Month: April 2015

How to Choose the Right Size Flat Screen TV for Your Home

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Now that it’s 2015, most families have ditched their old tube TVs for a modern flat screen TV and modern remote control. Flat screens offer a lot of advantages over old 20th century TV models, including improved picture, sound, and overall viewing experience. Flat screens are also available in a wider variety of sizes than old model TVs, which means that picking out the perfect flat screen for your home means finding just the right size screen.

Obviously, the size of the room the TV will be located in and the distance that it will sit from the sitting area will have an impact on what size TV screen is best for a room. A small screen in a large room will make the images on the screen appear too small, but if a TV is too large for a room then the image will also be compromised because the viewer will be able to make out all the rows and columns of pixels that make up the images, compromising the crisp qualities of the HD screen.

A good rule of thumb for flat screen TV size is that the distance from the screen should be about 1 ½ to 2 ½ times the diagonal length of the screen. For example, a 36″ TV should be place between 4 and 6 ½ feet away from the viewer, while a 55″ screen should be about 7 to 11 ½ feet away. There is no exact range for each size TV, and the quality of your cable and home video devices will also impact picture quality, but using this system is a good starting place for finding the right size TV for your room.

For more home theater tips, or to find the perfect flat screen TV for your home, contact us today at 855-573-6683.

How to Care for Your Flat Screen TV (and Remote)

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A flat screen TV can be a big investment, and most people plan on keeping theirs for years to come. In order for that new TV to work as long as you want it to, however, it’s important to follow good cleaning and care procedures. While most TVs and TV remotes will last a good long while, it is possible for cleaning mistakes or bad maintenance practices to damage your flat screen, compromising its performance.

To get the longest possible performance out of your TV and accessories, remember to follow these tips:

  • Turn off and unplug the TV before cleaning – When you clean your TV, it’s important that it be turned off and cooled down before you start. If a flat screen TV hasn’t been given a chance to cool down, the shift in temperature between the unit and the cleaning materials can damage the screen.
  • Never apply cleaner directly to the screen – Instead of spraying cleaner directly onto the TV screen, apply it lightly to a linen cloth and then wipe the screen. Also remember to let the screen dry completely before turning the TV back on.
  • Avoid excess moisture and humidity – If your TV (especially an LCD TV) is exposed to a lot of moisture and humidity, it can cause the screen to become discolored. Try to find a spot for it in the room where it will remain dry.
  • Remember to clean the remote – Just like with TVs, remotes work better and last longer when regularly cleaned. Wipe the remote with a cloth that has had cleaning solution lightly applied to it, and clean between the buttons with a Q-tip or cotton swab to avoid mashing the buttons.

For more TV care tips or to shop for remotes and other accessories, call us at 855-573-6683.

Benefits to Using a Universal Remote

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If your home is like the typical American household, then it’s full of several pieces of entertainment technology that come with their own specific remotes. While the level of settings and control available on modern TVs, Blu-ray/DVD players, stereos, etc. makes them far superior to the standard home entertainment products that were available even just ten or twenty years ago, keeping track of and taking care of all those separate remotes can be a real hassle. That’s what makes universal remotes such a handy and worthwhile item to have around the house.

Some of the benefits of using a universal remote include:

  • Convenience – Let’s face it, having to pick up a different remote to control every appliance can be a real pain. This is especially true if your TV, stereo, and media player are all linked together, requiring multiple remotes just to turn the home entertainment center on and off. Universal remotes can be programed to control pretty much any modern entertainment appliance – just enter each product’s remote code, and the device can be linked to the same remote as every other.
  • Easy to find – The other problem with multiple remotes is that it can be easy to misplace one or the other, sending the family on a mad hunt to locate one device for one part of the home media center that’s keeping them from enjoying it. With a universal remote, there’s only one thing to keep track of, making it easy to find a place for it where everyone knows where to find it.
  • Save money – When you use just one remote for all your appliances, you end up saving money and time on batteries, cleaning, and maintenance. The longer you use your universal remote, the more the investment eventually pays off in savings.

Find out today which universal remotes we have in stock at 1-855-573-6683.