OTHER TECH

TV Freeze Out

Q. I have a three-season home that's closed up and unheated during winter months. Early HDTVs (LCD/plasma) couldn't be guaranteed free of damage by their manufacturers if their screens were subjected to temperatures at or below freezing. A neighbor recently bought a plasma screen, believing it wouldn't be susceptible to such low temperatures. What's the status of 2007-2008 models regarding periodic exposure to, say, 15-30° (F) extremes in temperature? Other than CRTs, is there an HDTV display technology you'd recommend that can survive periodic freezing temperatures? Carl W. Luss Via Email

A. Al Griffin says: The average Operating Temperature range of most TVs - including flat-panel LCD , plasma, DLP, and LCoS models - is from 32º F, or just below freezing, to around 104º F. A more obscure specification to dig out will be the set's Storage Temperature range, which is the one you'd want if you're concerned about a set's survival in a vacant, unheated vacation home during winter months.

Storage Temperature specs will vary from model to model, with most sets' tolerance for low temperatures ranging from -4º F to -14º F. It doesn't really matter which display technology you choose, since they'll all be able to handle some degree of freezing temperatures - that is, as long as you remember to turn the TV off when vacating the premises.

The Tables Turn

Q. I bought a new receiver, and when I hooked up my old turntable, I had to turn the volume all the way up to get a decent listening level. I didn't have this problem with my former equipment. Is there anything I can do? Dave Brown Mahwah, NJ

A. Ian G. Masters says: Although vinyl is enjoying something of a resurgence these days, many people who buy new equipment still bump into this situation - mainly because the audio equipment manufacturers, watching interest in vinyl dwindle with the onset of CDs, stopped providing the facility you need. You've probably also noticed that, even if you do crank the level, the sound is still lousy. Older receivers contained internal phono preamps that not only compensated for the much lower level produced by phono cartridges compared with other equipment, but also provided equalization to reverse the processing applied when LPs were made. Without the latter, the sound will have exaggerated surface noise and very little bass.

Outboard phono preamps are available for listeners in your situation, and they don't have to be expensive. Alternatively, if you still have one of your old receivers, and a place where you can stash it out of sight near your new stuff, you can use its phono circuits. Just plug your turntable's outputs into the older gear's phono input, and feed its tape-monitor output to a high-level input on your new receiver, and you'll have solved your problem.

Black Bars . . . Again

Q. I'm thinking of purchasing a high-definition TV, and I've noticed in showrooms that all TV programs fill the screen, but most movies still have black bars! Are all movies filmed that way? If not, what do I have to look for when renting or buying DVDs? Darell Ross Via Email

A. Al Griffin says: Complaints about black bars have been constant since widescreen TVs first appeared about 10 years ago, and they're likely to continue well into the future. So, here we go again: The reason that you see those bars running along the top and bottom of the screen when watching some movies is that certain productions are filmed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. (The process usually employs a special "anamorphic"-lens attachment on the camera that horizontally squeezes an ultra-wide image to fit within a standard 35mm film frame.) HDTV sets have a narrower 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect-ratio screen, however, so in order to display that full 2.35:1 picture on widescreen HDTVs without lopping off the sides, black bars need to be encoded at the top and bottom of the image during the film-to-video transfer process. Unfortunately, the black bars on the movies you watch are an inescapable part of home-video reality.

If you find them problematic, you can engage your TV's Zoom mode when watching 2.35:1 movies. Such modes usually fill up the screen without geometrically distorting the image, though they will cut off the sides of the picture and reduce its resolution. And you can always check the disc packaging to seek out films with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, which should have only a very small amount of black visible at the top and bottom of the screen. Yet another option is to outfit your home theater with a 2.35:1 projection screen and a front projector with an anamorphic-lens attachment, although most people will find that solution to be prohibitively expensive (see "Doing Widescreen Right").

S-VHS S.O.S.

Q. After supporting JVC's Super VHS format for 15 years, it appears they're abandoning me and sticking me with 100 S-VHS tapes I recorded and now have no way to watch. My S-VHS VCR has broken down, and I can't find anyone who still makes or sells the S-VHS-ET VCRs to play my VHS, S-VHS, and S-VHS-ET tapes. Should I spend $200 to have my VCR repaired? Marc korman Milwaukee, WI

A. Al Griffin says: According to JVC, the company has indeed phased out production of S-VHS VCRs. But that doesn't mean you've been left totally in the lurch. JVC (along with other companies, including Sony and Toshiba) currently offers a number of DVD player/VHS combos and DVD recorder/VHS combos that provide SQPB, or S-VHS Quasi Playback. That means they can play S-VHS tapes, though only at standard VHS resolution. Some of these combo recorders also let you dub your tapes to recordable DVDs directly within the machine. And with prices for such models starting at $200 or less, it might make more sense to pick one up rather than giving your old S-VHS VCR an expensive overhaul. Another option worth looking into might be to pick up a used S-VHS machine on eBay - also likely to be a less costly solution than repairing your current unit.

Channeling the Power

Q. Several years back, you ran a description of how to upgrade from 5.1 Dolby Digital to 6.1- or 7.1-channel surround sound. I currently own a good but older Dolby Pro Logic receiver and would like to use it to give me more surround channels, in conjunction with a newer Dolby Digital 5.1 receiver. How do I do it? Dominic D'Antonio Morrisville, NC

A. Ian G. Masters says: It's actually a fairly simple process if you have older equipment - Dolby Pro Logic and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital receivers - that you don't want to junk. You'll end up with lots of additional amplification channels that aren't used, but that's probably preferable to replacing the whole shebang with newer equipment just to get an extra channel or two for back surrounds.

Basically, you use the Pro Logic receiver's front channels to provide your surround channels. Feed the preamp outputs of the left and right surround channels on the Dolby Digital receiver to the main stereo inputs of the Pro Logic receiver, and switch it to its Dolby Pro Logic mode. The left and right front outputs on the DPL receiver now become your left and right surround channels, and the center-channel output on the DPL receiver now becomes the center back channel, which can drive one speaker (for 6.1) or two (7.1) as long as there aren't impedance problems. The back channel is derived from the discrete surround channels of the Dolby Digital signal, exactly as the front center is derived in Pro Logic. Don't connect the surround speaker outputs on either receiver to anything.

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