Posts Tagged progressive movement
Inside an LED TV
Posted by LED Larry in LED, Other Technology on April 20th, 2009
Posted By: Michael J. Miller
Original Source: blogs.pcmag.com
Ever wonder what’s inside your TV? Yesterday afternoon, I went to a press event hosted by Samsung Electronics where the company not only showed its new line of TVs, but had all of the pieces on display.
The TV in question is one of Samsung’s new “LED TVs.” Technically, these are LCD televisions with what others call “LED-edgelighting” meaning that the display is lit from LEDs on the edge of the TVs rather than the display being lit from behind (as in most LCD TVs, which use fluorescent backlighting; or traditional LED-backlit displays in notebooks, etc.)
After the jump are pictures of all the components.
The part of the display in front is the bezel, and these LED TVs continue Samsung’s “Touch of Color” theme, with a reddish tint. The speakers and an IR receiver are built into the bezel.
Behind comes the LCD panel itself, the guts of any TV. Some of the LED TVs (the 6000 and 7000 series) have a 120 Hz refresh rate; the high-end 8000 series features a 240 Hz refresh rate. Samsung’s 240 Hz rate includes frame interpolation for all the missing frames, as opposed to inserting black frames in a strobe fashion.
What makes this TV different from most TVs is the lighting. It has LEDs on the edges of the panels, and the light is aimed at a “light guide” – a special sheet with tiny prisms that reflect the light toward the front of the set. There are more prisms towards the center (which is farther from the light source) than near the edges, creating a more consistent level of brightness.
The light guide is part of the overall backlight unit. In front of it are sheets of glass that diffuse, filter, and polarize the light; and in back of it goes a reflective panel so all the light stays in the set.
Behind the backlight goes the electronics that run the TV. In this case, they are separated into three distinct groups, including the main circuit board, TV tuner, and the power supply. I noticed how there were holes in the motherboard itself so some thicker pieces could be places within the holes, making the combined electronics a bit thinner.
This set has two USB ports (one powered), 4 HDMI ports, and the usual other assortment of ports.
Of course, at the end the TV is put together, with a back case as well. The LED lighting , along with other things such as the thinner electronics, help make this set very thin: just 1.2-inches deep. And Samsung has a mount that lets it attach to the wall in only 0.6-inches.
Samsung actually will have three lines of LED TVs – the 6000 series, which features a 120 Hz refresh rate; the 7000 series, which adds IPTV features that Samsung calls “Media 2.0″; and the 8000 series, which includes the Media 2.0 features and goes up to a 240 Hz refresh rate.
I thought this was a great display of the things that go into making a modern TV.
Philips targets education in Africa with LED-based lights
| 16 Feb 2009 | |||
| The solar-powered reading light will be available in a standard version and a slimmed down version with a target consumer price of < $15. | |||
Royal Philips Electronics will launch a new solar-powered reading light, which enables people to both read and write after dark, in autumn 2009. “My Reading Light” was developed specifically for the education sector in Africa and will allow school children to continue with their homework after sunset.For the estimated 500 million Africans who live without electricity, nightfall means either darkness or the flickering light of a candle or kerosene lamp. Since kerosene lanterns pose health and safety risks, are expensive, and have a low light output, LED-based lamps may be a solution. Offering these lights leads to a “triple-win: the lives of people in Africa will be generally improved, LEDs result in a very low carbon footprint, and companies offering the right solutions stand to gain,” says Rudy Provoost, executive VP and CEO of Philips Lighting. The reading light is extremely lightweight and can be hand-held or placed over the page of a book, allowing the user to read or write. There is a choice of high/middle/low dimming settings. It has a built-in rechargeable battery providing between 3.5 and 9 hours of light depending on the light level selected. The reading light will be available in two versions: a standard light and a slimmed down, low-cost version with a target consumer price of < $US15. This new development is part of Philips commitment both to developing sustainable lighting solutions for Africa and to its partnership with the Dutch government on the Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) project, which aims to provide 10 million people with affordable, appropriate and sustainable energy services across ten sub-Saharan African countries by 2015. SESA links with the existing UN Millennium Development Goals project. |
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