Projection tv Content

LCD Projectors - The Jist

LCD Projectors - The Jist

by: Eli Aloisi

An LCD projector is a device utilized for displaying video images or data. They are the modern equivalent to the slide projector and overhead projector used in the past.

LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors usually contain three separate LCD glass panels, one each for the red, green, and blue components of the video signal. As light passes through the LCD panels, individual pixels can be opened to allow light to pass, or closed to block the light, as if each little pixel were fitted with a Venetian blind. This activity modulates the light and produces the image that is projected onto the screen.

With a lens that "projects" the image on any flat surface and does not require large "furniture" (like a big TV would), LCD projectors tend to be smaller and much more portable than older systems. The best image quality can be accomplished with a blank white or grey surface to project on, and for this reason dedicated projection screens are often used.

Early systems were often intended to be used with existing overhead projectors, built as a large "plate" that was put on the projector in place of the transparencies. This provided the market with a stop-gap solution in the era when the computer was not yet the universal display medium.

This technology is employed in some sizes of rear projection television consoles, as there are cost advantages when employed in mid size sets (40 to 50 inch diagonal). This is not expected to have much longevity in the "home theater" marketplace due to expected improvements cost/performance of competing technologies, particularly in direct-view LCD panels at the lower range of sizes and DLP projection in the larger sizes.

In 2004 and 2005, LCD front projection has been enjoying a come-back because of the addition of the dynamic iris which has improved contrast up to the levels of DLP.

About The Author

Eli Aloisi is one of the many knowledgable staff members that encompass the PlexHomeTheater.com community. For more great articles check out www.PlexHomeTheater.com.

eli@plexhometheater.com

Business Plan Software: Do You Need It?

Business Plan Software: Do You Need It?

by: Christopher Enders

Business plan software is something that often gets overlooked

and isn't considered to be a necessity for some reason. In my

opinion, business plan software is essential, it is not a luxury.

I am a huge advocate of business planning. When people ask me if

they need a business plan, my response is, "Absolutely!" You see,

starting a business without a business plan is akin to starting

college without a degree plan. If you don't know where you are

going, you won't know how to get there. You will waste your time

and your money if you are not following a plan. It's really that

simple!

So, you know you need a business plan, but what about business

plan software? For business planning, there are really three

alternatives: 1) crafting your own business plan from scratch; 2)

hiring a business plan writer or business planning consultant; or

3) using business plan software to write your own business plan.

Each of these alternatives has its own advantages and

disadvantages.

Writing your own business plan from scratch is certainly a

possibility. Doing so gives you the freedom to format and arrange

the plan in any way that you see fit. On the other hand, doing

financial projections, which are necessary for the purpose of

budgeting and financial planning, can be difficult to do without

a business plan program, or at least financial projection

software or spreadsheets.

Hiring a business plan writer makes sense for some people. A

business plan writer is generally well-versed in business

planning and will have insight that will assist you in preparing

a comprehensive business plan that takes everything into account.

The disadvantages to having your business plan professionally

written are the expense associated with the initial plan, and the

limitations that exist in regard to changing it as your business

evolves, which is something that business plan software empowers

you to do.

Business plan software is relatively inexpensive when compared to

hiring a professional business plan writer or consultant.

However, when compared to doing your own plan from scratch, it

may seem like an unnecessary expense. Business plan software does

have many advantages. A good business plan software package, like

Business Plan Pro by Palo Alto, has the headings and categories

for a business plan already set up for you. It also has guidance

throughout the business planning process that explains what to

include in each part of your business plan.

What I really love about Business Plan Pro is that it is so easy

to do financial projections using the business plan software,

whether or not you understand accounting. The main financial

sections include a section for start-up costs, one for income

projections, one for a proforma balance sheet, and one for a

projected cash flow statement. Information that input into one of

the financial forms automatically transfers calculations to the

other financial statement forms making the process of projecting

your financial plan a breeze.

Another huge advantage I see in regard to business plan software

is that when you use business plan software to create your own

business plan, you can make changes to it anytime you need to. It

doesn't become a stale document that sits on the shelf and

collects dust. A business plan should be always evolving. You

should update your business plan frequently including new goals,

objectives and milestones. You should also adjust your financial

projections regularly for the purpose of budgeting. Business plan

software makes it easy to do.

If you choose not to use business software, and to create your

own business plan from scratch, you will need some guidance

unless you are a professional business planner yourself. The

Small Business Administration www.sba.gov has some excellent

resources and guides about business planning. If you choose to

hire a professional business plan writer, do review their

qualifications and references and make certain that you

understand exactly what is included in the business planning

services they are offering.

About The Author

fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing

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Bariatric Surgery: Cosmetic or Necessary?

Bariatric Surgery: Cosmetic or Necessary?

by: AllMed Healthcare Management

During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. Thirty states have obesity rates of more than 20 percent. Currently, more than 44 million Americans are considered obese, the result of our fast-food life style and lack of exercise.

As a result, more obese Americans are turning to bariatric surgery. In 1995, just 20,000 weight-loss operations were performed in the United States. Last year, physicians performed 103,000 bariatric surgeries, an increase of more than 500 percent. The projection for 2005 rises to 144,000.

These surgeries are in the range of $30,000 each and if complications arise, even more. Even though some health insurance groups do not include this surgery in their plan language, requests for independent medical reviews regarding bariatric surgery have surged over the past year.

Most of these reviews hinge on what's considered medically necessary or optional when it comes to bariatric surgery. As a claims manager, there are several issues to consider when making a decision about a patient's claim for bariatric surgery:

Is the person suffering from morbid obesity? (The term morbid obesity refers to patients who are 50-100% or 100 pounds above their ideal body weight.)

Has the patient failed one or more non-surgical multi-component weight loss programs? (Was this an evidence-based, integrated weight loss program ? such as the one offered by the Ornish Program ? that has sustainable, reproducible results?)

Does the patient have a medical illness related to obesity and is he/she willing to participate in a pre-surgery weight loss effort to improve the success of surgery? (Even a somewhat slimmer patient has reduced cardiac risk.)

Can the patient make the lifestyle adjustment necessary to sustain weight loss? (Many of the dietary limitations are more severe than those needed to lose weight in the first place.)

Only by answering these questions, or using the expertise of your IRO, can you make an informed decision as to whether the claim is medically necessary or considered a cosmetic procedure.

About The Author

AllMed Healthcare Management Founded in 1995, AllMed (http://www.allmedmd.com, http://www.allmedmd.com/blog/index.htm) is a URAC-accredited Independent Review Organization (IRO) serving insurance payers, providers, TPAs and claims managers nationwide. Reviews are conducted by board-certified physicians in active practice. AllMed's growing customer base includes premier organizations, such as Educator's Mutual Life, IMS Managed Care, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, HealthGuard, several Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Allianz and many other leading healthcare payers.

info@allmedmd.com

Decorative Drapery Hardware 101

Decorative Drapery Hardware 101

by: Kathy Iven

Drapery hardware is more than just a means to hang your draperies or curtains; it is also a decorative element for your home. Decorative drapery hardware includes rods, finials, holdbacks, rings, and decorative brackets. Decorative rods can also be traverse. You want to consider the color, finish, and material of the rods. Finials add the perfect touch of elegance, whimsy, humor, and finish to your beautiful window treatments. All of these choices will affect the overall beauty and decorative theme and balance of your home.

Rod

Drapery rods are usually mounted 3? ? 4? above the window. If you desire a layered look for your window, choose a double bracket that mounts one rod right in front of another. You can also use a standard curtain rod with a small projection underneath a more decorative rod on the outside to achieve the same look.

Traverse Rod

A traverse rod is a rod with a mechanism by which attached draperies can be drawn with a pull cord. A two-way traverse rod pulls the draperies to the left side and right side of the window. A one-way traverse rod pulls the draperies to either the left or right side of the window. Decorative traverse rods are used with top pleated draperies and pin hooks.

Finials

Finials can be considered window jewelry. They give windows a wide range of looks. Metal is more contemporary, while wood provides warmth and a more traditional feel. You might even consider glass finials to complement sheer fabrics.

Holdbacks

Add another finishing touch to your window with holdbacks. It?s a beautiful way to coordinate accessories.

Rings

Rings are an easy way to attach curtains to the pole. They help panels slide along the rod easily while bringing decorative elements to the window. Rings have either a clip that you clip onto the drapery or they come with an eyelet and you use a drapery pin through the eyelet to hang the draperies.

Decorative Brackets

Use decorative brackets as a bracket for wood or metal rods, as scarfholders or as decorative shelf brackets.

Other Uses for Decorative Drapery Hardware

? Use decorative brackets for towel rings in the bathroom.

? Use any combination of decorative rods to display tapestries or wall hangings.

? Use finials as holdbacks at sides of windows.

? Mount decorative finials across top of window and drape scarves across or loop tab tops on finials for an innovative look.

? Use metal holdbacks as decorative towel hooks in the bathroom.

About The Author

Kathy Iven, Columbus, OH

Kathy Iven is the owner of Fabric Farms Interiors, located in Hilliard, OH and is a Window Fashions Certified Professional ? Specialist Level. Fabric Farms Interiors specializes in home d?cor fabrics and trims. They also offer custom window treatments, bedding and upholstery services. To learn more and shop online for home decorating fabrics, visit http://www.fabricfarms.com. All rights reserved.

kathy@fabricfarms.com

How Digital Light Processing is Slowly Conquering The TV Market

How Digital Light Processing is Slowly Conquering The TV Market

by: Mitchell Medford

Digital Light Processing can be considered as the pinnacle in science and technology that has focused its resources on the gigantic possibilities in improving digital entertainment. You may wonder, what is Digital Light Processing, and how it will help, or better yet, change digital entertainment. Here's a sneak peak on the what?s and how?s of Digital Light Processing.

Digital Light Processing was originally developed in 1987 by Texas Instruments scientist, Larry Hornbeck. Hornbeck had been trying experiments on how to manipulate reflected light since 1977, and developed the Digital Micromirror Device. Five years after Hornbeck?s development of the Digital Micromirror Device, Texas Institute started to explore the commercial possibilities of Digital Micromirror Device. After a year of intensive development, TI named its new technology as Digital Light Processing or DLP for short. Their next step was making a separate group to further develop the commercial display applications of DLP. Their new group was aptly named, DLP Products division.

The prototype for the Digital Light Processors was seen for the first time in 1994. With the recognition of how promising the new technology could be, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose Digital Light Processing to project films on the Oscars. This was also the first time were the three-chip DLP technology was introduced to Hollywood.

The first ever release of DLP in public was in 1999, in the release of the George Lucas' movie "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace." After DLP's successful release, over two million DLP subsystems were shipped by December 2002.

The achievements of the Digital Light Processing products were also recognized when it was awarded with two Emmy awards. One was for broadcast excellence in 1998 and on 2003 for technology and engineering.

How does DLP, or Digital Light Processing work? DLP is basically a nanotechnological transformation of the basic survival technique of using a mirror to signal for help. You may wonder how such an advanced system could be compared to something so basic. Let me explain. The concept on both applications is the same, by shining a controlled series of light flashes on a target you are able to send out a message. The mirror on DLP's case is a part of an optical semiconductor which is the DMD also known as a Digital Micromirror Device. The DMD chip contains not only 1 but millions of microscopic mirrors each having the size of 16 micrometers or less than five times smaller than a human hair.

The DMD chip works by translating graphic signals into a corresponding mirror. By adding a projection lens and a light source, the mirrors are able to reflect any image on any available surface. The mirrors create light or dark images when they are tilted from a light source. This is accomplished by tilting two tiny hinges attached to each mirror.

With the advantage of smooth jitter free images, no burn-in effect experienced from plasma televisions, good color depth and contrast, and being smaller, thinner and lighter than the CTR-based options, Digital Light Processing is rapidly becoming a major player in the rear projection television market. Although Texas Institute remains the sole developer of this technology, many companies that have seen the capabilities and the promise of DLP have secured licenses with Texas Institute to market products that are based and developed from the DMD chipset.

About The Author

Mitchell Medford is an author and product development consultant for several consumer electronics manufacturers. Visit his websites for more information on DLP and satellite TV: http://www.newtechnologytv.com

http://www.1stboard.com

HDTV is What Technology is All About

HDTV is What Technology is All About

by: Scott Bianchi

If you have not yet watched TV on an HDTV you do not know what you are missing. When they promote high definition they aren?t kidding. When my daughter was born I knew I?d be spending a lot of time at home so I invested in an HDTV and two years later I still think it was an excellent purchase. Not only is the picture unbelievable but the sound is much improved as well.

More and more channels are starting to come out in HDVT format so buying an HDTV makes much more sense now as compared to two years ago when I bought mine. When I first got it I think there were only four channels I could watch in HD. They happened to be four channels I watched a lot so it worked out well for me. As time has passed the TV?s themselves become even cheaper and more channels are available so they are a much better purchase.

Many people are not aware that by the end of this year, from what I have read, all TV signals will be sent via HDTV format. In order to watch TV you will either need a HDTV or you will have to have a converter to attach to your existing TV. The converter will not make your current TV an HDTV all of a sudden, it will just allow you to continue to get the same picture you have always gotten. Those converters are going to go for roughly $250 or so, based on my past research.

Now you are considering buying a HDTV, I have convinced you, right? How do you decide which kind to buy? There are regular tube TV?s that are HDTV ready. There are LCD and plasma TV?s. Budget will be a major factor in determining which one to buy. The tradition tube style TV?s are cheaper and they will also fit some existing entertainment centers. The flat screen TV?s will need to be mounted on the wall or most likely require a different kind of base than the entertainment center you currently have.

I did a lot of research before buying my TV. I ended up buying a 42? Sony LCD projection TV. It is a beautiful picture. I am very pleased with the purchase. But, none of these TV?s is without flaws. This particular model has a bulb that helps to project the image to the screen. It has a shelf life of about 18 months. I have had it replaced recently. The bulbs are a couple hundred dollars. Thankfully I purchased the maintenance plan when I bought the unit. Other than that I couldn?t be more satisfied. I can turn out all the lights in the room and throw in a DVD and it is better than going to the movies. I do have mine hooked up to a home theater system. Without that the sound would not be good enough to compare to a movie theater.

Some of the issues with the other kinds of TV?s are: the tube style TV?s are not as compact as the flat screens obviously. They do not get as big as the flat screens. I think the biggest I have seen is 36 inches. Because they are so much cheaper than the other two styles that is all I could think of as problems for the tube style TV. Plasma TV?s on the other hand are the worst buy of them all, in my opinion. My research discovered that plasma TV?s eventually burn out. Whatever is used inside the screen to project the image burns out and cannot be repaired. So, your picture will progressively get worse and you can?t do anything about it except wait for it to get so bad you need to buy another TV. This is a major problem given the price of these types of TV?s. They are the most expensive of the three types. There is no doubt they look nice when you first buy them. They look great in the room you put them in. They are very appealing to most people.

No matter what kind of TV you end up buying the bottom line is that you are going to be amazed the first time you watch your favorite show or sporting event in HD. It is actually funny to me when I look back and think of what TV?s I used to watch when I was little. We had those knobs that you could hear being turned down the street. No remotes, no cable or satellite, and we had to constantly fiddle with the rabbit ears to get a decent picture. I watch a program in HD and I sometimes wonder to myself how they are going to make watching TV in the future even better. It doesn?t seem possible but you know it is. History has shown things only continue to get better.

About The Author

Scott Bianchi operates http://www.best-internet-bargains.com . He writes on a variety of topics. If you would like to be added to his distribution list for his new articles when they are published just send an email to articles@bestinternetbargains.com.

scottbianchi@hotmail.com

Eyeshadow Essentials To Make Your Eyes Stand Out

Eyeshadow Essentials To Make Your Eyes Stand Out

by: Julia Brown

When it comes to makeup, eyeshadow is perhaps the trickiest product to apply. This is because the eyes have no real limitations. According to the makeup experts, each shape you create using eyeshadows can take you to different realms. Indeed, it was black kohl that transformed Elizabeth Taylor into Cleopatra and Audrey Hepburn into Holly Golightly. Eyeshadows do not only make your eyes look bigger, they can also add drama and draw attention to your eyes. However, it is one of the trickiest makeup products to apply, which explains why women do not wear it as often as lipstick. Drawing a perfect shade may often take some practice, but with a few expert tips and techniques, you can do it in no time.

1. Select the correct eyeshadow form

Eyeshadow comes in several formulations, each with a unique finish and level of difficulty. Matte eyeshadows blend easily and are perfect for beginners, as they can be both used for creating a soft daytime look or a heavy smoky eye. If you are not so much into eyeliners, you can opt for powder eyeshadows that can also be used as eyeliner, as long as the color is densely pigmented. Used in tandem with a fine-tipped brush, powder eyeshadow gives the softest, most natural look.

2. Getting the natural look

For soft definition, choose a powder matte eyeshadow. Choose those that are neutral in colors because these are the finest for all eye colors. The best neutral colors to choose are taupe, beige, muted wines, ivory, charcoal, browns, and grays. It is best to choose a medium eyeshadow. These types of eyeshadows are light enough, hence they do not need massive blending. For those who have dark eye colors, browns are the best shades to use in order to bring out the eye color, making it more intensified and defined.

3. Consider your color options

The safest way to go is with brown or black, but new options include other colors such as gray, charcoal, metallics, or even bright dashes of color like green, blue, or turquoise, as seen on the usual summer collections. Smoke or charcoal gives a softer look than black does. Dark green shades goes well with almost all complexions. For those who have complexions with narrower eyes, metallic shades are the best. When applied on the eyes, a metallic shade like silver or gold can make the eyes look bigger and more wide-awake. You can contrast this with a different shade of eyeshadow like green with bronze, silver with white, or go monochromatic by using lighter tones of the same color family as your eyeliner.

4. The skin tone test

When choosing the best eyeshadow, it is best if you consider your skin tone first. Usually, there are eyeshadows that do not blend well with one?s skin complexion. Hence, it is important to consider them when choosing eyeshadows.

For example, women who have dark skin complexions, it would be better if you choose darker shades of eye shadows. Choosing lighter shades like pebbles would only make your eyes look dusty.

5. The rule of thumb

Before you buy your eyeshadows, it is best to remember that dark colors tend to make the eyes appear to diminish in size. On the other hand, light colors bring your eyes out into the open. The rule of thumb when choosing the best shades of eyeshadow is to select those that will bring definition into your eyes. In reality, eyeshadows are made to re-shape the eyes or any part that surrounds it like the browbone section and the eyelids.

6. High definition

It is best to smudge a soft brown eyeshadow on the lid for a wide-eyed look. If you want more intensity, smudge the eyes with darker shades starting from the center of the lid then outwards to make eyes look bigger.

7. Limit the colors

When choosing eyeshadows, it is best not buy too many shades, even if they are just neutral colors. Using them all together will be very distracting. Best of all, do not buy eyeshadows that will draw too much attention to your makeup as well as your lids. In the end, your eyes will be taken for granted. Therefore, it is better to not choose shades of pastel colors and those that are frosted. Indeed, choosing the best shades for your eyes can be very tedious and needs more practice but in time, you will soon be expert on it. In the end, projection high-definition eyes will be a breeze.

About The Author

Julia Brown

For more great eyeshadow related articles and resources check out http://eyeshadow.makeupplace.com.

Lens Flare - The Hidden Enemy Of Rear-Projection TVs

Lens Flare - The Hidden Enemy Of Rear-Projection TVs

by: Eli Aloisi

While one expects CRT-based rear projection televisions to deliver good black levels, there is a factor that can compromise black level performance in any rear-projection display.

This factor is something called lens flare. Lens flare is most commonly seen in photographs. It usually occurs when the photographer is shooting in the general direction of the sun. Bright sunlight enters the lens at an angle and bounces around inside the lens body. As it reflects off of the interior parts of the lens, some of it ends up getting on to the film, usually in the form of bright circles or shapes, broad smears of light, or lines.

Binocular, telescope, and camera lens manufacturers all try to make the inside of their optical assemblies as dark as possible and also add light baffles to try to waylay the misdirected light so that it does not spoil the image

Rear projection televisions also suffer from lens flare. The best place to see lens flare is usually during the end titles of a film. Often the titles are bright white on a black background. Look for a small single title, and pause the player at that point. Look at the black areas of the screen around the title. Is there a halo, ring , or general smear of light of the same color as the title? That unwanted light is most likely due to lens flare.

If you want to see the flare at its source, pull the screen off the TV and look into the lenses while a bright field is being displayed by the TV. Look for light being reflected off of shiny interior parts of the lens assemblies by moving your head around so you can look down into the lenses and see the insides of the lens assemblies. (Don't run your head into the mirror while trying to do this.) The light bouncing off of those interior edges and surfaces is the problem.

Your "black screen" black level very probably is quite good on your RPTV, especially if you have done the work to line the interior of the cabinet with light absorbing material, and view your TV in a darkened room. However, one small bright object on a otherwise black screen may cause light pollution on the supposedly black areas of the screen due to this problem. In images with a lot of bright areas mixed with some supposedly black areas, the black level of the supposedly black areas will suffer considerably.

Preparations for Reducing Lens Flare

CAUTION!

The following actions if performed carelessly will ruin your television. Further, lens flare can be reduced but don't expect to completely eliminate it. The cathode ray tubes which are the light source for many RPTV's emit lots of light at all angles, and it is really tough to keep some small amount of it from getting out of the lens in a direction we don't want. Expect that you'll be able to make some improvement, but you will not completely eliminate the problem.

If you do not know how to get at your lens assembly, do not consider yourself qualified to attempt this procedure. If you have butterfingers, do not even think of trying to do this. Read the whole process first, and familiarize yourself with the required steps before commencing. Scared? Good!

All of the above been said, those who are not scared off can see IF they can remove the first lens assembly. I'm going to assume you have purchased the service manual for your TV so that you know how to do this. BIG CAUTION!!!! Some lens assemblies also hold down the cover which seals in the cooling fluid that sits on top of the CRT's. The service manual will tell you about this, usually by indicating which of the screws on the CRT top cover/cap/lens assembly MUST NOT be removed. If you ignore these warnings, you could be buying a new TV. (Don't ask how I know this.)

If the lens assembly frame cannot be removed, it may still be possible to rotate the inner lens assembly to its highest position, and then pull the inner lens assembly up out of the frame. This will require the removal of the locking wingnut assembly which is used to lock the inner assembly for proper focus. Yes, that's right, you will also have to re-focus the 3 lenses after this whole job.

Find a CLEAN, WELL-LIT, UNDISTURBED place to work. No kids, pets, significant others, etc. should be able to disturb you.

Get some clean, washed cotton cloths on hand. Used White T-shirts are good choice. Clean white cotton gloves are also a good thing to have when doing this job. In addition, I highly recommend you obtain a source of clean, dry compressed air.

Examine the lens assembly. Determine how the lens assembly comes apart. In the case of the " Delta Digital 265 " lens assembly from Corning Precision Lens Inc, (This assembly is used in the Toshiba 50HDX82 RPTV, and this lens assembly is what I will refer to throughout this discussion.) the threaded screw which carries the wing nut used to lock the mechanical adjustments of focus must be removed. The end of the screw has been squared off. A small "Vise-Grip" plier can be used to gently turn this screw counterclockwise to remove it from the plastic assembly it mounts in.

Then the whole internal lens assembly can be rotated fully clockwise. Note that as you rotate this assembly that two plastic studs are turning in a couple of spiral slots to move the lens assembly up and down in the lens frame. If the lens assembly is rotated fully counterclockwise the studs will hit the end of the slot. You'll then notice that there is a groove running up the inside of the lens frame to allow those two studs to slip up inside the frame so that the inner lens assembly can be removed from or inserted into the frame. You may want to use a small hobby knife to put a bevel on the start of that groove to make it easier to push the lens assembly up out of the frame. Some gentle prying and cursing may also be necessary.

Realize that any contact with the front or rear lens while you are doing this may mean either a dirty or damaged lens. Wearing clean cotton gloves at this point is a good idea.

The lens assembly can now be disassembled by removing the screws holding the two halves together. Remove one half in such a way as to leave the lenses resting in the other half of the lens shell. Make a drawing at this point of exactly how the lenses fit into the lens shell. Which lens goes in which position, and which way does the lens face? Be sure about this, as you don't want to keep handling these lenses unnecessarily.

Note that the Corning lens assembly has glass AND plastic lenses! Glass or plastic, all of them must be handled with the utmost care. ONLY TOUCH THE EDGES OF THE LENSES, AND THEN WITH GLOVED FINGERS. The plastic lenses are shaped like cups, and thus can be safely rested on a flat clean surface with the curved side up. The center glass lens should be supported only by its edges. Some sort of cloth-lined trough of an appropriate size to support the lens should be arranged.

Now that the lenses are out of the way, you can take a look at the plastic shell that held them. In the case of the Corning assembly, the shell is molded out of black, but shiny, plastic. We want to get rid of the shine.

In addition to the shine problem, the lens retaining rings inside the lens shell may have blunt edges which also can reflect the light. Those blunt edges can be sharpened to knife edges through careful carving or through shaping with a Dremel tool. This step is time-consuming, and any burrs generated must be cleaned up, or the flare could be worsened, not made better. Afterwards, wash the shell halves thoroughly to prepare them for painting.

A high-quality flat black paint should be applied to all of the interior surfaces of the shell. (A search of the Web recently did not produce any "super" flat black paints available to us ordinary mortals. 3M Corp. used to make something nice, but they discontinued it. Arg!)

I ended up using Badger brand "Model Flex" No. 16-119 flat black paint. This is a water-based acrylic paint of good quality. It is available at better hobby shops.

Brush or spray a THIN, EVEN coat of the paint onto all of the interior surfaces of the lens shells halves. Set them aside to dry thoroughly.

Working on the Lenses

The plastic lenses in the Corning lens assembly do not have painted edges. This allows light to bounce around the inside edges of the lens and bounce back out where it should not. For painting the lenses, a top-quality small brush should be obtained at the same place where you bought the paint. The flat faces along the outer circumference of the plastic lenses, the flat outer edges of the lenses, and the outer portion of the rim of the curved face of the lenses should be painted black. As you might guess, one slip or drip could mean the purchase of a new lens assembly.

The center glass lens set in the Corning lens assembly already has some painted edges. Do not add more paint as painting the glass any more actually worsens the internal reflections from the glass lens assembly. (Don't ask how I know this, either!)

Before you start painting, put the lenses back in the shell once the paint is dry in the shell. Look through the lens assembly, particularly at the curved outer faces of the lenses. You want to identify how far in from the edge of the lens you can paint without blocking light coming through the lens assembly. I ended up painting the outer rim of the curved face of the lens on a line about 1/8th of an inch in from the circumference defined by the molded plastic retaining rings on the shell.

If you are uncertain about handling this lens painting part of the job, either skip it , or practice painting objects of the same general shape as the lenses until you feel confident. Do not load the brush heavily with paint, as this will promote paint drips running where you don't want them. This lens painting job must be done very carefully, so do not attempt it when you are rushed or distracted.

Once the paint on everything is thoroughly dry, it is time to bring out the compressed air. Blow off all dust particles and dirt from the lenses and the shell assembly halves. Use appropriate lens cleaning material and liquid to remove any fingerprints or smudges. This is another place where it is easy to scratch the lenses, particularly the plastic ones. Take your time, and think about what you're doing.

Place the lenses back in the proper order in one of the shell halves. Use the compressed air again to blow the lenses clean one more time and reassemble the shell around the lenses. Inspect the shell and lens assembly for freedom from dirt, and correct any remaining problems.

Reassemble the shell assembly back into the frame, and reinstall the screw that the focus-locking wing nut rides on. Reinstall the remaining hardware on the lens assembly. Re-inspect the entire lens assembly for cleanliness and any other problems. Correct as necessary and then set the lens assembly aside in a clean place, if you were able to safely remove the whole lens assembly.

In the Toshiba 50HDX82, the lens assembly sits atop the main CRT gun assembly. The top of the main CRT assembly just under the lens assembly consists of a cooling liquid-filled chamber with a lens molded into the top. This lens is shaped like a cup, and thus automatically gathers dust particles and dirt at the bottom, right in the main path of light going up to the lens. Use your compressed air to blow that dust out of this cup-shaped lens. The top inside rim of the cup has been blackened, but it still has a somewhat shiny finish which contributes to the lens flare.

A tremendously brave person could try to paint that blackened edge with the flat black paint we used previously on the lenses. I'm not that brave. Instead, here's what I recommend you do:

Order some black "flock paper" from Edmund Optical Supply. This paper has one side which has a light-absorbing texture. Get the thin stuff without the adhesive backing. Cut a ring-shaped piece of this flock paper. (A drawing compass is very helpful in drawing circles of the right diameter on the back of the flock paper to help as a guide for the cutting.) The outer diameter of the ring should just fit into the circular depression which surrounds the cup-shaped lens. The inner diameter of the ring should be small enough to block reflections from the edges of this "cup lens" and other off-axis light without reducing the main light beam brightness too much. I found a 5 centimeter center opening to be about right.

Use small pieces of double-sided tape attached to the back (non-flocked side) of the flock paper ring to attach it in place around the edge of the lens cup. You may want to make several trial pieces with different inside diameters for this flock paper ring before you figure out the best balance between knocking down lens flare at this point in the optical path, and reduction of screen brightness. A smaller center opening in the ring will improve the flare problem, but the main light beam can get choked off too. Another way to estimate this ring's effect is to put the lens back on over the flock paper ring, and look through the lens. If the flock paper ring is not visible through the lens once the lens is in place, go smaller on the center hole size of the ring.

Once you are satisfied with your treatment of the area underneath the main lens assembly, clean it out one more time with compressed air and reinstall the lens assembly.

Now you only have two more lenses to do, unless you have a TV with a single lens, which may be the case if your rear-projection TV is LCD, DLP, or uses some other new alphabet soup technology instead of the old-fashioned CRT's.

Lens assemblies from other manufacturers will certainly be different in detail, but the general sequence outlined above will still apply.

Conclusion and Results

It must be noted that the television on which I did this lens treatment still exhibits lens flare, it just has been reduced due to this effort. Your mileage will vary. Please look at the image below to see the difference between a treated and untreated lens assembly.

About The Author

Eli Aloisi is one of the many knowledgable staff members that encompass the PlexHomeTheater.com community. For more great articles check out www.PlexHomeTheater.com.

eli@plexhometheater.com

Does Your Stock Investing Guru Have a Mail Order Ph.D.?

Does Your Stock Investing Guru Have a Mail Order Ph.D.?

by: Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D.

Do you take a person?s credentials for granted? Most people do! For instance they don?t think twice when they hear about Marxism. They take the concept seriously because they know that it was authored by Dr. Karl Marx. What they don?t know is that ?Dr.? Marx was a womanizer who was too lazy to work his way through the higher educational institutions to earn his Ph.D. the honest way. ?Dr.? Marx received his ?doctorate? by mail order! Unfortunately, for modern economics he had a gift for gab and was able to sell his ungrounded ramblings of economic reform that was nothing more than a confused projection of his inner rage at his own incompetence rather than ability as an economist.

Even back at the turn of the last century there were unscrupulous universities that accept nearly anybody who applies. These bottom rate ?universities? became known as diploma mills. Many people don?t know that these diploma mills exist to this very day. Many individuals are seeking a doctorate in business administration because of the high pay levels for business professors. Schools like the University of Sarasota, Nova Southeastern University, and California Coastal University are examples of supposedly higher learning institutions that offer ?distance learning doctoral programs? in business administration but have low acceptance standards and high graduation rates.

For this reason these schools are known as ?mail order diploma mills? and fail to meet the accreditation requirements of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). It is impossible to have the daily apprenticeship of full immersion indoctrination that a doctoral candidate in business administration receives from a quality research institution. The University of South Carolina where I received my Ph.D. in finance, for instance, only accepts two candidates every two years. Each candidate receives constant focused daily instruction in the field that is both grueling and necessary for development of quality finance researchers and professors. Non-accredited distance learning doctoral programs are a goldmine for the owners but undermine the quality of higher learning in the United States today.

I warn investors that it is critically important that they carefully review the credentials of the mentor they select to learn how to invest in the stock market. Fraudsters don?t think twice before developing stock investing, commodity or option trading courses to make a little extra money for themselves regardless of whether or not what they teach helps their students.

I actually know of an investment guru who has never traded futures who figured out what people wanted to know about investing online and then simply tailored a course to their needs. This scary choice of an inexperienced mentor is more common than you may know. You must be very cautious because there are a lot of ?never been there, never done that, but I will teach you if you pay me big gurus? out there.

You should exercise great caution when you decide to follow somebody?s investment advice. Look for good credentials from well known universities. A good school in finance for instance only accepts one or two doctoral candidates each year or every other year. Contrast this to the school?s medical school that accepts around one hundred and fifty medical students each year. A finance doctorate is the most difficult Ph.D. of all to obtain in the social sciences. A master?s degree from a good finance program in a solid university is also difficult to obtain. Check your mentor?s credentials carefully before you hand over your hard earned dollars to buy their course.

Some people have become outstanding investors without extensive education and may be able to teach you useful information. If they claim superior investing ability then make sure that it is documented and review the documentation carefully. You may even want to check their criminal record for any prior fraudulent activities. One thing I can assure you is that you will succeed if you select the right mentor to teach you how to invest!

About The Author

Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D. can teach you how to invest through The Delano Max Wealth Institute (www.DelanoMax.com) The company website is www.BonanzaBase.com and his free stock investment tips ezine is www.WalletDoctor.com. Dr. Brown holds free teleseminars for Wallet Doctor ezine subscribers. If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Dr. Brown, please call Shandy Brown at 530-336-6616.

LCD TV Checklist: Are you Prepared?

LCD TV Checklist: Are you Prepared?

by: Tim Jeffries

LCD flat screen TVs provide a superior picture as compared to a traditional television - and they can come in more attractive styles to boot. A flat screen LCD TV can be mounted on a wall, under a cabinet, on the ceiling? or can sit on a stand or on top of furniture. LCD TVs are versatile, flexible, and provide a better entertainment experience? but how do they work?

LCD flat screen TVs, and LCD technology itself, is based on the properties of polarized light. LCD TVs consist of two, perpendicularly arranged panes of polarized glass "stuck together" by a liquid-crystal-filled polymer solution. When they are exposed to electrical currents, the crystals untwist to varying degrees, permitting specific amounts and colors of light to pass though them. Flat screen LCD TVs are, in effect, projection TVs that depend on an extremely bright lamp as their light source, so they're considered a "passive" display.

So how do you choose the right flat panel LCD TV for you? You should at least consider the following factors when shopping for a flat panel LCD TV.

1. Look for a HDMI input. This port keeps the signal all-digital, avoiding degradation that can occur as the signal passes through other components (like your cable box). HMDI carries high-definition audio as well as video. Some satellite receivers and DVD players also connect through this port.

2. Match the LCD TV size to the size of the room where it will be placed. Because LCD TVs have higher resolutions than conventional TVs, you can sit closer than you normally would, so you can view a larger screen comfortably. (Keep in mind a 42-inch screen may overwhelm a small room, though.)

3. Decide if you want the picture-in-picture feature. The picture in picture feature allows you to simultaneously view two video sources at once, with one appearing as a small window on the screen. If you do want picture-in-picture in your flat panel LCD TV, keep in mind that single-tuner picture-in-picture lets you watch TV in one window and another source (like a DVD) in the second window. A flat panel LCD TV with two tuners lets you watch two television sources at once.

4. Do you need HDTV? A flat panel LCD TV with EDTV is cheaper, but it can't display high-definition signals. The price difference between smaller flat panel HD-ready LCDs and ED-ready LCDs is fairly low, so you're better off buying a HD-ready set. In fact, most experts say there's little reason to buy a non-HD LCD television. These lower resolution LCD TVs won't be able to accept high-definition signals, so the picture won't look any better than regular analog TV. And small HD-ready LCD TVs can be found for $500 or less, which is cheap enough that there really isn't much to "save" on a non-HD LCD TV.

5. Check to see if the TV comes with a stand or mounting hardware. Most flat panel LCD TVs come with a basic table stand, but wall-mounting hardware costs an additional $100 to $200.

6. Look into the manufacturer's warranty policy before buying online. Some manufacturers have strict policies regarding authorized dealers. If you buy a Sharp LCD Television, for example, from an unauthorized dealer, Sharp may not offer warranty coverage. (However, the retailer may offer a substitute warranty that sufficiently covers you.) The difference in price between an authorized Sharp dealer and a discounter can sometimes be hundreds of dollars, so make sure you're comfortable with the risk of not having a warranty, or make sure you ask the dealer for information about their warranty terms for the flat panel LCD TV you're considering.

7. Finally, learn about LCD TVs. There are far more things to learn about LCD TVs than the above mentioned points. Get educated on how to buy an LCD TV.

About The Author

Tim Jeffries is author of ?The LCD TV Shopping Guide.? Get your copy at http://www.llcdtv.com.