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LG has just announced the release of their 2009 environmental report 2009 Environmental Report which outlines the firm’s environmental strategy and initiatives.  The report has sections on Green Management, Green Products Strategy, Green Manufacturing, and Green Communication.  LG should be commended on setting a separate corporate strategy focusing on green electronics.  The team is appropriately called the “Eco-Strategy Team.”  Not only does LG produce Eco-Friendly products like the LG LED-Backlit LCD Televisions, but they also spend resources on improving their own manufacturing efficiencies as it pertains to conserving the environment.  According to Vice Chairman and CEO Yong Nam, the company is striving to be a leader in “creating a green future.”  Certainly, manufacturers have an obligation to help secure a green future for all of us, but for LG and others there is, of course, the profit incentive.  The public wants green products and the public will buy green products.

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LED lighting has come a long way in 30 years. Its getting more and more popular for its is efficient energy use usable light.
LED lighting is used nearly everywhere you use light. Did you know that your remote control uses LED lighting to power your stereo system, television, and DVD player?

LED Lighting – An Energy Efficient Alternative
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Margarette_Tustle]Margarette Tustle

LED lighting first came widely available to the average consumer in the 1970’s.  There were red LED lighting in digital calculators and digital watches, and although there were limitations to its effect, the consumer was thrilled and eager to purchase products with this type of technology.  With recent technology, LED lighting comes in a wide array of colors; it is efficient in energy uses; and LED lighting provides a lot of usable light.  LED lighting does not waste energy when compared to other types of lighting, which have excess heat energies as opposed to visible light.  It is because of these efficient reasons that LED lighting is practical for everyday purposes.

LED stands for light emitting diodes. In general, incandescent light bulbs have a filament, while lights powered by LED Backlight utilize the movement of electrons over an arc.  This movement of electrons over the arch is what produces light.  If the arc has a tighter radius, the light emitted will be brighter.  The power is provided by a semiconductor and will last as long as its transistor.  These lights use little energy, relatively, as they provide large amounts of lighting.

LED lighting is used nearly everywhere you use light.  They are used in common, everyday items, such as your microwave and the traffic light on the corner.  Did you know that your remote control uses LED lighting to power your stereo system, television, and DVD player?  You will also still find LED lighting in calculators, clocks, and other miscellaneous devices that were among the first to use the technology.

This technology is also found on cars as cultural fashion statements.  Next time you pull up to a car cruising with bright blue, green or pink glow beneath their cars, you now know what’s behind them! Another new fad with LED lighting is in automobile seatbelts.  You have the ability to enter a personalized message or sentence into your belt buckle for display. Amazing.

This type of lighting is great for the consumer!  The use of this technology offers you the option to choose a source of light that uses little energy and is cost effective. LED lights will save your business and/or community costs on electricity.

If you are serious about switching to LED Backlit products, you should definitely take some time and do further research on the internet.  You will be amazed at the amount of LED products  in existence.  Take a look at LED manufacturer websites for the different products available.  Assess your budget and compare how much money you will save over time by replacing your current lighting sources and products with those powered by LED.

LED powered products have developed a lot since its 1970 debut, and will certainly keep developing as technology progresses. Who knows what future generations will see in future production!  No doubt this type of technology will be used at offices and businesses, in community settings, in every room in the house, and even in more diverse car devices.  It will be exciting to watch the growth and progress of such an efficient, useful source of power.

Margarette Tustle writes for home and family. Visit [http://www.daalight.com/]LED Lighting for more resources and information.

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For a home-theater surround-sound system, look for a receiver that can decode Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks.Sony is by far the biggest-selling brand. Other top-selling brands include Denon, JVC, Kenwood, Onkyo, Panasonic, Pioneer, RCA, and Yamaha.

Consumer Reports – Receivers
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Brooke_Yan]Brooke Yan

The receiver is the brain of an audio/video system. It provides AM and FM tuners, amplifiers, surround sound, and switching capabilities. It’s also the heart of the setup–most of the devices in a home-entertainment system connect to it, including audio components such as speakers, a CD player,  cassette deck, and turntable, as well as video sources such as a TV, DVD player, VCR, and cable and satellite boxes. Even as receivers take on a bigger role in home entertainment, they’re losing some audio-related features that were common years back, such as tape monitors and phono inputs. Manufacturers say they must eliminate those less-used features to make room for others.

WHAT’S AVAILABLE

Sony is by far the biggest-selling brand. Other top-selling brands include Denon, JVC, Kenwood, Onkyo, Panasonic, Pioneer, RCA, and Yamaha. Most models now are digital, designed for the six-channel surround-sound formats encoded in most DVDs and some TV fare, such as high-definition (HD) programming. Here are the types you’ll see, from least to most expensive:

Stereo. Basic receivers accept the analog stereo signals from a tape deck, CD player, or turntable. They provide two channels that power a pair of stereo speakers. For a simple music setup, add a DVD or CD player to play CDs, or a cassette deck for tapes. For rudimentary home theater, add a TV and DVD player or VCR. Power typically runs 50 to 100 watts per channel.

Price range: $125 to $250.

Dolby Pro Logic. Dolby Pro Logic, Pro Logic II, and Pro Logic IIx are the analog home-theater surround-sound standard. Receivers that support it can take a Dolby-encoded two-channel stereo source from your TV, DVD player, or hi-fi VCR and output them to four to six speakers–three in front, and one to three in back. Power for Dolby Pro Logic models is typically 60 to 150 watts per channel.

Price range: $150 to $300 or more.

Dolby Digital. Currently the prevailing digital surround-sound standard, a Dolby Digital 5.1 receiver has a built-in decoder for six-channel audio capability–front left and right, front center, two rear with discrete wide-band signals, and a powered subwoofer for low-frequency, or bass, effects (that’s where the “.1” comes in). Dolby Digital is the sound format for most DVDs, LED HDTV, digital cable TV, and some satellite-TV broadcast systems. Newer versions of Dolby Digital, 6.1 and 7.1, add one or two back surround channels for a total of seven-channel and eight-channel sound, respectively. To take advantage of true surround-sound capability, you’ll need speakers that do a good job of reproducing full-spectrum sound. Receivers with digital decoding capability can also accept a signal that has been digitized, or sampled, at a given rate per second and converted to digital form. Dolby Digital is backward-compatible and supports earlier versions of Dolby such as Pro Logic. Power for Dolby Digital receivers is typically 75 to 150 watts per channel.

Price range: $200 to $500 or more.

DTS. A rival to Dolby Digital 5.1, Digital Theater Systems also offers six channels. It’s a less common form of digital surround sound that is used in some movie tracks. Both DTS and Dolby Digital are often found on the same receivers. Power for DTS models is typically 75 to 150 watts per channel.

Price range: $200 to $500 or more.

THX-certified. The high-end receivers that meet this quality standard include full support for Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, and DTS. THX Select is the standard for components designed for small and average-sized rooms; THX Ultra is for larger rooms. Power for THX models is typically 100 to 170 watts per channel.

Price range: $500 to $2,500 and up.

IMPORTANT FEATURES

Controls should be easy to use. Look for a front panel with displays and controls clearly labeled and grouped by function. Onscreen display lets you control the receiver via a TV screen, a squint-free alternative to using the receiver’s tiny LED Backlit or LCD display. Switched AC outlets (expect one or two) let you plug in other components and turn the whole system on and off with one button.

Remote controls are most useful when they have clear labels and buttons that light up for use in dim rooms. It’s best if the buttons have different shapes and are color-coded and grouped by function–a goal seldom achieved in receiver remotes. A learning remote can receive programming data for other devices via their remotes’ infrared signal; on some remotes, the necessary codes for other manufacturers’ devices are built-in.

Input/output jacks matter more on a receiver than on any other component of your home theater. Clear labeling, color-coding, and logical groupings of the many jacks on the rear panel can help avert glitches during setup such as reversed speaker polarities and mixed-up inputs and outputs. Input jacks situated on the front panel make for easy connections to camcorders, video games, MP3 players, digital cameras, MiniDisc players, and PDAs.

A stereo receiver will give you a few audio inputs and no video jacks. Digital-ready receivers with Dolby Pro Logic will have several types of video inputs, including composite and S-video and sometimes component-video. S-video and component-video jacks allow you to route signals from DVD players and other high-quality video sources through the receiver to the TV. Digital-ready receivers also have analog 5.1 audio inputs. These accept input from a DVD player with its own built-in Dolby Digital decoder, an outboard decoder, or other components with multichannel analog signals, such as a DVD-Audio or SACD player. This enables the receiver to convey up to six channels of sound or music to your speakers. Dolby Digital and DTS receivers have the most complete array of audio and video inputs, often with several of a given type to accommodate multiple components.

Tone controls adjust bass and treble, allowing you to correct room acoustics and satisfy your personal preferences. A graphic equalizer breaks the sound spectrum into three or more sections, giving you slightly more control over the full audio spectrum. Instead of tone controls, some receivers come with tone presets such as Jazz, Classical, or Rock, each accentuating a different frequency pattern; often you can craft your own styles.

DSP (digital signal processor) modes use a computer chip to duplicate the sound characteristics of a concert hall and other listening environments. A bass-boost switch amplifies the deepest sounds, and midnight mode reduces loud sounds and amplifies quiet ones in music or soundtracks.

Sometimes called “one touch,” a settings memory lets you store settings for each source to minimize differences in volume, tone, and other settings when switching between sources. A similar feature, loudness memory, is limited to volume settings alone.

Tape monitor lets you either listen to one source as you record a second on a tape deck or listen to the recording as it’s being made. Automatic radio tuning includes such features as seek (automatic searching for the next in-range station) and 20 to 40 presets to call up your favorite stations.

To catch stations too weak for the seek mode, most receivers also have a manual stepping knob or buttons, best in one-channel increments. But most models creep in half- or quarter-steps, meaning unnecessary button tapping to find the frequency you want. Direct tuning of frequencies lets you tune a radio station by entering its frequency on a keypad.

HOW TO CHOOSE

First, don’t assume that pricey brands outperform less costly ones. We’ve found fine performers at all prices. Points to consider:

How many devices do you want to connect? Even low-end receivers generally have enough video and audio inputs for a CD or DVD player, a VCR, and a cable box or satellite receiver. Mid- and high-priced models usually have more inputs, so you can connect additional devices, such as a camcorder, a personal video recorder, or a game system.

The number of inputs isn’t the only issue; the type also matters. Composite-video inputs, the most basic type, can be used with everything from an older VCR to a new DVD player. S-video and component-video inputs are used mostly by digital devices such as DVD players and satellite receivers. If you have such digital devices or may add them, get a receiver with a few S-video and/or component-video inputs. Both can provide better video quality than composite-video.

All these video inputs require a companion audio input. The basic left/right audio inputs can be used with almost any device to provide stereo sound. A turntable requires a phono input, which is available on fewer models than in years past.

To get multichannel sound from DVD players, digital-cable boxes, and satellite receivers, you generally use a digital-audio input. With this input, encoded multichannel sound is relayed on one cable to the receiver, which decodes it into separate channels. The input on the receiver must be the same type–either optical, the more common type, or coaxial–as the output on the other device. You usually must buy cables, about $10 and up, for digital-audio, S-video, and component-video connections.

What kind of sound do you want from movies? All new digital receivers support Dolby Digital and DTS, the surround-sound formats used on most movies. Both provide 5.1 channels. Most receivers also support Dolby Pro Logic, Pro Logic II, and sometimes Pro Logic IIx. If you want the latest type of surround sound, look for a receiver that supports Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES. These offer 6.1 or 7.1 channels, subtly enhancing the rear surround. Fairly few movies using these formats are available, but offerings should increase.

What kind of music do you like? Any receiver can reproduce stereo from regular CDs. Most models have digital signal processing (DSP) modes that process a CD’s two channels to simulate a sound environment such as a concert hall. DSP modes feed a stereo signal through all the speakers to simulate surround. For multichannel music from SACD or DVD-Audio discs, get a receiver with 5.1 analog inputs.

How big is your room? Make sure a receiver has the oomph to provide adequate volume: at least 50 watts per channel in a typical 12-by-20-foot living room, or 85 watts for a 15-by-25-foot space. A huge room, plush furnishings, or a noisy setting all call for more power.

Is the receiver compatible with your speakers? If you like to blast music for hours on end, get a receiver rated to handle your front speakers’ impedance. Most receivers are rated for 6-ohm and 8-ohm speakers. If used with 4-ohm speakers, such a receiver could overheat and shut down.

Is it easy to use? Most receivers have legible displays and well-labeled function buttons. Some add an onscreen menu, which displays settings on your TV screen. An auto-calibration feature adjusts sound levels and balance to improve the surround effect. Models with a test-tone function for setting speaker levels help you balance the sound yourself.

Two tips: When deciding where to place your receiver, allow 4 inches or so of space behind it for cables and at least 2 inches on top for venting to prevent overheating. If setting up a home theater is more than you want to tackle, consider calling in a professional installer. Retailers often offer an installation service or can refer you to one.

Copyright © 2002-2006 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.

For the latest information on this and many other products and services, visit http://www.ConsumerReports.org

Brooke(SEO)

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The LED has advanced significantly in the last few years. Applications like traffic lights, bulbs for HDTV, and other lighting applications are now part of the portfolio. The advantages include energy efficiency, reliability, and lifetime.

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) In the 21st Century
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Brian_Bradshaw]Brian Bradshaw

The outlook for Light Emitting Diode (LED) use is improving. Historically, the LED has been most commonly used as a state indicator, for example, as a “Power On” indicator. The light output from the LED was low, but the advantages for the designer were that the LED energy efficiency was terrific, was capable of “instant on” operation, and that the reliability and lifetime were very good. Another advantage is that an LED contains no hazardous materials like mercury.

There has been much advancement in LED technology in the last few years, allowing new applications. The manufacturing cost of LEDs has been relatively expensive because the process used a sapphire substrate. Researchers at Purdue University have developed a process for replacing the sapphire with inexpensive silicon. Currently, a 30-watt LED bulb can cost about $30, but this number should come down dramatically with the application of the new research.

Another reason for the changing outlook is the need for energy efficiency. A law passed in 2007 requires all light bulbs to become more energy efficient. Over a three-year period, starting in 2012, new bulbs will have to use 25 percent less energy, for the same light output, as incandescent bulbs. Currently, the only light technology in widespread use that meets that standard are compact fluorescents, which use 70 percent less energy. Today, compact fluorescents account for less than 20% of total bulb sales.

With a more efficient light source, energy is saved from the lamp using less electricity, and less air conditioning, to compensate for the heat from the wasted lamp energy.

An interesting example of a new LED application is cities replacing their incandescent traffic light bulbs with LED arrays. This is happening because the electricity costs can be reduced by 80% while simultaneously reducing maintenance costs (the LED array lasts 10X longer than the incandescent bulb).

Let’s assume that a traffic light uses 100 watt bulbs. The light is on 24 hours a day, so it uses about 2.4 kilowatt-hours per day. If we assume electricity costs 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, it means that one traffic light bulb costs about 20 cents a day to operate, or about $75 per year. If we assume eight traffic bulbs per intersection, that’s about $600 per year in electricity per intersection. An LED array should consume less than 20 watts, so the electricity use drops to less than $120 per intersection. For a city with many intersections, that can add up.

Another application is the use as a light source in High Definition Televisions (HDTV). The LED is being used as both a backlight in LED HDTV systems, and as a projector light in rear projection HDTV systems, including the DLP HDTV systems. A good example of an LCD system is the Samsung “Series 9″ LCD HDTV that uses LED backlighting with local dimming technology. Local dimming allows for very high contrast ratios. Samsung projects that by 2010, more than 30% of all LCD HDTV sets will utilize LED backlighting instead of the fluorescent bulbs currently used. The first LED lamp DLP system was the Samsung HL-S5679W, introduced in 2006, which also eliminated the use of color wheel.

With fluorescent lighting in a HDTV, the lamps need to be replaced every few years. The replacement can cost about $200, and there’s the hassle of scheduling maintenance. The equivalent LED bulb should last more than 10X longer. In practical terms, the LED should last the lifetime of the overall system.

LED is a new, old technology that is changing our world for the better.

About the Author: Brian Bradshaw is a Certified Technical Specialist (InfoComm CTS) and CompTIA A+ Computer Technologist. Areas of expertise include Video, Audio, Computation, WiFi, [http://bradshaw-vacuum-technology.com]HDTV, Satellite Systems, and Communications. He has a communications technology business that serves the Southwestern United States with offices in Plano, Texas (Dallas) and an office in Peoria, Arizona (Phoenix), managed by his brother, Keller Bradshaw.

Please visit the [http://bradshaw-vacuum-technology.com]Website for more information

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