When You Drop Your TV
This is probably the most unusual of posts, but stuff like this does happen sometimes. And this is especially so if you have kids. One day last week, Pia (three and a half) and Cate (turning two this January) were playing near the living room TV rack. All of a sudden we heard a loud thud, and the next thing I know I was looking in horror at how the TV had fallen face-front and landed on the floor on its top part.
What’s worse was that Cate was right in front. It seemed that either she pulled the TV towards her, or her sister pulled it from the side. It’s a good thing both kids were able to avoid the falling TV on time–otherwise, either could’ve been injured badly.
It was also a good thing that our TV set that time was an old 21-inch Samsung–not so heavy as to cause too much injury, and nothing to cry over in case it gets badly damaged. Fortunately, it’s still intact, with just a few scratches and a somewhat mis-aligned picture tube (though very slightly).
Lesson learned? Watch your kids and keep your equipment secured. Since then, we replaced our TV
rack with a sturdier one (which actually came with a 29-inch TV passed on to us by my parents). It would be a good idea to invest in such sturdy accessories, or even having flat-screen TV sets wall-mounted if you do have such equipment. Also, we try to calm down the kids when they’re going hyperactive in areas near possibly fragile electronics.
This just goes to show that accidents happen. If it were a 60-inch LCD set that had fallen off to the floor, I would’ve gone crazy. And that’s not just because of the potential damages and cost, but more especially the safety of my kids.
Going Flat - Flat Panel Display Technologies Compared
“Flat panel television.”
The very mention of the phrase “flat panel TV” exudes class and leisure. After all, after more than half a century of consumer televisions being of the cathode-ray tube (CRT) variety, sleek designs that seem to say “cool” and “expensive” are what flat panel TVs have become. Lately, though, flat panel televisions are gaining traction in the market because of prices ever getting lower and screen sizes ever getting larger (though thinner and thinner). Gone are the days of bulky and heavy television sets. Now you can even mount the TV set on your wall and do away with having to set it on furniture.
What does “flat panel” denote, really? In truth, there is no one single technology or television variety that the term “flat panel” can be solely associated with. Flat panels come in different shapes, forms and sizes, from tiny eight-inch portable LCDs, to large 100-inch Plasma displays. There are also less commonly used techonogies, such as liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), and Organic LED (OLED), among others.
What’s common among flat panel screens and televisions is that they are less than 4 inches thick.
A comparison
Let’s have a look at the more popular technologies in flat panel televisions today, namely LCD and Plasma. These two are often pitted against each other to compare advantages and disadvantages. It’s generally a rule of thumb that Plasma displays are usually more expensive. But in some cases, LCD may still be the preferred choice.
Let’s first have a quick definition of how each other works. Plasma displays are in essence a mixture of inert gases sandwiched in between two flat glass panels. The display works by inducing each pixel to light up by passing electricity onto the plasma. The display uses the plasma itself both as the source of the image and the light.
LCD, on the other hand, displays images images using liquid crystals (as the name implies) sandwiched in between two plates of glass. When electricity is passed through each pixel, the liquid crystal can change position, pattern and color to form the desired onscreen image. LCDs do not emit light themselves, and must be lit up from behind (or sometimes the sides) with while lamp that is shone through the screen.
So how do they fare against each other?
Maximum size
Plasma televisions can come as large as 103 inches in diagonal measurement. LCDs max out at 73 inches.
Viewing angle
Plasma is the clear winner when it comes to flexibility in viewing. LCDs usually require that a viewer be directly in front of the screen in order to see accurate and consistent color reproduction and brightness. If viewed from an angle or from the sides, LCD displays usually come out discolored or sometimes even non-visible at all. Plasma doesn’t have this problem, since viewing from any angle is perfect.
Life span
In terms of life span, LCD has the advantage. Plasma screens and televisions have a lifespan of about 30,000 hours, or up to four years, until the plasma ceases to work. Plasma screens are also prone to burn in—that is, if a static image is displayed in a continuous manner, the plasma will leave a permanent imprint on the glass. LCD displays, on the other hand, can display both static and moving images without any problem. This is why Plasma is not ideal for use with computer monitors, as computers usually display static images most of the time.
LCD displays have about 50% longer life span than Plasma.
Power consumption
LCDs are ideal for use in portable devices because they consume very little electricity. Plasma, on the other hand, needs more electricity especially since it’s the screen itself that lights up.
Picture quality
Brightness and contrast are still among the basic criteria for judging picture quality. In terms of flat panel televisions, you can’t get the best of both worlds. LCDs will be brighter than Plasma displays, especially since LCDs have external lighting while Plasma has to light itself up in each pixel. However, contrast-wise, Plasma has the advantage because of the contrast range it can produce. You get the whitest of whites and blackest of blacks with Plasma.
So in purchasing a flat panel television, you would usually be torn between LCD and Plasma. Both have their advantages and as well, their respective disadvantages. In summary, you should opt for LCD if you are energy-conscious and if you want your set to last longer than usual (about seven years service life). You should go for Plasma if you want a larger screen and if you are particular about color reproduction and contrast.
[ Source: Flat Panel TV ]
My kid, the TV addict
My eldest daughter, Sofia, is a certified TV addict. At two years and eleven months old, she’s practically memorized and has quite an extensive understanding of almost all there is to know about her favorite shows on the tube. When she wakes up in the morning, she utters one thing, “Disney Channel!”
Sofia’s such a Disney Channel fan that I’ve pretty much also gotten to know the schedules, characters and even the plotlines of the shows she is fond of watching, including Disney’s current primetime (for kids, that’s mid-mornings and late afternoons) offerings, Kim Possible, Martin Mystery, Lilo & Stitch, Ducktales, and countless of other Mickey, Donald and Goofy stuff. Come to think of it, some of these series were popular way back when I was younger and also a cartoon-watching kid!
My daughter’s TV shows have captured my interest so much that I’ve even done my research on the backgrounds of the shows and characters (here’s an area where Wikipedia excels). My mobile phone’s SMS alert tone is Kim Possible’s messenger tone!
Of course, as a parent, I do understand that there’s an upside and a downside to all this. Kids, especially at these early ages (my other daughter, Cate, is one-and-a-half) are quite impressionable, and anything they see and hear they can easily mimic and even integrate into their persona.
So whatever Sofia gets to watch on TV, she does get to learn a lot. And this is not only in terms of broadening her knowledge base, but also in affecting how her personality and psychological make-up is developed.
This means we better make sure what she watches are not of violent or objectionable nature. And it’s always best for her to be exposed to shows that are educational and interactive in nature–shows that make her think and use her imagination, rather than just feed her information. She’s already learned quite a few concepts from watching Hi-5, Blue’s Clues, Lazytown and Dora (this time on Nickelodeon).
And we do realize that kids’ televiewing habits are best supported by parental guidance–kids tend to ask questions about things they’ve just watched on TV. In this regard, being there to answer and give your opinions would surely matter in how your kid analyses things as he/she grows up. Also, not everything on supposedly kids’ channels are for kids my daughter’s age. For instance, Disney only allots certain times of the day for pre-school age kids. Some hours, like TV primetime) are for elementary-age kids or tweens.
Of course, another problem would be her eyesight. As kids, my wife and I grew up watching quite too close to our TV sets (and to the computer screens, too), and now our eyesights are far from perfect. I think it’s time for more eye-friendly television screens (LCDs are great, but still quite expensive for me).
Here’s a useful guide to TV and parenting I found at AAP. Across the Web, however, opinions may vary, and I understand it’s really upon a parent’s discretion, how you’d let television influence your kid’s habits. For one, my wife’s into child development and she should know what’s best for our children. TV’s not necessarily a bad thing for kids, as with any other technological tool that may be used for education. How you use it is what matters!