HD Projection Screens - A Home Theater Fantasy?

High Definition projection is a definite step forward when you want to have a home theatre that rivals the best commercial theatres.

The specifications for an HD projector are well defined, so you know exactly which projector is a full HD projector and which one isn't. Just by looking at the specifications.

Projection screens are a different story all together. There are no real specifications to begin with. Sure, you have gain and viewing angles, but since a projection screen can only reflect what the projector puts out, it's hard to compare. Especially when you add the impact of ambient light to the equation. (ambient light is all light that is not coming from the projector).

So how can you get the right projection screen for your HD projector?

First of all, you have to realize that there are no HD projection screens. There is no industry standard that determines which projection screen would or would not be high definition. Nor is that possible, because with an HD projector a projection screen would then be HD, but with a standard projector it would not be.

So now that we have determined that an HD projection screen does not exist, what do you look for when you want to have the most from your HD projector?

1. A wrinkle-free fabric. V-shapes and horizontal lines are common with some projection screens. But, this is a no-go for an HD set-up, since any distortion in a razor sharp image can be seen immediately. The best screen types are fixed frame screens and electric or tensioned electric projection screens. Manual screens are cheap, but rarely offer a level of planarity that results in a distortion-free projection.

2. A smooth fabric. Some fabrics are coarse in the sense that the projection layer sprayed onto the carrier material has a clear structure. This interferes with the projection, since with an HD projection, the structure will be visible. This is not only annoying, but takes the realism out of the movies you project.

If you look at these two factors, you are guaranteed to have a perfect projection screen. Don't believe HD or HD ready labels stuck onto a projection screen or displayed on a site.

And, if possible, visit a showroom where you can see the differences between fabrics and see how they perform. If that's no option, ask for fabric samples, as many manufacturers make these available, free of charge, so you can see what the material is like, without ever leaving your home.

So an HD projection screen is a fantasy, but you can get a screen that will make the most of your projector.

As an award winning projection screen designer and founder of Beamax projection screens, Otto Tromm knows what matters when you want to get the most from your projection screen.

More importantly, he recognises the value of industrial design, so that you can have a projection screen in your own home, without it dominating the room.

To find a projector screen that matches your room, budget and projector, go to http://www.beamax.com

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Organic LED (OLED) Soon to Dominate HDTV Market

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology has been the star at the electronics trade shows this year. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, the biggest product introduction was made by Sony, with an OLED display. The new 11" Sony TV is called the "XEL-1". The Sony HDTV is extremely thin (less than 1/10") and light-weight. At the FPD International Show in Asia in November, Samsung introduced a 31" OLED HDTV with 1080P resolution and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Companies like LG, Toshiba, Matsushita (Panasonic) are investing hundreds of millions of dollars, developing this promising technology. Toshiba plans to sell a 30" OLED display in 2009. Samsung says that they will sell large screen OLED sets in 2010.

Eastman-Kodak holds a several patents in OLED technology. Manufacturers will probably be required to pay a licensing fee to Kodak for every OLED TV sold. Eastman-Kodak just introduced the OLED Material EK-GD403, which utilizes green dopant technology. The technology advance is a stampede.

There is a lot of money to be made. According to DisplaySearch, in 2007, the market for LCD TVs was estimated at $27.4 billion, while the market for plasma TVs was estimated at $7.5 billion. An OLED TV that was cost competitive would likely get a significant share of this market. DisplaySearch estimates that the OLED market will grow to more than $17 billion annually by 2015. According to iSuppli, the current market for OLED devices is a little more than a half-billion dollars per year. Samsung currently has a 70% market share. But cost and technology problems have prevented OLED from being used in larger equipment such as HDTVs or computer monitors.

Easy Wall-Mountable HDTV

Most consumers say they want a wall mountable HDTV. However, according to the NPD Group, a consumer and retail market research information firm (NPD.com), only 13 percent of current LCD TV owners and 25 percent of plasma TV owners say their set is mounted on the wall.

"Consumers are drawn to flat-panel technologies for their wall-mounting capabilities, but the difficulty of such an installation often leads them to explore alternatives such as stands or retailer installations." said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis, The NPD Group. But with OLED, the job of mounting the hardware would be much easier, more like hanging a painting on the wall. The hardware weighs a fraction of LCD or plasma.

OLED Performance

OLED displays have already used for some time in digital cameras, cell phones and other devices with relatively small panels, because they are very energy efficient, which is very important in portable devices.

A significant benefit of OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Because of this, they draw much less power. And because there is no backlight, an OLED display is much thinner than an LCD display.

And because there is no backlight, an OLED system has a larger viewing angle than an LED system, and an OLED display can be much thinner than an LCD display.

The response time for OLED is faster than normal LCD screens. An average of 8 to 12 milliseconds in response time is normal for a LCD compared to 0.01 milliseconds in response time for an OLED. This means that OLED will be less subject to "blur". Blur occurs when there is rapid motion in the programming, such as sports. When the picture changes quickly, the pixels can lag in response.

One of the problems that has limited OLED use was that the blue OLED technology had a short lifetime, but a new type of blue LED, the "PHOLED", has a 20,000-hour lifetime (20-25 years of normal TV use). This was a major breakthrough in the effort to commercialize this technology for the HDTV market.

In theory, OLED displays can be more efficiently manufactured than LCD or plasma displays, meaning that they should not be as expensive. The Sony XEL-1 sells for $2500, but you should remember that the first large LCD and Plasma displays were much more expensive when they were first introduced. If production costs can be cut, the OLED HDTV set should eventually be less expensive that comparable LCD sets.

OLED Performance Pluses:

• Power Efficienct
• Very Thin and Light-Weight, 1/4" or less
• Better Brightness than LCD
• Wide Viewing Angle (~ 160 degree viewing angle)
• Excellent Contrast (> 1,000,000:1)
• Once developed the Manufacturing Process should be Inexpensive (the process is similar to ink-jet printing)
• Very Large Displays are Possible (> 100 inch)
• Response is better than LCD (good for fast moving images like Sports)

If the OLED does not live up to its promise, it will not be the first HDTV display to do so. Remember the surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED TV)? Toshiba and Canon were ready to go into production, but patent disputes with a company called Nano-Proprietary killed the technology. That probably won't happen this time. The main obstacle will be the manufacturing process. If units can be manufactured cost-competitively with LCD and Plasma, it should get very interesting.

About the Author: Brian Bradshaw is a Certified Technical Specialist (InfoComm CTS). Areas of expertise include Video, Audio, Computation, HDTV, Satellite Systems, and Communications. He has a communications technology business in Plano, Texas (Dallas). More information can be found at his Website

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How to Guide - Connecting Your Laptop to HDTV Or TV

I'm writing this guide after being asked a few times on ways to connect a laptop to a TV. People want to achieve this for several reasons. First, it's great for presentations at work, school, or home. It's also convenient for viewing pictures and videos to friends, watching DVDs, and it is now even being used for viewing Blu-ray and other high definition content on the HDTV.

First, we want to make sure you're getting the most out of your laptop when it comes to displaying it on the TV.

• If you have an HDTV with HDMI inputs, check if your laptop has an HDMI output. If it does, you're in luck! Your HDTV can display from your laptop in HD resolutions. All you need is an HDMI cable to connect them. If your HDTVs HDMI inputs are used up already. An HDMI switch would be the best solution for you. We supply switches that can connect up to 5 different HDMI sources to 1 HDMI input.
• If you don't have an HDMI output on the laptop, check if it has a DVI output. Some ASUS, and Dell laptops have them. If you do, you can connect your laptop to an HDTV with an HDMI to DVI cable. They are both digital cables so this will produce the same HD resolutions as a standard HDMI cable.
• If your laptop doesn't have HDMI or DVI out, it should have a VGA output. Connecting with VGA is capable of high resolutions. However, different TVs support different resolutions with VGA. You must check the maximum resolution your TV model supports with VGA.
• Pretty much all laptops come with an S-Video output. It's not going to be as great of a picture, but it will certainly do the job with an S-Video cable.

After you have connected your chosen cable, boot up your laptop and see if it has detected your TV. If not, you have to go into your display properties and look for the settings that will enable your TV to display from your laptop. Where to find the setting will vary depending on your graphics card (just look around). If you are having trouble getting your TV to show a picture, make sure you have updated the display drivers on your laptop. Now you're probably going to want sound from something other than your laptop speakers. So you can choose to output it to your TV, or blast it from your home theater audio receiver.

• The best way to connect audio to your TV or receiver is through a digital audio cable. Both a digital coaxial cable or Toslink optical audio cable will work great for crisp high quality audio. Just make sure your laptop has either a digital coaxial or an optical audio output. Some laptops use the headphone jack to double as a digital coaxial (S/PDIF) output. If you use this method, your going to need a 3.5mm to RCA adapter with a digital coaxial cable. If your laptop has none of these outputs and you still really want that high quality sound. Don't worry! You can still get an external (USB) sound card that has digital coaxial out or optical out. I recommend the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 SB1090 with Toslink Optical audio out.
• Another way, which won't require any add-ons, is to use the headphone (3.5mm) jack on your laptop to the RCA (red and white) inputs on your TV or receiver. To do this, all you need is a 3.5mm to 2 RCA adapter with a 2 RCA audio cable.

I know all of these cables can seem confusing to you. If you're having trouble finding out what each cable looks like or find out more about a cable, check out the Cable Guide at CableTrain.com. All of these cables are available for you on our website as well. I hope you can now successfully connect your laptop to the TV in the best way possible!

Carter Boatright from http://www.cabletrain.com

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