Posted By: Marc

Plasma displays have the best picture quality available of any flat panel display technologies with none of the new technologies having the ability to throw it from the throne; this includes the new LED LCD panels, edge lit or back lit models, and the up and coming Organic Light Emitting (OLE) sets are in reality too small to even offer a comparison. Because plasma has been the best doesn’t mean it’s developers can relax. They have to keep pushing forward to stay ahead of the competition, and no company has as much riding on plasma supremacy as Panasonic (the leading plasma production company in the world).

The new line from Panasonic, called the Premiere, takes things up a notch or two in every category from picture performance to its aesthetics. For the last several years, I have enjoyed an amazing plasma display made by a company no longer selling in the US called Loewe. This German designed plasma had incredible style with some of the most accurate coloration I have ever seen.True, this was a 720p resolution unit without the benefit of the black level increases that are available today so when critiquing the display I expected the new Panasonic to dust the older Loewe unit; in many ways it did, however not without certain flaws. We sale many of the new 1080p plasmas from several manufactures, such as Runco and Samsung, and have become very accustomed to the new contrast levels and enhancements that new technology tends to give these displays, but the Loewe had always had just that perfect color and skin tones. I had not had anything draw me in strongly enough to replace the Loewe until looking closely at our recent trade show to these new Panasonic Premiere units; something told me this might be the successor.

The Pros:

The black levels are simply out of sight, truthfully at times it looks so nice and inky black with no loss of detail that i am amazed; the black level of the unit is more than a “Pro,” it simply is fantastic. Amazing black levels are great, but if the detail is lost then its nearly the same as turning off the display and missing everything. Some of the newer LED LCD units have what, at first glance, seems to be great black levels; however, a look closer and you will notice that all of the detail is lost in the sea of black. That is definitely not the case with the 50″ Panasonic Premiere. Colors are bright and clean (although maybe just a little more “excited” out of the box than they should have been) and after calibration, now rivals the Loewe with its vivid (but correct) presentation of color. Plasmas tend to get smoother with a few hours on them, so I hope to see it perhaps surpass the Loewe in display. The standard Panasonic plastic framing is replaced by a sleak and subtle aluminum frame: understated class is the best description I can come up with.

The remote (which I exchanged for my touchscreen universal) is a nice unit with everything needed to set up the display efficiently. Since this set is designed to be a custom installed unit it, most cases with the supplied remote not being used (by its user) at all. Also, this set is a monitor only: no tuner (one is available in a card plug in), no speakers (also available), and no table stand. What you buy is what you get a here, which is a beautiful display.

Numerous features inside for picture memorization and ISF picture settings as well. Very little is missing in the picture adjustment menus. Many input cards are available for various needs of installation, and the unit comes standard with 2 HDMI cards (for a total of 4 HDMI inputs), a component video card, aswell as a standard VGA connection.

The Cons:

The negatives of the display are actually few and far between; I really have to “nit pick” to accumulate a list.

The power light is slightly too bright. It would be a nice touch to have the option of dimming it or even having it time out after awhile. It is only a small thing but in a dark room it can become a little distracting. The stand that I received with this unit is a standard Panasonic stand with a proper function and fit, but honestly some of the table stands that are included with the Panasonic consumer models (at no additional cost might I add) look nicer and more closely match the set than this. Adding to the fact is that the cost of this stand is around $350. I really want to take a second to complain here: If you are going to make a new line called “Premiere” and offer a truly astounding television, than everything in that line should reflect the name. This stand in no way does this. Don’t misunderstand me it is not hideous it fits perfect and is built solid, but the aluminum finish on the frame of the plasma is not carried over nor is the plastic even that high a grade in appearance so this is a huge misfire for me. Panasonic probably looked at it like I do: We hang or alternately mount 95% of all flat panel displays so why invest too much into a stand? Well, in my opinion a company the size of Panasonic can well afford to develop a stand that says “Quality” like the plasma itself. With a monitor as high a quality as this one, these sorts of things are the only off-putting I can come up with.

In the end, you will be hard pressed to find better video quality in any flat panel device. With an outboard color processing device, like Runco offers with its DHD series, this set would be absolutely state of the art as it is as close as it gets.

Retail price: $7999.00

Posted By: Zakk

At this day in age, it is becoming a scarcity to not see someone talking, texting, or surfing the web with a cell phone; while I was in a local shopping store the other day I saw both a little girl no more than five years old and an elderly man in his 80’s using a wireless telephone. With that wide of a consumer base, signal for the devices must be widely available at all times. However, drop calls from areas of low signal are a constant problem for people using the devices. Many people simply write the issue off as “Unfixable,” however a cell phone signal booster can be a simple solution to provide increased coverage to people dealing with the problems of areas with decreased signal.

With the rise in popularity of the devices, more and more families are canceling their landline carriers and choosing to use only their mobile providers for communication. However, people living in areas with medium coverage are slowly finding out that signal outside of structures are not equal to what is inside. Before switching back to your landline carrier out of frustration, having a cell phone booster installed could save you a lot of time and money.

Whether it be installed in a home or used in a commercial application, the cell signal boosters can provide the answer to dropped calls. Many warehouses have tin roves installed, which can cut down cell phone signal nearly 70%. Many commercial facilities use a cellular backup device in their security panels to call out during a breech, and with no signal the facility is left without a way to contact their monitoring company for help. In most cases, one signal booster can increase the signal across an entire facility to even higher than the signal outside.

Posted By: Zakk

There are more and more products being released almost daily that claim to simplify your life by condensing the wide variety of controls in a home. Many come carrying a hefty burden, however. Whether it be shear expense of an automation system, or the large installation cost (the pulling of wire, setting up communications, programming panels for control, etc), there are not a huge number of home automation companies looking to target the “general public” when designing and manufacturing equipment. Crestron® has, however, seemed to push past monetary issues by delivering their signature Prodigy Series™.

The Prodigy Series™, released by Crestron® in late 2009, has put an entirely new perspective on retrofitting a home for a more centralized control of one’s environment. The system offers full lighting control featuring wireless dimmers, a four-zone audio system, and climate control all in one concise package. Options for user control include a touchscreen remote (included with the base system), wireless touchpads for control of audio zones, and a four-inch full color in-wall touchpanel. The best part about the system: there is virtually no wire pulling involved! The keypads and lighting components communicate wirelessly via RF transmissions with the processor. This makes retrofitting a home swift, uncomplicated, and economical.

One first-rate option the system offers consumers is its iPod interface. The standalone component, once integrated into the system, streams both audio and video from an iPod device as a source to the system. The device also features feedback, such as artist names, song names, and album art; in addition it can be used in conjunction with Crestron’s Sync Software™ to sync up to any existing iTunes library. This creates a great, inexpensive media server experience for clients who are looking for the transition from traditional CDs for their audio source.

Connecting the system to a home network gains the user two more types of interfaces to control the system: an iPhone (iPod Touch), and a computer. This a great addition because you can manage critical systems in the home (lighting management, climate control, and whole-house audio) from nearly anywhere. Having the ability to turn off the kitchen light from halfway across the world is an amazing feature. Your home/office computer would become a virtual touchpanel to access all of your favorite music, adjust the temperature, and lower the lights for a movie.

The Crestron Prodigy™ system has a lot to offer consumers for a very small pricetag; one looking to find the same functionality in a full Crestron® system would be looking to spend atleast three times that of a Prodigy system. One main reason for this is the ease of programming needed to get the system operational. Most home control components require hours of programming before a system can be used. The reduced amount of programming saves consumers time and money.

If you’re looking for a home control solution that won’t break the bank but delivers in every way, look no further: Prodigy is here.

Posted By: Zakk

Green energy has become today’s new Tickle-me-Elmo: it’s everywhere. Every news anchor is speaking of environmental detriments and how YOU can make it better. Automobile dealerships are blasting ads about new fuel efficient vehicles, and more people than ever are recycling…  everything. What else can you do?

Well let’s start off by being realists and asking “Why would I do it?” It saves you money; plain and simple. The amount of money that can be saved by being a little “greener” in your actions are astounding, and one area that the most American money is wasted is in a home. Whether it be a light left on all night or the thermostat being moved (again), money is simply thrown away in your home. There are products; however, that would allow you to manage your energy consumption as well as simplify your life.

Lighting control in a home is simply overlooked. Period. The flip-switch is the only control that most people have ever experienced. However, dimmer switches installed in a home can cut a energy bill nearly 20% alone. Having the ability to adjust at what output levels bulbs operate at is a huge start to slowing the little spinner on your power meter. Turning the lights down to 50% while watching television in the evenings not only helps your eyes adjust to the screen and creates a more enveloped environment, but it also saves you a pretty penny!

Other larger systems offer the ability to monitor and adjust any power output in a home. Many systems centralize lighting control and give users a wonderful interface to monitor and adjust lighting levels in every room of a home. Another great example of this technology is merely cycling the power to your refrigerator. A constantly running refrigerator is plainly a redundant usage of power. Many large appliances, like washers and dryers, in a home draw current whether they are in operation or not. Having the ability to cut all power to the devices for a certain time period

Other home systems even use water flow management devices to supervise and regulate how much water is used in a home: the water pressure in the kitchen sink, how much water is used in toilets, how fast water is heated, etc. The weightiest aspect that any system can give a user, however, is simply the ability to physically see what sorts of resources are actually being used. When people begin to notice how much they and their families are actually consuming, it presents the capacity to change it.

Posted By:  Zakk

Movie nights seem to be more of a hassle than their worth nowadays; the introduction of cheap DVD players have given everyone the opportunity of individuality, but is it work the price? Once you do have the entire family gathered for one second to actually sit down and watch a film together you have only one question to answer: “Where is the darn movie?” By the time you search through your DVD collection and find the movie you wanted to watch in the wrong case, the rest of the family has wandered back to what they were doing. There are products out there, however, that offer an efficient solution to these and many more frustrating issues.

Digital Video Servers are available that are designed to store an entire DVD collection on a hard drive, and allow a user to navigate through the entire collection using a user interface controlled from your own remote control. The DVD discs are simply loaded one at a time into the system and are automatically saved, named, and categorized, as ll as having cover art pulled from the internet to display on screen. Besides keeping your DVD compilation tidy and neat, it also keeps a hard backup copy of all of your DVDs in the case the original copy is lost or broken.  After all of one’s DVDs are loaded into the server, the discs and their cases can be stored somewhere separate and out of sight of the movie viewing area.

Most video servers come with a very attractive user interface to navigate through your entire movie collection at the touch of a button. You can browse through the films using lists, or by scrolling through the DVD cover art itself. Using an array of categorical filters, this method offers a quick and accurate way to surf through a large collection of movies.

Additionally, these systems also offer the option to distribute content to multiple rooms of a home, and having it conveniently centrally located. The server can be viewed in any room and controlled in each room separately without all of the unsightly DVD movies and equipment. This also gives the options of content control to rooms of choice. For instance, you could monitor the sorts of films are viewed and how much time is spent watching movies uploaded to the server.

The Tech Corner is a blog setup by Tomorrow Entertainment, Inc. in Calhoun, Georgia to bring to its clients the latest custom electronics industry news, product reviews, and service tips.

We hope to inform readers of the happenings in the ever-evolving industry home technologies by delivering both industry news, and reviews of the newest products in a concise manner that is understood by all.

In addition, we bring you the new Service Tips Section. Our goal is to give easy fixes to issues, that our technicains run into everyday in the field, that will save you money in the long run. Having the knowledge to correct small issues with a system without calling a technician for a service call can save you a lot of money in the long run.

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