FAQ

A; Plasma definitely wins the screen 'real estate' per dollar race. Interesting fact, Loewe and Samsung warranty is 3 years on LCD where as Plasma is 2 years, the other issue is power consumption, LCD is reported on spec sheets to be half to one third of Plasma (plasma is rated with pixels 'full-on' and will power will vary, where-as LCD's power consumption remains steady) . LCD is 'solid state' and should produce an extremely long life, whereas plasma's display is produced by gas which depletes even when the screen is not in use. Both will loose brightness but the LCD's lamps can be replaced. LCD vs Plasma

A: If you bought HD DVD you will still have a very good DVD player, unlike the BETA (which were superior) video-players which ended up headed for the local tip!

A; In many cases, yes but not always, in some cases it causes problems such as HDCP errors, rolling picture etc. when this occurs use component cables. There is 3 versions of HDMI now ! (at present HDMI is the only way to obtain 1080p, and 1080p is only available on the higher priced HD- DVD and Blu-ray)

A;Virtually all digital systems 'lock up' sometimes, Foxtel, ADSL, even my N73 mobile phone! Solution is to switch the item off at the mains. Wait at least 10 Seconds before switching back on. Corrupt signals accumulate in the memory and need to be 'flushed'

A; Your antenna and/or amplifier and TV settings have been altered. We have an excellent in-house service available to re-instate your system. Call with your location for a quote. Charges apply!

A; Steve Bennett Hifi sell amplifiers with inputs for all of these and more! You can buy a simple lead or choose a dedicated amp that will allow control of these devices from a remote with track info displayed on your screen.

A; We give free advice on pre-wiring your home for sound and vision, phone 52216011 for an appointment, Click here (to open PDF on Custom Installation advice) or here for Do it yourself Custom install pdf

A; Press the AUDIO button on the DVD remote until AC3 Digital sound or DTS is activated. You may have to have your Amp input set to Dolby digital or better still AUTO, (on Yamaha), do this by pushing the INPUT or DVD button until AUTO shows on front readout.

Q; Why don't I hear as much bass as I heard when in Steve Bennett Hifi?

A; If you bought elsewhere you probably have a 'girlie' system! (just kidding!),

if you place your speakers close to the wall your bass response will effectively double. Even more with corner placement. Also make sure your speakers are in-phase (i.e. the + and - wiring at both the amplifier and the speakers ends are correct)

Is HDTV worth it?

A;There was not a lot to see between SD and HD TV, and probably won't be for some time. Channel 7 has started transmitting at 1080i and the picture through the 1920X1080 True HD Schaub Lorenz is pretty dam good! Parts of Asia have had HD transmission for 10 years but has taken this long for regular transmissions to become commonplace. I'd say definitely go for a digital tuner and if it has a HD option, see that as a bonus. Most of Australia's so-called HD transmissions are often only about half the quality possible.

Q; Why does Plasma and LCD look blurry close-up?

A; Stand back a bit and in nearly all respects the LCD picture is superior to CRT. LCD now has fantastic resolution up to 1920x1080. Be sure to have a very good antenna (it's rubbish in-rubbish out) as with Plasma, black and white pixels are to modulated to produce grey. Artifacting (sometimes called 'cometing') issues have been overcome with the likes of Loewe and Schaub Lorenz. The old CRT (tube telly) can be very forgiving especially with a poorer signal, the fluid motion of CRT is all but rivalled by the latest panel technology.

Q; Is plasma burn-in a problem still?

A; Burn-in and ghosting cannot be discounted, however the latest designs are said to have a 'self healing' feature. Manufacturers still warn against leaving fixed menus displayed for any length of time. This problem is eradicated by LCD's solid state technology.

Q; What screen size considerations do I need to make?

A; How far back you will be sitting, rule of thumb, 2~3 times the screen width for a cinema experience.

Q; What about room brightness?

A; Check where the windows are, nearly all LCD screens have a matt finish and don't have surface reflections. As far as I know all plasmas have a shiny glass-like finish that shows the room and what's outside the windows as well as the movie.