When surround sound speakers came out, I swore to myself that I would never get them. I snorted at the very idea! You see, I was a fan of low fidelity rock music, and I was quite proud of it. I did not need any of that fancy nonsense – you just needed to hear the song. Any music that needed a surround sound speaker system to be truly appreciated was probably lousy music. Straightforward rock ‘n roll, which I knew was the best music in the world, certainly did not need that kind of technology. It could be appreciated in its raw and unadulterated form. It even sounded good through a blown speaker cabinet.

My wife, however, has very different opinions about music. She has very different opinions about everything, in fact, but fortunately both of us like to argue. She knew that she needed home theater surround sound speakers. For her, my music was just plain noise. It had no subtlety in her opinion, unlike the classical music that she treasured.

This is why I first listened to speakers surround sound, but I am glad that I did. I was surprised at how much difference they really made. They really brought out the music at its full depth. Even simple, straightforward, dirty rock ‘n roll sounded great through surround sound speakers. We had some of the best surround sound speakers that were on the market at the time, which was pretty impressive for us. Before that, you see, all I had were some big, old, half dead speakers from the mid-70s. Her stereo equipment consisted of a dual tape deck boombox from the mid-80s. The difference between that and the surround sound speakers was like night and day!

It was easy for us to pick out surround sound speakers. My wife had some friends who were big audiophiles, you see, and they played their Boise surround sound system to us. If you have never had the chance to listen to a surround sound home theater system, however, you probably should not go out and buy speakers. It is important to get a chance to listen to it in a room of similar size and layout to the one that you are going to put it in. Surround sound speakers vary based on their surroundings. The same surround sound speakers that will sound great in one environmental will sound terrible in another, so you have to be sure to research it thoroughly.

Ralph Jarvis runs his own mail order business as well as running several shopping based websites. His particular speciality is electronics and computers. Visit his website which is full of LCD Televisions resources or another with Surround Sound Speakers info.

I have always been a book lover.

I love books and have been reading since I was a little baby. My mom made sure she instilled the love of books in me. Unlike my other friends throughout school who always had problems reading, I never had such problems.

Reading was fun to me. It was something I would do, not because I had to get good grades in school, but because I just loved to. On average I would read nine books a week. The local library was such a treasury of unread books that it became my favourite place to hang out

Like you would expect, I carried this love for books into my adulthood.

When the kids came along I wanted to instill the same love of books into my kids too.

I used to make it a habit to read to my kids EVERY night before they go to bed, no matter how exhausted I was when I got home from work.

I didn’t expect it to, but because I work long hours at my job, I always get very tired while reading to my kids at night. In many occasions I have even fallen asleep before my kids right whilst I’m reading to them!

Deep within me I could see that there just wasn’t any way I could keep up with the habit of always reading to my kids each night… unless I found another job that would take up less of my time (but still pay me good wage at the same time – impossible to find such a job, right?)

At that same time that I was thinking of that, I was promoted in my job. This involved arriving at work one hour earlier, and – one hour AFTER everyone else had left the office.

I felt devastated , that meant I lost the one hour I treasured every morning reading a chapter of a motivational or inspirational book to start off my day in a positive and motivated frame of mind. On top of that I lost the one hour I invested reading to my kids after work.

I was in a dilemma wondering what I should do. My husband suggested I ought to give up reading to my kids at nights, and he would do it instead. He was under as much time pressure as I was.

I was still trying to work out a solution when I discovered AUDIO BOOKS!

Eureka… the savior had arrived.

Six weeks after my first contact with audio books, my predicament has ended.

Not only have I gained back my 2 hours taken by my job, I have added many more hours to my life because of audio books.

How?

First, I now get a 2 hour value of books every morning before I get to work.

During the 1 hour it generally takes me to get ready for work, I listen to an audio book.

During the 1 hour or so it takes me to commute to and from work, I listen to an audio book.

During the 1 hour or so I spend to have lunch and break times, I listen to an audio book.

Total time gained with audio books is 3 incredibly educative hours in the mornings and afternoons.

Now my job doesn’t have to take all of my time away from getting the value I get reading books.

Secondly, instead of spending the 1 hour reading to my kids each night when I get home tired, I play an audio book for them instead. Somehow I discovered that they seem to prefer the audio books to my reading.

I think I heard my daughter mumbling about how the voice from the audio book is “more awake than mom’s”.

Now… aren’t audio books wonderful?

If you have had similar problems to me, you can gain back your time by taking advantage of the amazing value of audio books.

The fact that most of the best-selling titles now come in audio book format make it far more interesting.

To get started, go online and search for the audio book version of that book you have been dying to read. Even books that your kids or spouse love to read could be available in audio book format. If they are, they will be a great time saver for you.

Audio books can save you time, and make your commute to work enjoyable. Try it out! To download a free audio book visit Great Audio Books Online

How to take care of your video camera

When it comes to special occasions that need recording, a video camera will surely be one of the few items present inside the bag. In addition to the camera, a video camera is one of the mainstays of every special event in the family and with the Christmas season and Thanksgiving a few days away, video cameras of all shapes and sizes are being charged inside the homes or being bought off the shelf.

Unlike photographic cameras, which capture one-time images into still shots, video cameras can capture everything, every detail every second and every minute of the day. This is what makes video cameras so popular. It can get every scene in a flash. Nothing is missed!

If you already have your own video camera, it is important that you take care of it. Video cameras like photography cameras have very sensitive parts that you can easily damage when you are not careful. Below are some of the things that you should really watch out for.

Protecting the lens

This is the single most important part in a video camera and it is also the most expensive. If this is damaged, you will have to spend so much, sometimes even enough to buy a new video camera. It is therefore important that you always protect this part.

When storing the camera, make sure that there are no pointed objects that can scratch the lens. Most video cameras that are being sold nowadays have a special compartment for the lens. Old models have lens covers that will protect it from scratches.

When holding the camera, it is important that you loop the strap in your hands or around your neck. This is a safety precaution just in case you accidentally drop the camera. At least, it will not fall on the floor! Dropping the camera is a major no-no because the lens can easily break.

Taking care of the memory card

Although most video cameras have internal memory, which you can use, new models have expandable options. Now, users can add on to the internal memory by using memory cards. In fact, some do not even use the internal memory anymore as this can only slow down the processes of the camera.

To take care of the memory cards, it is important that you place them in a special case, which will protect them from sharp objects or hard ones that can damage its delicate parts.

Lengthening the life of the battery

Although most are probably not charging their batteries according to what the manual says, it is still important that you try to follow the manual every now and then. The general rule is to actually drain the battery first before fully charging it. Fully charging it means that you should not pull the plug until the battery is charged completely. Not charging it fully and not draining the battery before charging can actually cut short or lessen the battery life.

The initial charging of the battery is another area that you should take special attention of. Depending on what the manual says, the battery is often charged for more than 12 hours, sometimes even the whole day. It is vital that the instructions for the initial charging are followed as this can affect the performance of the battery.

Bob is the owner of Electronics DVD VCR Stereo which is an up-to-date electronics information website.

It’s become one of the great home theater rivalries…Plasma television versus LCD. Which one do you buy as the showpiece for your best home theater system? Plasma or LCD?

Maybe it’s a guy thing… I’m not sure but when I went shopping for my television, my better half, my gorgeous wife or “she who must be obeyed”… call her what you like, just didn’t seem to care what type of television I purchased, Plasma or LCD, just as long as it produced a good quality picture.

Let’s make some comparisons about the respective merits of either version. When setting up a home theater center the television is the centerpiece so you want to make sure you get this right. I will list what I consider the advantages of either type.

Plasma Advantages

1. Definitely screen size. Plasma tv’s are available in size from 32 inches, all the way up to over 100 inches. Certainly an advantage if you prefer the bigger screens.

2. Viewing angle is an interesting debate. Some say plasma while others say LCD. Maybe plasma “by a nose” but there is nothing in it. LCD’s have improved markedly though and are rapidly gaining the upper hand in this area.

LCD Advantages

1. LCD tv’s are definitely tougher and more durable, not that you’ll be tossing the thing around the back yard! They certainly hold the upper hand in the “durability stakes.”

2. Installation is usually a breeze with LCD’s where plasmas require a little more installation know how.

3.LCD’s are lighter although this could have something to do with the fact they are smaller however, they are also thinner than plasmas. Whether this is an advantage I’m not sure and in the end, it may be up to “the eye of the beholder!”

As you can see, there is not a lot of difference in my opinion.

Life Span

There is always an argument for and against concerning plasma and LCD life span but to be honest, there is not much difference between either version. You could reasonably expect to get 15-20,000 hours use from either television before backlights need to be replaced however, replacing an LCD part will cost you more than a plasma at this stage of the evolution in technology.

Picture Issues

LCD’s are perhaps more consistent in the area of picture brightness during normal conditions of light but under home theater situations, plasma will have the edge.

Pixel issues are again line ball with both plasma and LCD having their for against arguments. Burn-in issues were once a drawback with plasmas but technology in recent years has “levelled the playing field” in this area.

Which Is Best?

I’d rate plasmas as the choice television for a home theater set up. Let’s face it, you’ll more than likely use your home theater to catch up on plenty of movies. However, with technology advancing so rapidly, LCD’s are gaining more and more of a foothold.

What did I buy? Plasma. Why? Because in the end, I got a great deal on a set which was on sale and hard to resist at the price. I’m betting this may ultimately sway your decision as well. And yes, my better half was more than pleased!

Dean Caporella is a professional broadcaster. What television is the best fit for a home theater set up…plasma or LCD? Read this revealing report to find out plus, get the latest home theater tips and tricks at:http://www.hometheaterinfoline.c

A digital camcorder is one of the most popular pieces of equipment around when it comes to capturing precious moments these days. Digital capturing capabilities abound in cell phones and other electronic devices like media players, but the digital camcorder offers a final product video that is meant for long term use and not just brief moments captured in time. Digital images captured from cell phones still lack the sharp clarity provided by a digital camcorder, and until that technology advances, a camcorder is still your best bet when it comes to taking home, family and travel images.

Recent developments in digital camcorder capabilities have produced a growing excellence in the quality of digital files. The Sanyo Xacti HD1 offers a previously unheard of resolution of over 800×600 with a 720p rating. Keep in mind however, that this growing trend may be stalled by the lack of other functions that were common on more ‘old fashioned’ video recording camcorders, such as zooming capabilities and low-light filming. Digital camcorders do not function well in low light, nor do they offer zooming options with most models, which are equipped with either auto focus or fixed focus lenses.

The length of your digital media files is also limited to the size of the storage media you are using. For example, with some digital cameras, a 1 GB Smart Chip media file card might provide less than ten minutes of movie footage. For the most part, mainstream consumers find their ease of usage and the ability to download digital camcorder files and images onto their computer hard drives adequate for their needs. Everyone from news media to parents use digital camcorders for various needs, and most models are very portable, easy to handle and within moderate budgets. Most consumers today use their digital camcorder models to record personal events ranging from youth sports to weddings and graduations.

The two most popular digital camcorder models sold today are the miniDV and the Digital8 camcorders. The miniDV technology was developed in 1994, and the Digital8 models still use technology that was developed in the late 1980’s, and whose models and accessories are only compatible with Sony and Hitachi brands. The DV format of digital camcorder models is supported by over fifty companies throughout the world, which allows for compatibility with numerous accessories.

Police and other public service organizations widely use digital camcorder models every day in their lines of work. Even low budget television shows can be made with digital camcorder equipment and Hollywood has also gone digital in many cases. Most television shows and movies today are edited on digital film instead of old-fashioned film strips.

Today, digital camcorder models are growing smaller and smaller as 21st century technology continues to make advances in video technology. New digital camcorder models are making a splash in mainstream markets every year, and with the ease of use between digital camcorders and Windows and Mac computer systems, digital camcorder models are only going to get better and better.

CamcorderSense.com is the place to get the inside scoop on everything camcorder. Enter as a novice, leave as an expert! Here you’ll find the latest on digital camcorder technology along with information on all your favorite brands. Visit: http://www.camcordersense.com

I am an audio book user and consider traveling time as dead or unproductive time and try to make good use of it by listening to and learning from audio books. On a recent three week visit to the UK I had several people to visit up and down the country and spent many hours in the auto. To get to the UK in the first place my journey took me twenty eight hours in total from house to house.

I started of with a fully charged iPod and spent a large part of the journey listening to Without Fail by Lee Child, a novel that I had downloaded from the audio book site AudioBookGo. It was the abridged version and passed a good six hours of the journey for me.

Unfortunately I forgot to take the charging/data transfer cable to connect my iPod to my laptop and decided not to purchase a new one during my visit. In hindsight this was foolish as I later added up the hours that I spent in the auto on journeys of over one hour and the total was thirty three hours. This equaled eleven wasted hours each week, time that I could have spent listening to a series of seminars that I have purchased earlier concerning some internet marketing techniques that I was interested in. Oh yes and I lost all those hours on the journey back from the UK.

However I did catch up with some issues on the talk radio so not all my dead time was lost. Time is something that we can never have back again but by making use of the dead and unproductive time in our lives we really can ‘put time back into out lives’ in a way of speaking.

There is so much choice and types of audio books available for downloading from the internet, the choice is so great. From classic novels to modern business books, from TV and radio humor to learning a foreign language, from biographies to historical accounts, from crime and thrillers to health and recreation how to guides. With all this choice it is difficult to understand why so many travelers do not make better use of their time and try to better or entertain themselves. Having said that lots of people are doing just this as audio books sales, from CDs and internet downloads are increasing monthly.

Of course auto and air journeys are not the only occasions when we have time that can be better used. I walk my dog for thirty minutes every day and make good use of that time by listening to my audio books, it doesn’t bother my dog at all! I can’t say that I listen to audio books anywhere else as some people do. I believe that some others listen when gardening and doing the daily chores but that’s not for me. It doesn’t take me long to wash the dishes and my gardening is quick and exhaustive and not suitable for having head phones on.

I have now purchased an independent power cable for my iPod and it is already in my travel bag so I don’t intend to lose anymore valuable time on my travels in the future. The older I am getting the more I am becoming interested in new fields and am keen to learn as much as I can. Luckily so much information is now available in audio book and down loadable form that I can utilize all the dead and unproductive time to my advantage.

Bruce Walls is an author and publisher. Read other interesting articles at AudioBookGoBlog

The HDTV revolution has changed the home electronics landscape for good already, but the real benefits of this advanced technology will soon be apparent in the next few years as it becomes more accepted and established. For the last half century television entertainment remained pretty much the same as far as the video and audio capabilities are concerned. There were some advances along the way including large screen TVs and VHS recorders/players, but essentially the viewing experience was unchanged.

Much of the staleness of TV entertainment was due to the limitations of the analog system of broadcasting a TV signal. Only so much information could be sent over the air by analog format so no real advances in TV electronics were needed. But when satellite and cable TV entered the picture and introduced digital broadcasting, things began to change, and soon the DVD format just completely took over as the preferred medium for viewing movies at home on TV. The success of these digital format technologies has spurred the changeover from analog to fully digital entertainment and HDTV is the realization of that dream.

However, current DVD players are unable to display movies in high definition format even though their picture and sound is much improved than what has been available in the past. So there will be a need for dvd players to be taken to the next level now too as HDTV becomes an accepted standard for TV entertainment.

Already two of the largest manufacturers, Sony and Toshiba are set to introduce two competing technologies for displaying DVD entertainment in high definition format on a HDTV. Sony’s version is called Blu-Ray, and Toshiba’s is called HD DVD. Interestingly they are incompatible, so expect an electronics war to see which format gets accepted as the standard in coming years. As with all new technologies the initial models will be very expensive and the early DVDs that take advantage of this technology will be very limited, but if the meteoric rise of the initial DVD format is any clue, they can be expected to sell fast and become accepted very quickly.

DVRs(digital video recorders) will still be in their current format for the foreseeable future, but somewhere along the line you can expect to see units that record in high definition format to start showing up too. A lot probably depends on how quickly the new technologies are widely accepted.

As the switch to HDTV continues you can expect almost all new analog equipment to totally disappear in the next few years, perhaps as soon as 2010, so make your buying choices today with that well in mind. The future of TV entertainment is in high definition and dvd players and recorders will eventually meet those standards as well.

There is so much that you can do with compact digital cameras that you just couldn’t do with film cameras, and the switchover from film to all digital photography is well underway. When you think of how easy it is these days to just snap a photo, save it on a reusable media card, transfer the file to your computer later that day, alter the photo as you like in your favorite photo editor, and then either print it out on photo paper or send it to your friends around the world, it’s no wonder that digital cameras are all the rage. But before you buy a compact digital camera, here are some things to look for:

Probably the most important consideration these days regarding compact digital cameras is how many megapixels they have. Actually this is how most digital cameras are grouped these days, so you need to understand what this designation means. Basically, a megapixel is capable of storing a million bits of information about a photo. So the more megapixels you have the more information you are storing about every photo you shoot. So before buying any compact digital camera you need to decide how you intend to use it.

Will it mainly be used for just 4×6 snapshots? Will you be enlarging some up to 8×10 or even higher? Do you like to crop out a portion of the images in your photo editor and enlarge them? The answer to these questions will help determine what megapixel camera will suit you best. This is because most 3 megapixel cameras can produce enough information about a photo to print a sharp picture on up to 8×10 or so. So if all you do is take snapshots you really don’t need to pay for any more megapixels. However, if you like to make enlargements beyond 8×10 or you like to enlarge just a portion of each photo, you will need more megapixels, perhaps 5 or 6. And for those who are dedicated hobbyists who may want to produce super enlargements, you might want to consider even larger megapixel cameras.

Another important consideration especially for compact digital cameras is their size. Just as the name suggests, they are very compact. There is even an ultra-compact digital camera category too. Initially it all sounds good to make cameras smaller and more lightweight, but sometimes it seems that the camera manufacturers have gone a bit too far with some models and the dials and controls are so tiny that they are hard to manipulate for some folks whose hands may be larger. So before you buy any compact digital camera be sure that you actually hold one in your hand and work with it for a while so you know that it will fit you personally.

Once you have hand tested the models that interest you most, you can then look for them online and often will save a lot of money that way. There are several good online electronics retailers that offer significant compact camera discounts. So shop around and look for those online retailers that have a good reputation and have been in business for a while to get your best compact digital camera deal.

So now you have your brand new home theater system components sitting in their boxes in front of you and it’s go time. You have to somehow connect all of these foreign objects together and make it all work. For many people this is a really intimidating scenario, but actually if you follow a few simple guidelines it doesn’t have to be all that difficult. So here are the top 5 tips for home theater wiring installation.

1. This may sound corny but read the manual. I know that there are lots of you folks that prefer to just pick up a screwdriver and dive in, but you cannot believe how much you can mess up by not taking the time here to read the installation instructions through and get a good feel for what you need to do in advance. In fact, you may somehow get the system to work without doing that, but odds are that it will never perform as well as it should simply because a few steps were left out while it was being installed. So save your self the extra grief and just read the wiring installation instruction manual before you get started.

2. Use the correct gauge wire for your installation. Remember that when you have to run wire for longer distances it requires a heavier gauge to be able to successfully transmit the signal. Here is a simple general guideline that you can use: for lengths under 100 feet 16 gauge wire should be adequate, up to 200 feet 14 gauge wire will work and over that you will probably need 12 gauge wire to make sure things work properly.

3. Whenever you are making any kind of home theater wiring installation whether it be from one component to another or from a component to the speakers, make sure that both components are powered off when you connect them. Many is the heartache caused by someone turning on components before making the connections and experiencing high sudden power loads that damage their brand new equipment. Avoid that by always keeping the components powered off as you make wiring connections.

4. Gather your cables and wires together in advance and make sure that they will stretch far enough from each installed component before you begin installation. It’s really frustrating to find out that one of your wires or cables isn’t long enough after you already have everything else set up.

5. A common mistake that many people make when installing their own home theater setup is stacking the components like the receiver, dvd player, cable box and so on, so closely together that they have no room to breathe. Often they will even put them inside a closed cabinet too, which only compounds the problem. So before laying out your system try to think of a way to provide plenty of air flow between each component which will allow it to run more efficiently, last longer, and perform better.

If you plan ahead to set aside plenty of time for your home theater wiring installation, you should be able to get it done with little problem and frustration if you use the tips provided above.