http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/18306/ In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed many things: the standby power supply, main power supply, horizontal and vertical deflection circuits, degaussing, and tuners. In Part 3 of this series, we will discuss the IF (Intermediate Frequency), AGC (Automatic Gain Control), sound IF, sound amplification, and the remote control circuits of the basic television set. IF (Intermediate Frequency) Circuits The most important feature of the IF amplifier is selectivity. Selectivity is the process of allowing only the desired frequencies to pass, while rejecting all others. There will be about three or four separate amplifier stages in a color TV IF circuit. By amplifying the signal in stages, the amounts of distortion in the IF signal waveform are reduced. The IF stages of a color TV set are fixed-tuned to a single IF frequency. Both the video and audio IF signals travel together through the IF amplifiers. The IF amplifiers need to have a bandwidth of at least 4.5 MHz, if amplification stages range from 41 MHz to 46 MHz. Traps through the circuits are used to attenuate transmission of the video carrier of the next higher channel, sound carrier of the current channel, and the sound carrier... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:30:05 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/18601/ (Syndicated from MyDigitalEntertainer.com )  You’ve probably seen the commercials and heard the hype. But what exactly is Microsoft’s Intel Viiv? Simply put, Intel Viiv (rhymes with “five”) is a catch-all for the latest in a growing line of marketing initiatives by Intel. In fact, if you bought your computer after early 2006, chances are you’ve may already have a Viiv. Much like Intel’s last marketing splash, the Centrino, there’s no set-in-stone configuration for these systems. Instead, the Viiv offers a host of possible features to choose from, including processors, chipsets, and even an optional TV tuner. With an Intel Viiv PC, you can access, play, and share your digital media—all from one convenient spot. You can also use your Viiv with several different online entertainment sources, allowing you to download and play tons of music, movies, and more. The Viiv is capable of connecting directly to your television, plus it offers a quick and easy one-touch on/off function—just like most standard DVD players. Plus, it neatly organizes all of your digital media files so you spend more time enjoying your content, and less time searching for just the right files. Inside the Box Viiv systems offer support for up to ... Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:36:42 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/17516/ In "Circuits Of The Basic TV and What They Do - Part 1" we discussed the standby power supply, main power supply, and the horizontal and vertical deflection circuits. In Part 2 of this series we'll dig a bit deeper inside a typical TV set, and cover degaussing circuits, tuner circuits, and common tuner problems. Tue, 17 Apr 2007 16:45:58 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/251083.html Sun, 23 Jul 2006 09:24:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11662/ I just purchased a new Sharp Aquos LC-26D5U TV, and I have Comcast digital cable with a Motorola set-top box. I have the cable box connected to component inputs on my TV, but the HD channels are only showing in SD. Mon, 25 Jul 2005 13:16:43 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11160/ Question:I bought a Panasonic CT-34WX54 HDTV. I am experiencing some digital scrambling every few minutes for a second or two. I check the digital cable on other TV's in the house and they are working fine. What is the problem with my new TV?-submitted by lazAnswer:Actually, there is probably nothing wrong with the television. Your set is an HDTV monitor, which means that when you're viewing TV images from an external tuner box (in your case, a digital cable box) it mearly displays the signal as it's received. The trouble sounds like it's the cable line to the digital cable box. Digital television signals are different from analog ones with respect to signal integrity. Digital signals remain perfect so long as the digital stream is adequate enough for proper decoding, while analog ones will get snowy. The pitfall to digital is that if the stream is interrupted the image will break up into blocks, like what you're describing (similar to how a CD will skip).If you're only getting the breakup on network HDTV channels, nothing could be wrong at all. Cable companies redistribute local network programming. It is possible that the cable provider's feed is getting interrupted, which means that ... Wed, 11 May 2005 18:44:12 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10839/ I have DirecTV (satellite). I want to record shows on my computer. Do I need a TV tuner with more than 125 channels? If so can you give info? Sat, 12 Mar 2005 15:43:07 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10766/ When you select TV on the TV/Video option, and the volume on my Toshiba 32" TV is up all the way, you can just hear it like it was about a one fourth of the way up; if you... Fri, 04 Mar 2005 14:05:13 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10679/ Is TiVo dying? Eric Daugherty thinks so, and he claims he's not alone. Read on to learn about the 2 major types of TiVo devices in the market, and why Eric believes that TiVo may be going the way of the Do-Do. Wed, 23 Feb 2005 17:30:39 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10603/ While it's great that high definition-capable displays are getting so cheap nowadays, there still seems to be a lingering problem with most of them: if you actually want to watch anything in HDTV, it's still going to cost you an arm and a leg for a tuner. And forget about recording it unless you're a DirecTV subscriber and you feel like dropping a grand for a hi-def Tivo. No thanks. So about a year ago, I decided to conduct an experiment and see if I could find a way to watch and record HDTV for a more reasonable price. I'd had a 42" Toshiba rear projection TV for a couple of years and the only way I'd been able to take advantage its increased resolution was by hooking up my home theater PC to it. This was nice for movies but it didn't make regular TV look any better - on the contrary, I've found that an off-the-shelf Tivo box will almost always beat a PC when it comes to television recording, both in terms of quality and reliability. This is usually due to the fact that when a PC records an analog TV signal, it must encode that signal ... Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:18:22 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10593/ Question: A red light came on the box and I have no idea what is wrong. I tried calling but could not get in touch with anyone. I HAVE 3 TV'S AND EACH ONE HAS THE SAME THING. I JUST GOT THE CABLE INSTALLED RECENTLY ON THE BOX IT SAYS MESSAGE -submitted by esvegas Answer: Cable companies have the ability to broadcast messages, like an e-mail, to a subscriber's cable box. This allows them to communicate service status and changes without having to use traditional methods like telephone, e-mail, or snail-mail. As an example, if the cable provider has changed the channel line-up in your area, they may send a message to your cable box to make you aware of the change. Though this can ba handy for little updates, any important information will be sent to you in a traditional manner. The light on the front is nothing to be concerned about. All the light is telling you is that you have an unread message on your cable box. You can usually view these by entering the menu of the cable box, and selecting 'messages' or 'inbox'. Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com Tue, 08 Feb 2005 12:09:56 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10561/ Many who bring home and connect a new DVD player or HDTV box get frustrated when they find that the image is often red or blue in color. While fiddling with the TV controls makes sense in these situations, this is rarely the problem with these types of devices. DVD players and HDTV boxes often connect to a TV using a component video connection. This type of connection uses three cables to connect the video from the device to the display (labled as Y, Cr/Pr, and Cb/Pb). Component offers significant advantages in image quality over the standard composite (yellow) and S-video connections by transmitting each component of the image over a separate cable. When the image is slanted either red or blue, it usually means that either the Cr/Pr or Cb/Pb cables isn't connected. If the image is red, the Cb/Pb cable loose or not connected. If blue, it's the other one. If the image is just black and white, then both of them are not connected. The image shown above was taken from a DVD image with the Cb/Pb component cable disconnected. If you've verified the conenction is tight, then the problem might be with the cable itself, so ... Sat, 05 Feb 2005 13:52:39 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10394/ My 6 year old Sony TV is having picture problems. When we turn it on it blinks from the picture to totally black every few seconds or so. It does this when we watch videos or DVD's also. The sound is fine. Is this a tuner problem? Thu, 30 Dec 2004 15:53:05 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10338/ Question: I have the ability to split screen (through PIP) on my TV. Can I get 2 HD signals on both sides? What if one is analog and one is HD? Can both be displayed on the TV at the same time? - Submitted by Ron Answer: The answer to your question will vary by the model television in question. Most HDTV sets produced early in the DTV transition couldn't display any form of PiP while watching an HD program. However the most common situation currently is that the television will be able to display PiP in the following ways. Keep in mind that split-screen is still a form of PiP (known as PoP), where there is a main window and a PiP window (even if they are both the same size). Analog(main) and analog(PiP) Analog(main) and HD(PiP)* Fewer models support this HD(main) and analog(PiP) Be aware that not all displays lock you into this PiP arrangement. There are some models that will allow an HD program in the main and PiP window simultaneously. In order to make this happen, you need two high-definition tuners hooked up to the same digital TV. Run a quick experiment to ... Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:14:09 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10297/ Recently, I have circled back with many of my fellow TiVo-ers and discovered that, like me, many have opted for a second TiVo for their household. While anyone who has discovered the DVR phenomenon will certainly understand how two TiVos can be better than one, it may surprise even TiVo advocates just how many different -- and good -- reasons there are to double up. His and Hers The reason I bought a second TiVo was to give my wife and kids their own space to record the junk that was crowding my hard drive. Men and women are always going to have different tastes when it comes to television programs and there could not be a better invention for resolving inevitable conflicts that arise when two shows are competing for single timeslot. Most people who follow this path have separate TVs for viewing the programs independently as well. While this may seem somewhat anti-social, it actually keeps TiVo-related arguments (the worst kind!) to a minimum. Resolving Conflicts For those of us who don't have two tuners in their TiVo (most DirecTV TiVos offer two or more tuners in the same case), the second TiVo becomes a necessity when you ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:18 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10241/ Let's face it - there's usually never a phone jack where you need one. Whether you want phone in the living room or want to move your TiVo or ReplayTV to a television somewhere without a phone jack, wiring one in can sometimes be impossible or expensive. You can easily forego the expense and hassle of hardwiring in a phone jack where you need one by using a wireless phone jack extender. The kit comes with two devices - a transmitter that wirelessly transmits the phone signal and a receiver which catches the signal. These devices usually range between $50 and $100, and can quickly solve your phone jack issues. Setting one up is pretty easy. Plug the transmitter unit into an electrical outlet near a phone jack. Since the effective range of the transmitter is about 100 feet, connect it as close as possible to the location where you want the phone jack to be. Connect a standard telephone cable from the transmitter to the phone jack. If the phone jack was in use, plug the device into the other phone jack on the transmitter. Plug the receiver into an electrical outlet near ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:17 -0500