720p vs 1080p come and visit our site. We also maintain a top of best plasma TV models on the market. You will find that very valuable if you intend to buy a plasma TV and want to get the best one out there.

Samsung LE 40 B 750

The Technology Behind LCD Televisions

Nowadays LCD TVs are a lot better and more improved than a few years back. That is because the technologies have been perfected. And don't think that you have to pay a fortune to get your hand on an LCD TV. Due to large competition the various brands have lowered the prices so that to attract customers. This, of course, is for the benefit of the consumers who can buy an LCD TV that is dramatically better than their old TV with a lot less money.

Different televisions offer different features. But don't think that you need all of them. Some of them you won't even know if they exist or not. Most of the consumers just need an LCD TV to watch movies, soaps or sports and not too many fancy, difficult-to-spell features. The price mainly has to do with the size of the screen. Most people turn their attention on 32" because they are efficient and do not cost much. There are others, though, who want more gadgetry and they tend to buy 42"or 50". But in order to buy that large TVs you should have enough place.

If you are on the market looking for an LCD TV make sure that you won't be misled. Things are not always as they seem. And that is the case with display models as well. Although, you see a bright picture on the stand that may not be the actual performance of the TV when you take it home. Check the settings carefully so that you won't buy something that will disappoint you.

Another key factor that you need to check is the high definition potential of the television. There are the televisions that are advertised as HD ready. But you know better than that. Although, their performance is good enough it is not the best. For high definition to have the maximum effects the TV should have Full HD or else 1080p.

Also, there are a few things that you need to know about connectivity. What you get is the HDMI ports, and you can be thankful if you get three and OK with two. Also, there are one or two scart sockets to connect other devices, as well.

To conclude, LCD TVs have improved a lot over the past few years and the development will certainly not end here.

Read all about the technology of LCD TVs on http://www.best32lcdtv.com

Samsung LE 40 B 550