| The Biggest Trend at the 2007 CES Is One You May Already Own
LAS VEGAS -- If the consumer electronics industry has anything to say about it, you will be connecting your PC to your home theater. That's the gist of much of the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas. And amid all the speeches and the presentations, the glamour and the pageantry, and all the booth babes, it's clear that the CE industry is embracing high-definition wholeheartedly -- with important implications for those of us following the PC space. A veritable deluge of products at CES were all centered around the whole PC-HDTV convergence thing, which admittedly remains a trend that, according to the pundits, has been "just around the corner" for anywhere between five and fifteen years. Regardless on where you stand on the issue, it's clear that the consumer electronics and PC industries have decided that this is the year that your TV again becomes the center of your digital life: You'll be watching downloaded Internet video on your TV, controlling your PC from your living room couch, and sharing video between computers, wireless devices and game consoles.
HDTV: Why its hot and why its not
Those high definition TV pictures in the stores look awesome, with every little leaf on a Discovery Channel tree crystal clear, including tiny drops of dew on porous surfaces.
Grains of dirt smudged along a couple of inches of white material on a football uniform helps put viewers on the field.
But watching sweat bead on Rolling Stone's guitarist Keith Richard's craggy forehead might be a little too much digital information. There's no arguing that high definition images on TVs these days are amazing, whatever the programming. But before you shell out $1,000 to $2,000 for a plasma or liquid crystal display (LCD) television, be sure to check with your TV signal provider to find out what kind of special equipment you need to get HD reception.
When TV shopping, you'll still find some of those standard cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens, updated for digital reception.
LCD, plasma TVs each have advantages
Q: What is the difference between LCD and plasma flat-panel TVs? Also, has an HDTV standard for the U.S. been officially adopted? I am thinking about purchasing a new TV set and am not sure whether it's wise to buy now or wait. Frank Humphries, Minneapolis, MN A: LCD TVs use an LCD panel to create the picture. It's the same LCD screen technology you find on laptop computers and digital cameras. Plasma TVs use gas suspended within glass panels and stimulated by an electrical field to create the picture. .
Potentia unveils 'first' primary side power module for LCD TV
Potentia Semiconductor, a global player in providing power solutions to the flat panel display industry, has officially released what is claimed to be the industry's first primary side power module for LCD televisions with screen sizes from 32inches to 65inches. The PM-6010 is claimed to enable LCD television manufacturers to build high efficiency power supplies with the industry's smallest size.
The PM-6010 is a power control and conversion module for primary side, off-line power factor correction (PFC) and isolated DC-DC power conversion using LLC resonant power topologies.
The solution is claimed to be the first of its kind to fully integrate PFC controlled power with all required power switching semiconductors. It reportedly allows for multiple PFC topologies and a range of operating frequencies to provide a total solution for emerging power supply requirements.
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