The long awaited new Apple TV is now available for pre-order.  Although this announcement is largely overshadowed by the unveiling of the new iPad, this is a long overdue upgrade of the Apple TV.

For those of you that don’t know, the previous 2 or 3 versions of the Apple TV were only able to output 720 lines of horizontal resolution.  The new version will output at a full 1080 lines to give you all of that resolution you have been missing out on.  Chances are that you currently own a flat panel that is 1080p or have a high-quality home theater with a 1080p LED or DLP projector ,  Now you can enjoy the easy to use Apple TV and also take advantage of the new icon based interface (see above).  The previous menu system used a bunch more text and this new menu looks a whole lot more like an iPad or iPhone.

Keep in mind that this version, like the last incarnation, requires your TV to have an HDMI input.  So don’t pre-order unless you are connecting this up to a projector or flat panel that has been built in the past 4 years or so.

Features of the new Apple TV:

• 1080p movies and TV shows downloadable from the iTunes Store
• New and improved 1080p user interface
• Ability to re-download purchased movies through iCloud
• “Genius” recommendations for movies
• Photo resolution bumped up to 1080p
• Single-core A5 chip
• 1080p output

The graphic here shows proportionally the amount of picture information in various formats. You can quickly see how much more picture information there is with the “4K” formats. Four times the resolution sounds amazing, and it does provide the clearest details we’ve ever seen, but for most people this doesn’t really become noticeable unless you’re either sitting very close to the screen or if your screen is very large (more than 80″).

That’s 4k in a nutshell.

Now with Steve Jobs birthday coming up, February 24th, the rumors are flying about the surly soon to be released iPad update. Here’s what I have been able to find out so far.

Twice the Resolution and Four Times the Pixels

The current resolution of the iPad 2 is 1024 x 768 with a rather low pixel density of 132 ppi (pixels per inch). The pixel density of an iPhone Retina display is 326 ppi. The iPad 3 display is expected to be somewhere around 2048 x 1536 with a resulting 264 ppi, not quite a Retina display but you’ll see a very noticeable improvement. Rumor has it Apple has beefed up the backlight for the new, improved display which may make the iPad 3 slightly thicker.

2. Improved Camera

The iPad 3 is rumored to include a Sony-sourced, 8MP camera along with a higher resolution front facing camera which should make FaceTime video calls more special. We hear there’s still no flash for the camera but we wonder how many photos are shot with an iPad altogether.

3. Improved Battery Life

The currently run rate for a fully charged iPad 2 is around 10 hours. That could improve with a rumored 14,000 mAh battery supposedly coming from Simplo Technology and Dynapack Internation. This would represent a significant increase over the iPad 2’s 6500 mAh battery. The extra battery capacity could come in handy if Apple decides to include the power hungry 4G LTE networking.

4. Quad Core Processor

The iPad 2 runs on the same A5 dual-core processor as the iPhone 4S. Rumor has it the iPad 3 may run on an A6 quad-core processor.

5. It May Use the Faster 4G LTE Mobile Network

When the iPhone 4S launched without 4G LTE service which is widely available from Verizon and less so from AT&T, there was some grumbling from those looking for the latest high speed wireless standard. If rumor proves true we could see 4G LTE implemented in the iPad 3. It makes sense for a number of reasons. One we might see carriers subsidize the iPad in return for a contract and two it would give Apple a chance to “shake out” LTE for performance and battery drain issues before they release it on the iPhone 5 later this year.

So our emergency service department fielded a lot of service requests over the weekend to rescue many Grammy Parties due to DirecTV turning on the Energy Saver mode on many of the HD Satellite Receivers that are deployed in millions of households.

What does this mean?

It means that your satellite box will go into standby to save some energy when not in use. This will cause the loss of picture and sound until you turn it back on or press one of the following buttons:

• GUIDE
• LIST
• MENU
• INFO
• CHANNEL UP
• CHANNEL DOWN

Fortunately, there are a lot of buttons that wake up the receiver so it is an easy fix.

A big THANKS to our stellar Audio Video emergency service technicians who rescued lots of people sitting in really high-end home theaters staring at blank screens instead of watching Springsteen kick off the Grammys.

If you’ve experienced this black screen with your DirecTV HD receiver, now you know why and now you know the fix. This energy saver setting may be bypassed in the settings menu if it drives you crazy. Please leave it on, we all need to save energy!

How to fix:

http://support.directv.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3775/~/can-i-turn-off-the-power-saving-feature-on-my-receiver-hd-dvr,-hd,-and-dvr

The LG 55″ OLED Television just premiered at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. This flat panel is the thinnest in existence at 4mm thick (about 3 credit cards thick). The bezel that surrounds the image is only 1mm thick.

Both Samsung and LG released their 55″ OLED sets this year, but LG took home the “Best of CES Award”.

Although OLED (organic light emitting diode) is a rather new technology in a TV this large, we expect that this format will produce wider viewing angles, higher contrast, and better picture quality than the current offering of LED, LCD, and Plasma sets. Before you want to trash your current set, keep in mind that this will take a few generations to start eclipsing the current sets on the market. The current focus with OLED is thin, thin, thin…not the best picture quality. This will come in time.

I also expect it to take some time before this technology is available in the new jumbo flat panel sizes (70″ – 85″). Perhaps we will see these sometime in late 2013.

There will be a premium price for this set but will eventually be price competitive with LED sets by 2016, according to LG. Preliminary expected pricing is $7,999 for both the LG and Samsung models.

Today’s topic deals with something you might not have given any consideration to, and that is wall shadows. What are they and how can they be eliminated?

Well, any device on a wall, such as a light switch, an electrical outlet, a home automation touchscreen, etc. has a trim plate or bezel that surrounds it. Though usually not very deep, these devices do stick out past the wall surface and may cast shadows on the wall depending on the room’s lighting. This draws more attention to them than we’d care for. Either way, anything that isn’t artwork protruding off your wall usually isn’t a pretty thing to look at. Again, we probably haven’t given this much thought as it’s seemed to be just the way things are. But not anymore…there is a clever solution for flush-mounting common wall accessories by a company called TRUFIG. The end result is spectacular; one of those “why didn’t someone think of this before?” moments as the pictures in this post show. The clean aesthetic complements both contemporary and traditional interiors.

Really…when was the last time an ugly plastic thing sticking off the surface of a wall complemented any interior??

TRUFIG’s flush-mount system has made the following wall-mounted devices nearly invisible: light switches, electrical outlets, volume controls, data jacks, and popular integration products such as Lutron lighting keypads and AMX home automation touchscreens.

Early collaboration is needed between us, your architect and interior designer to deploy TRUFIG in the most effective way. In a perfect world we should be consulted at least 2-3 months prior to the completion of construction documents. TRUFIG device placement is very flexible and opens up possibilities for exact, repeatable wall device placement. Plus, we can help consolidate the amount of devices on the wall in the first place by consolidating them in key areas with in-wall touchscreens (such as completely removing security keypads and thermostats from the walls of the public areas of your home).

If you are building or remodeling a custom home you owe it to yourself to at least see what TRUFIG offers – either come by our office or we can make a presentation at your office or home.

For the most immersive Super Bowl / Home Theater experience, a front projection system (separate video projector and large screen) remains the ultimate video display technology, especially for private Home Theaters where you can control the lighting environment. But, what about more casual spaces, such as your Family or Great Room that doubles as a Media Room where you want to watch the TV in a brighter environment? It is in these situations that a large flat panel TV is a great choice, and maybe the fairly standard 65″ size isn’t cutting it. Well, we have some solutions for you…

To kill the suspense, I’ll tell you right now the largest flat panel TV on the market is the 152″ plasma TV offered by Panasonic (which is mighty huge!). Here is the rundown on large flat panel TV options available today.

First, the incredible Panasonic TH-152UX1 plasma TV. This 152″ diagonal screen size TV weighs nearly 1300 pounds and has the surface area of about nine 50″ flat panel TV’s (hint, you will want to brace your walls to handle the weight). It boasts more than 4 times the pixels of conventional high-definition displays with its 4096 x 2160 resolution. It is 3D capable and has a slightly wider aspect ratio of 17:9 which complies with the DCI standard for digital cinema. The picture height is nearly 6′. A TV this large doesn’t come cheap, it is $499,995.

The previous screen size champ until the 152″ came along is the 103″ plasmas available from Panasonic. It has a slightly larger picture than four 50″ displays. Like the 152″ TV above, you can get 3D at this screen size, and trust us, 3D looks much better on larger screens. 3D is meant to be viewed on larger screen sizes…the 3D effect really loses its punch when viewed on smaller TV sizes unless you sit very close to the TV. Panasonic also manufactures an 85″ plasma TV, also available in a 3D version. To give some perspective, this TV is roughly the same size as four 42-inch displays. This TV weighs around 260 pounds and is about 3.9″ thick. Like most TVs these days, this one is made with glass that minimizes glare on the screen surface. Prices range from approximately $25K to nearly $40K for the top-end 3D ready model. Like all Panasonic plasma TV’s, the picture is excellent.

In September of 2011, Sharp released their Largest flat panel TV yet at 80″. This TV has surpassed its recent predecessor, which was a 70″ TV. The Sharp flat panel 80″ TV features LED backlighting and has built in WiFi. This allows users to access Netflix through the TV.

Mitsubishi tops out at 92″. Smaller versions are available in 73″ and 82″ screens, and all are 3D ready. The only “catch” with the Mitsubishi’s is that they are rear-projection technology (think of the “big screens” that existed before the plasma TV boom). They are deeper (18″ – 25″ deep) and the picture is great. They are cost-effective for a large picture, though.

There’s still have time to order and install your BIG TV choice by the Super Bowl Sunday. Call Brett our HDTV expert to discuss the perfect solution for your room @ 979.268.6010

This holographic 3D projection technology uses lasers to create points of light in mid-air or even under water. The lasers excite oxygen and nitrogen particles into a plasma state to make them visible. This demonstration uses only green lasers, but by adding blue and red lasers to the mix you will have full color images.

Star Wars photo credit: Keol.net

The technology was announced in 2006 and has evolved to a working demonstration system like you see here, so let’s hope development continues quickly so we can have this type of holographic entertainment in our homes.

In the meantime, you will be amazed by how good 3D Home Theater can look today. We just installed a Sony 3D projector at our College Station showroom, and wow! It is incredible. Yes, you must wear 3D glasses to get the effect like in all current commercial theaters, but the quality you can expect with a high-end 3D projector like the Sony will amaze you. Many 3D doubters have been converted to 3D fans once they see how good 3D can look when done right.

1. Too big – the iPad is just the right size for a tablet but too unwieldy to be a practical remote control. If you are a power user, maybe you need all of this screen real estate to cover every single DVR button. For me, unnecessary.
2. I need hard buttons – I hate to have to look down at a screen to find a volume button or the down arrow.  It is just far too slow. I surf my DVR by braille. I know exactly where all of the common buttons are so I can quickly navigate through my 25 episodes of “Pawn Stars”.
3. It’s never there! – Too often the iPad gets absconded by my visiting nieces and nephews. It seems that whenever I have an urgent need to watch “The Real Housewives of of………” my iPad is missing, then to be found with no battery life.
4. Mute! – Every time that annoyingly loud commercial comes on and I am unable to turn the volume down or mute (because I am buried in e-mails and don’t have my control app open) I scream. The iPad is wonderfully robust but sometimes you just need an instantly available mute button to save your sanity.
5. Longevity – I don’t know about you, but I drop remotes. Remote controls take an enormous amount of abuse in my household. My iPad has had its fair share of spills which, knock on wood, have not affected it. I can’t imagine my luck will continue.

All of the above points assume that you are using a centralized control app/control system such as AMX, Control4, Elan, amongst others. If you aren’t using such a centalized app, the situation gets worse as you will have to bounce between different apps to control your DVR, your TV, your surround sound system, etc. Without a control system app, the iPad is just too inconvenient to consider to be a viable main remote control.

So if you are planning on going ‘iPad only’ for your main home theater /media room remote control or home automation system I suggest you look at some of the hand-held remote offerings by the guys at Control 4, AMX or URC. There is something to be said for a purpose-built device that is uniquely designed for a specific task.