http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/22530/ This is for model numbers WS55859, WS65869, WS55909, WS65909, WS63909. You can get a free copy of the service manual at TechLore's Technician's Corner located in the resources tab on the home page or click HERE . This will give you an idea on what needs to be done for the other models as the tools and procedture is the same. The different models do have different IC's to see what IC each model has go to this TechLore Forum Discussion . First, it is very important that you have some soldering experience working on solid state printed circuit boards, and that you know too much heat from the soldering iron will most likely ruin the PC (printed circuit) board. If this happens, it can be a very difficult repair. The boards are no longer available for these sets from Mitsubishi, so I cannot stress enough - if you have no soldering experience, let a pro assist you in this repair. One more very important thing to remember and NOT DO!! If the convergence is way out or cannot be adjusted by the customer controls, do not go into the service menu and try to adjust the convergence. It will... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:45:11 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/130 My digital media was scattered among various drives, computers, and discs. I wanted seamless central control over all of it, so I decided to use my Sony PlayStation 3 as a media hub, with my 40-inch Samsung HDTV as a monitor. Now I can view or listen to all my photos, videos, and music via my TV screen, no matter where they are. Here’s a guide to building a digital media command center in your living room. LEVEL 1: Connect to your home networkIn the PS3's main menu, navigate to Settings - Network Settings - Internet Connection, press X on your SixAxis controller and select Enabled. Then go to Internet Connection Settings (also under Network Settings), and select your network name (SS... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/148462 If you haven't calibrated your HDTV, you're probably not seeing the picture you paid for. Here's how to get a near-perfect image on your high-def screen without breaking the bank. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/23009/ Have you ever been watching your DLP TV and see this message come accros the screen? “TV will shut down in a few seconds. Please check if the air flow is blocked ” Not only is this a scary thing to see your TV say, but it can be confusing and sometimes hard to determine why this is happening. The reason you are getting this notice is because for some reason the lamp is getting too hot. This can cause a lot of damage if the TV does not shut down and will lead to early and costly replacemnt of your lamp. If you ever see this message the first thing to do is make sure something has not been placed in front of the air vents on your TV. On a Mitsubishi DLP TV the vents are on the lower left side of the TV. It basically looks like a screen on the side of your TV. Other models may have the air vents elsewhere. Make sure there is nothing blocking that area. If something is remove it and see if you see thiscome up again. If nothing is, then you may have a problem with dust build up... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:00:09 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/147429 From shooting great video with your HD camcorder to playing the footage back on your HDTV, here's how to turn your own home videos into high-def Blu-ray masterpieces. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:00:00 -0400 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/22606/ These days, TiVo has become a generic term for any DVR on the market, and for good reason. They paved the way for the rest of the industry, innovating unique features like trick play and pausing live TV. Similar to other innovators and leaders in their respective industries such as Xerox or Kleenex, TiVo has been adopted into the American lexicon. But just because someone may call any DVR a TiVo, it doesn't mean that there isn't a long way to go before it could even come close to the real thing. You see, while cable and satellite providers have been satisfied to only provide their customers with the rudimentary features that TiVo perfected eight years ago, TiVo themselves have never stopped innovating. Aside from simply recording programs you want to watch --which, as far as I'm concerned, TiVo does better than anybody using Wishlists, Swivel Search and Suggestions-- there are many other features on a TiVo that generic DVRs simply don't have, and probably never will. Sure, you can watch Pay-Per-View on a cable DVR, but how many allow you to rent movies from the extensive Amazon Unbox library? None. Or how about: playing your MP3 collection, browsing through... Tue, 27 May 2008 16:29:10 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/248 We covered the launch of the Netflix Player recently and were not particularly excited about the offering, and those that posted their response after the piece were less than excited as well. AppleTV which came from a company that appeared to be unable to find a flop, turned out to be one, and I’ve been using the Vudu product which works at least as well as the AppleTV does but I? wonder if I would abandon my Netflix subscription for it.At the same time I’ve done a deep dive with Microsoft’s IPTV platform which is sold to DSL providers who then subsidize it and resell it to consumers as part of their compet... Thu, 22 May 2008 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/22315/ Finding the right size TV for your room is easier than you might think. But picking the right resolution is just as important. Written by Dennis Burger - Maybe it’s due to my job, maybe it’s fate, or maybe I’m just being punished for something my karma did in a last life—or however that works—but when my friends are in the market for a new TV, I’m always the first one they call. And the conversation invariably plays out the same way every time: “I just want to make sure I’m getting my money’s worth.” OK. “I want the best TV I can afford.” I love to hear it. “I don’t need anything as monstrous as yours, though!” Insert the sound of a phonograph needle being dragged quickly across vinyl right here and you’ll get the gist of how this scene will play when they film my life story. My 56-in. Samsung DLP TV, I explain, falls right in the middle of THX’s acceptable range for my room size and eight-foot seating distance. In fact, it could actually stand to be a teensy bit bigger or I could benefit from sitting just a smidge closer. “I don’t care,” I hear... Tue, 06 May 2008 12:49:48 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/21477/ There have been a lot of rumors recently about a possible collaboration between Netflix and Microsoft.  Specifically, the rumors hint at the introduction of a service that would allow Netflix customers to download movies from Netflix to their televisions through their Xbox 360 “Xbox Live” connection.  The speculation has largely been fueled by a survey that was supposedly sent out by Netflix to some of its customers asking “If as part of your Netflix membership you could instantly watch movies and TV episodes on your TV with your Xbox 360, how likely would you/anyone in your household be to do that?” For the record, no official announcement has been made by Microsoft or Netflix as of this writing.  Also, though I am a loyal Netflix customer myself, I was never personally contacted by Netflix with this survey question.  However, screenshots of the survey abound on the web, so speculation is running wild.  Time will tell how this all plays out, but in the meantime it might be fun to speculate how this type of thinking might affect the average media consumer.  How would this play into Microsoft and Netflix’s overall strategies?  Would this be a good thing for the consumer?... Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:30:12 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/21466/ Apple recently released a major upgrade to its Apple TV software that sports a new interface as well as additional features; the most significant of which is movie rentals. They're offered in both standard definition and in some cases, high definition. I didn't jump on the upgrade bandwagon immediately; over the last year I've been using my Apple TV primarily to watch videos stored on my NAS in non-Quicktime format, and I didn't want to lose that capability. So, I decided to wait and make sure that the various hacks which allowed me to do that were going to be updated to support the Take 2. They are all in various states of beta testing at this point, so last week I did the upgrade and began playing with the new release. So far, here are my thoughts... Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:45:04 -0500 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/445328.html Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:13:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/feature/83 Fast on the heels of the Consumer Electronics Show, it was time to take another flight to Las Vegas for the Photo Marketing Association trade event—where digital cameras take center stage, not zillions of flat panel televisions.Digitaltrends.com covered many of the announcements made prior to the event which ran from January 31 to the day before the Super Bowl—which everybody watched on those flat panel TVs! What follows are our picks for the best in show—along with a few thoughts about the wild world of digital imaging.First of all this was a fairly boring show. This is pretty amazing when you consider a raft of new... Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:00:00 -0500 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/442929.html Fri, 01 Feb 2008 07:31:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/141702 How can you make Vista less annoying? Or back up your data easily? Or preserve your pricey new HDTV's picture? We've got solutions for these and 22 other common tech conundrums. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/20577/ The following is a brief introduction to eight of the most frequently-encountered video formats circulating the web and the digital home entertainment circuit: MPG, AVI, MOV, ASF, WMV, RM and FLV. MPG (MPEG) MPG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group (driven by Microsoft's early need to force every file into a three-letter extension box, MPEG has evolved by dropping the "E" to become MPG). So, technically, MPG is more of a title than a file format. Even so, it has shifted in meaning as the file extension standards created by that group as well. MPG is very popular in the video world. And there are a number of MPG formats that you should consider – all with different purposes. MPG video pioneered digital distribution of video on the Internet and disc. Thus, it works with everything. With MPEG-1 you get poor video quality, in some situations, no better than VHS. The next generation of MPEG technology is MPEG-2, which is used by most TV stations. MPEG-2 technology is also the compression format behind DVD, as well as the ATSC standard for broadcast HDTV. So, don't think MPEG-2 is going away anytime soon. However, it's best to focus on the most... Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:30:05 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/141105 Get to your favorite folders in a snap. Stream TV stations from around the globe. Add new power to Internet Explorer. All this and more, and all of it for free. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/140829 Some TV delivery services will deposit your big-screen set only on your doorstep, while others will even take care of installation--for a price. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/talk/226 Before launching into my predictions for 2008, let’s see how last year’s predictions panned out: Telco TV hits big: Verizon’s advertising in the northeast is now heavily explicit about the benefits of its FiOS technology, including the video benefits. Featuring a cute little kid enthralled by the Verizon installation tech, it’s the first series of TV ads I’ve ever seen that prominently features the phrase “true QAM.” You go, Verizon! Flat panels plateau: I was wrong about unit sales but mostly right about revenue growth. Unit sales continue to soar, even in the current holiday season, which is slower... Wed, 26 Dec 2007 03:00:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/140741 Winter is prime hunting season if you want to bag a new HDTV. But considering how steadily prices on these TVs have fallen in the past couple of years, the more relevant question may be "When isn't a good time to buy an HDTV?" Mon, 24 Dec 2007 01:00:00 -0500 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/420986.html Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:51:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/19765/ Here is an unlikely predicament - but a predicament nonetheless. You are about to brave the wild on a deep in-the-jungle camping trip. You take a tent, iron skillet, and fishing pole. But you just can’t miss an episode of CSI: Miami. What do you do? Or a more likely scenario would be a hard day at work and, on a lunch break (hopefully you’re not watching the television during work - that would cut into your TechLore-surfing time), you want to view The Price Is Right. Only there is no TV in the lunchroom where you work (bummer). What’s the answer? Okay, both scenarios may be a bit farfetched, but there is no doubt that we have all come across a time when a portable TV would have been handy-dandy. Right? Of course! I mean - let’s face it - we are a society practically addicted to anything entertainment! Whether it is the latest reality show or the knee-slapping funniest sitcom, we just can’t spare getting away for even a weekend (especially if there is a Bears game on!). So, what to do? Well, for starters, get used to going without the TV. Just joking! Okay, seriously, what to... Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:00:13 -0500 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/417490.html Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:13:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/20088/ I wanted to conduct an experiment in the realm of color. Mainly, see what the differences are in the quality of TV broadcast color quality between year 2001 vs. 2007, and evaluate how far television has advanced within that time frame. In order to do this, I needed pictures from a show that aired in 2001 as well as one that aired in 2007, but that show also needed to display a full range of color. That was no easy feat! The way TV shows get cancelled nowadays, it's tough to find one that's been in rotation for that long. However, after much research I found a reliable, quality show, with a full range of color that airs each year at the same time: The Victorias Secret Fashion Show . The way I will conduct this study will be to take screencaptures from the 2001 show, and compare them with the recently aired 2007 show side-by-side to see the difference in color quality, then chart those differences. So, let the study begin: 2001 Victorias Secret Fashion Show 2007 Victorias Secret Fashion Show As you can see, the 2007 show has a slight edge in most categories of color. This is ... Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:15:13 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/19977/ Electronic toys are not just for teenagers. Preschoolers and early elementary aged children have a full range of gadgets that help them learn basic educational skills while having fun. The following is a list of the most popular items on their lists this year.       Leapster – L Max Learning System The Leapster is a handheld electronic toy that provides hours of fun and learning for your child. Simply insert a disk (sold separately) and let the learning begin. The games teach essential skills for children aged four through fourth grade and include reading, phonics, spelling, math, and other activities. The console has a kid friendly multi-directional control pad as well as a stylus pen for point and click action. The unit retails for $59.99. Buy Me | More Information V.Smile Enhanced TV Learning System A Television learning system that suits the needs of children from preschool to second grade, the V.Smile includes a variety of hands on activities for endless learning and entertainment. The unit includes a microphone for sing along programs as well as a writing pad stylus to teach proper lettering mechanics. The video game platform plugs directly into your television. Each of the games ... Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:30:16 -0500