02.TV extras
Once you’ve determined that the TV you’re interested in has the basics covered, have a think about what else is important to your viewing experience.
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Teletext: These TVs provide on-screen text information like the weather, time and a TV guide, as well as subtitles (closed captions).
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Child lock: This locks some TV functions so a child can’ t readily operate it.
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HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface): an all-digital connection for both sound and video in one cable. You may not have many gadgets with HDMI output at the moment, but we expect most will have them in the future, so it's worth looking for at least one HDMI socket.
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DVI/VGA input: Essential if you want to use your TV as a computer display. You’ll need one with a DVI input for newer computers or a VGA input for older ones. An HDMI socket will do if your computer has an HDMI output, but not many do at the moment. DVI-to-HDMI adapters are quite inexpensive to purchase.
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S-video input: This is an input socket for connection to the S-video output of a signal source such as a set-top-box, VCR, DVD or camcorder. It’s claimed this connection gives better picture quality than composite video input.
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Component video input: This is another set of input sockets for connection to the component video output of a signal source such as a set-top-box, DVD or camcorder. This connection will give better picture quality again than either the S-video or composite video input connection.
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Multiple tuners: having more than one tuner of a particular type (digital or analogue) allows you to have picture-in-picture features and may also be an advantage if the TV also has an in-built recorder.
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In-built recorder: this feature is mainly restricted to TVs with a digital tuner. It's sometimes called a PVR and allaows you to record TV programs just as you would with a VCR or DVD recorder. Having it in the TV reduces the number of remotes you have to deal with and if there's more than one digital tuner you can watch one channel and record another at the same time.
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Automatic tuning: This TV automatically scans the spectrum and tunes the channels to receive the strongest signals.
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Picture setting memory: This feature allows you to program a preferred group or groups of picture settings for things like colour, contrast and brightness.
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Previous channel: At the touch of a button this TV will switch back to the previous channel viewed.
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Sound settings: This means settings such as voice or music that can be adjusted to suit different programs.
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Multilingual: Some sets are capable of displaying onscreen instructions in different languages.
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Manual tuning: You choose the channel number and then scan the spectrum until you come to a clear signal you want to store as that channel.
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Manual fine tuning: The strongest signal stored by automatic or manual tuning might not necessarily give you the clearest picture or sound. This feature allows you to move the channel slightly up or down the spectrum, thus changing the signal that's received.
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Channel skip: Your TV might have the capacity to store up to 200 channels. This feature allows you to automatically skip over channels that aren't picking up a clear enough signal, or no signal at all – that way you never have to flick through them when using the up and down channel-changing buttons on the remote.
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Channel renumber: When auto-tuning is complete, you can reassign channels to different numbers. So, for example, you can set stations to correspond to the numbers you prefer (such as 9 for the Nine Network) or to be in sequential order (1, 2, 3...).
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Auto off: Switches the TV off after a few minutes when no broadcast signal is received (such as when a station goes off the air or the DVD switches off)
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Preset picture settings: Most TVs are factory-programmed with anything from one to four picture settings that can be easily recalled if you change them.
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NTSC: Allows you to watch videos in the US television format.
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On timer: This allows the TV to be programmed to switch on at a certain time. Some allow you to set this by a clock, others will switch on after a countdown from anywhere up to 12 or 24 hours. This is also referred to as a wake-up timer.
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Off timer: This lets the TV be programmed to switch off at a certain time. This is also referred to as a sleep timer.
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Reminder timer: This is when the TV can be programmed to flash an onscreen symbol or give a beep after a certain amount of time.
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Channel recall: Allows for onscreen display of the current channel number.
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Volume setting memory: Some allow you to store different volume settings for each channel, while others allow you to store one volume setting for all channels. Yet another will allow you to store volume settings individually for channels 0 to 11 and AV, and a single common setting for channels 12 to 79.
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Mute: Most TVs let you turn the volume on or off with the push of a button. A few even have a half mute feature that will reduce the volume to 50% of its current level.
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Remote can control VCR/DVD: If this interests you, remember to check that your VCR/DVD is compatible before you buy. Games: A few sets come with simple computer-style games.
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Internet connectivity this is usually through "widgets" which are on-screen links to on-line services such as YouTube, Picassa or weather services etc.. We expect there'll be a lot of development in this area over the next few years.
TV over a home network
Video content from the Internet is becoming an increasingly important part of our entertainment viewing mix. However most of us want to watch video in the loungeroom rather than in the study or home office. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has been formed to help bridge the gap between content stored on a PC or home network and your regular TV. Companies supporting DLNA include Microsoft and Nokia, as well as home electronics companies such as Panasonic and Sony.
The goal of the alliance is to allow TVs and other home entertainment products to more effectively deal with content stored on a home network or streamed from the internet. Initially, those TVs that support DLNA, include a network cable (ethernet) connection, where the TV appears on the home network as a device. Future models with wireless capabilities will connect to a wireless or Wi-Fi router and play video, music and images stored on the home network or internet.
For people with a disability
An occupational therapist from the Independent Living Centre pointed to these design features as being important for people with a disability:
- Look for clearly labelled, uncluttered and easy to press panel controls that stick out from the set, rather than those that are hidden within a compartment.
- Some have buttons that are either too small or stiff – are least useful. Also look for headphone sockets and front AV inputs.
- Remote controls should be well spaced and labelled – say, with coloured function buttons and large symbols. Ones that are cluttered are not a good choice.