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Recently we purchased a wall mounted LCD television. Absolutely amazing to have a television up on the wall just like a picture frame. I removed the installation manual first, got out the suggested tools, then made a quick trip to the local hardware store to make sure I had sturdy wall anchors so that the television would not fall off the wall. We chose what we thought would be the perfect spot in the living room. My significant other had already placed a call to the local Toronto TV installation company.

I began with installing the wall mounts. According to the internet and the manual this would be very easy. I began searching for the wall studs. Using an electronic stud finder I quickly located the necessary wood posts behind the sheet rock. I use a heavy duty drill with a screw driver bit to install the mounts. My significant other smiled appreciatively but refused to cancel the appointment with the Toronto TV installation company, as I had only accomplished the first step.

Quickly I read through the manual bound and determined to this before the Toronto TV installation company arrived. The next step was to hide all the cables and wires. This required removing an outlet, drilling in the wall and running the cables and wires. The skeptical look I was receiving made my self confidence waver for just a moment.

I began removing the electrical outlet and drilling a hole in the wall that would be hidden by the screen itself. I sat on the floor reading the manual to see which wires went in which direction. I eyed the clock. Finally I was comfortable with the running of the cables and wires.

Once the wires were installed and connected I sat on the sofa. I remembered at that point that I had not connected the satellite receiver, DVD player, or stereo. The Toronto TV installation company called at that point to confirm the appointment for that afternoon. My significant other smiled and nodded and informed me they would be at the house in an hour.

I got up quickly and began going through the manual again and trying to match up the different cables into the correct connectors. I thought I finally had it and picked up the universal remote and began turning on all devices to start the process of programming them all into one remote.

I was sitting on the sofa when the Toronto TV installation company arrived. My significant other let them in. They walked in and admired the work I had done and made suggestions as they re-ran all the wires and cables, reconnected everything and programmed the remote.

They appreciated the fact that I had accomplished the hardest part of mounting the television myself. Within thirty minutes they had the whole system up and running and ready for us to resume our television pleasure.

Nir Dotan is a writer and promoter of cutting edge companies such as http://www.305audiovideo.com around the world.

Making the choice between satellite and cable TV has created a problem for many customers these days. Most are familiar with the old-school cable TV, but have become intrigued by the offers coming from satellite TV companies. What has made some people switch are the many benefits of satellite TV, such as a DVR. These extras are something they haven’t been able to enjoy with their traditional cable television operator.

In fact, customer satisfaction surveys now say that satellite television is better overall. One of many points to consider is the often lower cost of satellite TV, in some cases being much lower that the cable alternative. Many who have even had an HD connection with cable TV have found more choice with satellite.

The quality of the picture is just as good, if not better than cable. Of course a satellite dish will need to be attached to either the side or top of your home, and this requires a clear, unblocked view of the southern sky. The nice thing is the satellite company will send out a trained contractor to point the dish correctly, then install the system to the various rooms in your home where you have TV’s.

Now at time it has been noted that the quality of the picture can get fuzzy during a heavy rain or snow storm. While this is annoying of course, vast improvements in technology have minimized this situation significantly. Part of this problem has been resolved by using larger satellite dishes, which are better at capturing the signal coming from the satellites above the earth.

What other reasons are there to go with satellite TV? Satellite operators continue to offer top packages including standard and HD. These are all digital signals with great picture and sound. Providers also have their promotional offers to get customers in the door. Dish Network offers 3 months free programming and Direct TV offers a discount every month for the first year.

As mentioned earlier, these satellite providers also offer free installation. This will cover up to 4 rooms where you have television sets in you home. Deals for free movie channels are also available. Usually you can get 3 months free of HBO, Cinemax, and Starz. Obviously the companies give you the chance to see what they offer in the hope that you will keep the service after the three months is up.

With so much to offer, no wonder you see so many satellite dishes on people’s houses these days. While cable TV continues to play catch up, consumers continue to enjoy their satellite TV connections.

Jeff Buckley reviews the latest product news from Dish Network including the DTVPal and the Echostar TR-40 as well as the latest satellite television news.

http://www.dish-television.com

Right now in America there are two satellite TV companies battling each other for your hard earned cash. Those players are Dish Network and DirecTV. While the pay television market is becoming saturated, these companies continue to expand their customer base and pull in more subscribers year in and year out.

While sales have decreased a little for Dish Network, DirecTV is still on a roll. Most customers will not discern any great difference between the tow, as the both offer the consumer a huge variety as far as channels, programming and equipment. This no doubt makes it fairly quick and easy to get exactly what you want for your television.

Some complain that with so many choices, it gets confusing, the best advice is to simply decide what you want first, then go for the package that works best for your family. Some folks are always looking at the bottom line, because everyone want to save a buck, but wasting a ton of time researching every little detail isn’t really worth it. The equipment and channel choices do not vary that much when it comes to satellite TV.

For most customers, any package from Dish Network or DirecTV will fit the bill, as each company offers the consumer a good value for the dollar, and the ability to customize the package to your liking. I recommend a quick research project, putting Dish Network and DirecTV side by side. You will quickly discern that each satellite television provider can offer you all digital picture and sound. This is great for HDTV because it will deliver a crystal clear picture and great sound quality on that new television. Satellite television companies have to be offering products that compete well with cable TV companies.

They continue to excel in this area, as million of customers stick with satellite, and don’t even consider cable TV anymore. Each satellite company has more than 13 million customers, with another million or so signing up each year. After counting the cost of service, make sure you have any extra must haves covered. Additional programming options are available, such as movie channels, sports packages, and even XM or Sirius radio programming. Both of the satellite providers also offer local channel programming, though there may be an extra charge.

Some foreign language packages have also started to emerge, whether it is Spanish, Chinese, German or French. These packages are a good way for some to keep in touch with what is going on back home. Most of these foreign language packages require an English programming subscription as well.

No matter which provider you choose, one last thing to check is whether they have local HD channel availability. While local HD delivery is expanding, it is not available in all markets yet.

Jeff Buckley analyzes the latest news from Direct TVand Dish Network as well as the latest Satellite TV news.

http://www.dish-television.com

Direct TV will officially launch their “on-demand” service in the second quarter, so it should be out by the end of this month. How will the product compare with the true video-on-demand (VOD) products provided by cable TV companies like Comcast?

A window to look through is the beta testing that has been going on with Direct TV “On-Demand.” Ongoing testing by users has been happening since August 2007, and reviews have been split fairly even on the service. Some customer’s have found the video-on-demand service to be a great enhancement, while others have disappointed in the service so far.

The original on-demand service that is available from cable operators like Comcast and Time Warner offer the customer the flexibility to pick their remote control and watch shows at their convenience. In some ways on-demand is like a TiVo or a digital video recorder, the end user has control on when they want to view the program.

The difference with on-demand however, is that the cable company holds the programming for you rather than the customer recording it on their own device. A centralized group of servers holds the programming for cable customers to access via a programming menu. Cable companies have thus made the claim that they have more high-definition programming.

That claim is debatable, as they are measuring their HD by the number of programs available, not the number of channels. For example, Comcast’s Project Infinity HD rollout promises 1000 HD choices by the end of 2008. Cable companies have thus promoted this instead of the actual number of HD channels they have. While Direct TV currently has the lead with 95 national HD channels, cable companies have between 20-60 channels depending on the company and region.

So how will Direct TV compete in the on-demand arena? The company has put into play two different delivery methods in order to reach their customers with this service.

The first method uses the end-users DVR and their high-speed internet connection. The customer connects to their broadband provider, generally cable or DSL. The customers download speed must be faster than 750 kbps, and should be higher to really use the service effectively. Content is downloaded to the DVR, and then the programming can be accessed from there.

The primary obstacle here is that it is not really true Video-On-Demand. If a Direct TV customer wants to watch an an on-demand program, he has wait for some of the content to download to the DVR before being able to start watching. Some beta testers have reported download times for an entire movie to be between one and four hours based on the customer’s connection speed.

The second method Direct TV has formulated involves sending movies and other content directly to the customers DVR. The content would then be stored for subscribers where they can access it at a later time.

This method certainly solves the download issues previously referenced, but brings up the issue of how much pushed content will customers accept on their DVR?
While DVR’s generally have capacity to hold around 50 hours of HD or 350 hours of standard definition content, that is nowhere near the thousands of hours of programming available via cable.

Transmitting the content to the DVR will use up the capacity, and customers are will be very protective of their DVR space. Most Direct TV customers would rather use the space for content they have decided to record, not what Direct TV wants them to watch.
So will Direct TV succeed in matching cable TV’s on-demand offerings? Certainly time will give us a better answer. Having to wait to receive what is considered an on-demand content will not make most Direct TV customers happy.

Jeff Buckley is a freelance writer covering subjects like Dish Network and Direct TV. Check out the latest news on satellite TV.

http://www.dish-television.com/

I’m a huge film viewer and I should have invested in some stock in Blockbuster because I am always there renting and returning movies for my high definition television.

The workers at our local Pine Bluff store even know me by name. I am not ashamed though, I love movies, and they give me an escape from my long brutal day at work. One day after viewing my latest rental, I was channel flipping and I discovered many HD channels I didn’t even realize I had.

One of these was part of the pay per view feature through my cable provider. I was growing with joyfulness as I browsed down the list of movies I haven’t seen. Many of them weren’t available at my DVD store because they were sold out.

I found at least six of them I wanted to watch that weekend. I decided to settle on one just to see the difference in the DVD HD quality image versus the on demand movie. As soon as it started, I detected a difference.

Wow, was I in trouble now, I no longer will have time to do the long chore list I have at home because I have discovered HD pay per view. After going through almost every flick in the list, I had to go back to my video store.

It has been a long time since I visited the store and they were all worried because they didn’t know what happened to their most popular consumer. I told the workers about my discovery and they were all grinning shaking their heads.

I picked up a few more movies and returned home. A few days later, I checked the high definition channel for pay per view movies and there were several new ones available. I was so happy that my cable company was on top of my needs and delivered such great movies in quality high definition picture.

I returned the flicks to the rental store and returned to my television for flick watching. Having HD movies available with a few taps of my remote has helped me save time, money and gas.

The high definition pay per view movies are cheaper than the ones at Blockbuster and I don’t have to drive 5 miles all the time anymore. I see my friends at the video store roughly once a month now because that is all it takes for me to get what I need in between the time my cable company offers new movies for me to see.

Jim Williams recommends that you take a look at one of the few HDTV antennas on the market that actually works!

http://www.indoorhdantenna.com

http://www.indoorhdantenna.com/Indoor-HDTV-Antenna.html