Ask the Experts: Entertainment Electronics

I have a Technic’s receiver SA-20. Was listening to JACK (lol) one day. Sound level was low. All of a sudden it just died! Keep getting a message that reads “overload”….the manual tells me to, check all the speaker wiring, turn off system, unplug it etc. I have done EVERYTHING to this receiver that I possibly can, with NO solution. I called the store where I purchased it from and NOT much to my surprise, they had NO clue as to the problem! I have tried to reset the receiver, I went over the speaker connections with a fine tooth comb. HELP ME PLEASE (if you can) I cannot stand listening to JACK from and old transistor radio!

Thanking you in advance

Nan

Hi Nan

That must have been a really great…or really bad tune!

Receivers generally have circuitry in them to prevent a total melt down should a short occur. The first thing to do is completely disconnect the speakers and speaker wires from the back of the receiver, then turn it on. If your receiver recovers, there is a short in either the speakers or the speaker wire and your receiver will live to play another day. If this is the case, use an AA battery and touch the speaker leads to either end of the battery. Don’t hold contact, just quickly touch the wires to the battery, if you get a clicking sound, that speaker and wire may be OK, if not there is a short. Do not reconnect to the receiver and bring both speakers in for service.

If the receiver still shows overload without any speakers connected it has failed and you will need to bring it in for service. We can repair it in store. I would suggest getting an estimate just to make sure it’s economical to repair. Even if you determine the problem is in the receiver you should test the speakers and wires as described above as a shorted wire or speaker could be the original cause.  If you are unsure, bring everything in and our service staff would be pleased to help get your Jack back.

Mark

Hi Mark,

I recently purchased an HD TV and am enjoying the better quality of picture.
  I have an extensive collection of DVD movies and am wondering what my best
option is for viewing them on the new TV.  Is the up converting DVD player
worth the purchase?  Will an HD DVD player play the old DVD’s?

Meagan

Hi Meagan

First, you don’t want to invest in an HD DVD player as they lost the battle against Blu-Ray and are going the way of the dinosaur. You really have two options, 1) a Blu-Ray player which will maximize the performance of your TV when connected correctly as Blu-Ray discs offer the highest resolution available. These machines will also play regular DVD’s and most will up-convert the DVD’s lower resolution to 1080p thus enhancing the DVD’s quality.  (2) Your other option is a regular DVD player that will up-convert the signal to 1080p, that being said, be careful what you buy. There are low end versions of these on the market that are junk, they are mostly no-name and do not deliver a great picture. The best rule of thumb here is “you get what you pay for”. If you’ve invested in a nice HDTV, don’t spoil the experience with a lousy source. Panasonic, Sony, Marantz or Pioneer Elite are all brands I recommend.

Another note of interest, you will need an HDMI cable in order to take advantage of the Full HD, 1080p experience. A descent quality cable will be required. Don’t let someone “throw in” a cheap one as it will often degrade the signal.

Mark

Mark, what is a better tv, a plasma or an lcd? What is the difference? Does the size matter? Someone told be that you should always buy a plasma if the tv is over 40 inches.

Thanks

Kevin

Thanks for for question Kevin! We must get this one twice a day. There is much misleading information on this topic, mostly from inexperienced salespeople who mis-interpret something that they have been told.

Truth is, there are applications for both technologies. I’ll start by saying that Plasma is better, a bold but very true statement if you are not biased. Currently Plasma delivers better blacks and black and white are the foundation that your picture is based upon. It is the nature of the technology that is responsible, to put it simply, when a plasma TV creates black, it does not energise the cell (pixel) therefore no light is emitted. An LCD on the other hand always has light of varying degrees on behind the cell. Then, the light is “blocked” by the cell in order to create black. Unfortunately the light cannot be blocked 100% and the result is varying degrees of grey. When you have light area next to the dark area your eye interprets the grey as being black due to contrast.

Plasma also has faster pixel speed so you are less likely to encounter “digital artifacting” which is a blur following fast moving objects. Depending on the brand, you may also find colour that is more true to the eye on plasma.

LCD does have some advantages in the right circumstances, if you are installing your new TV in a room with significant uncontrolled sunlight LCD due to it’s anti-reflective front screen and the aforementioned back light technology is the display of choice. Also, if you are seriously into gaming or wanting to use it for a computer display, LCD would be the way to go.

Some people have claimed that LCD will last longer, this is simply not true. For the most part they have a similar life span, in fact, there are some Plasma TV’s on the market today that have a 100,000 hour life which is 34 years if you watch TV for 8 hours a day.

As for size, it is not economical to produce Plasma panels below 37″, that is why there are very few of them. My best advice is to stay with well respected name brands, deal with a store that will stand behind their goods and find a salesperson that knows what they are talking about. Don’t buy “cheap” as you will pay the price later.

Here are some  stories that customers came in with after visiting local “big box” stores; 1) you will need to recharge the gas in a plasma every year (2) if you have small children, don’t buy a plasma as there is too much radiation (3) plasma technology is dead and finally (4) they burn out really fast. Our staff were quite amused at how much wrong information is out there. This is why it is most important to deal with someone that has YOUR needs in mind and will provide the right product for your purpose.

Hope this helps

Mark