Chris Palmer recently had a convergence problem with his 47" Panasonic HDTV. The green gun's image had a big bow in the the bottom, and the upper right hand corner was stretched off the screen. With a little gumption, courage, and some help from TechLore and other support sites, he managed to get his TV up and running perfectly all on his own! Read Chris' amazing story now!

The TV at my place of work will make a loud, annoying buzz when ever there's too much white on the screen. I searched the tips section of this web site and found nothing related. I'm not sure if this is something that can be fixed or not, but it's rather bothersome.

What's the best way to get a question answered about your TV? Check out the TV's user manual of course! We received a question from a new TechLore member just now that was having trouble finding their user manual for their TV. This one happened to be for a Magnavox TV, but we get lots of request for Sony user manuals and other TVs too. It reminded me how simple many problems are to solve if you have the manual, but how difficult it can sometimes be to find the manual in the first place. Well, TechLore has come to the rescue to help you locate your user manual and other support information. We created an article recently that lists all of the support sites, information, contact information and user manuals for most brands of TVs. You can access it by using this link: TV user manuals and other customer support information Here's a couple of pointers you can use to help find your user manual on a company's website: Make sure you have your model number handy. It can usually be found printed on the TV somewhere. Perform a search on your exact model number. If you can't find ...

It lived a long and fruitful life, but if you're still using VHS tapes, be noted that Variety magazine has officially reported that the VHS format is dead.   As I've been saying for quite some time, it's time to get rid of your VCR!  Go ahead and convert your VHS tapes to DVD!  The quality is degrading on your tapes every day and it's time to get rid of them once and for all. Read the article about the death of VHS at DVRplayground. 

I had reported back in April that you could buy HD-DVD players.  I noticed recently that you can now also buy BluRay DVD players at most stores.  For about $1,000 you can own your very own BluRay DVD player and watch movies at home in high-definition.  Our friends over at Electronic House magazine noted that you can even buy the new Philips BDP-9000 player at Wal-Mart. As I mentioned in earlier blog entry above however, it still doesn't make much sense for the average person to buy a high definition DVD player yet regardless of whether or not it's HD-DVD or BluRay.  Not only are they expensive, but getting caught up in a format war could leave you with media that is outdated fairly quickly (re: beta vs. vhs). An interesting twist to all of this is that for around $500-600, you will be able to purchase a Playstation 3 when it comes out on November 17th in the United States.  This might be a much better option for most people as not only will you be able to play BluRay DVDs, but you'll also be able to play video games.  Sony really hit the mark here. The XBox 360 ...

Today, every electronic component you add to your home theater system, whether it be a TV, DVD player, DVR, cable box, or even game systems, all seem to come with their own remote control. Sooner or later, you may end up juggling eight or more remotes in order to operate your system. Tune in to PodCapsule #6 to get a better understanding of what a "universal" remote really is, how to set up a macro, how to finally conceal all your A/V components without limiting your ability to control them, and more! -hosted by Matt Whitlock Listen to The PodCapsuleTo save to your computer: Right click the download link and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." Download WMA format optimized for Windows Media Player 9.3 MB Download AAC format for QuickTime, iTunes, and iPods 9.5 MB Download Universal MP3 format for all portable devices and PCs 9.2 MB SubscribeClick a badge below to subscribe to the TechLore PodCapsule. Don't forget to vote for the PodCapsule at your favorite podcast site! Show Summary, Segments, & Resources TechLore Time Machine - Do you know what the first wireless TV remote was? (3:00) Five Decades of Channel Surfing: History of the TV Remote Control 1955 Zenith Flashmatic Tuning, the ...

Many of the later model Sony TV’s have a built in self-diagnosis function. If the timer/standby indicator is blinking, this could be an indication of a problem with the unit. The diagnostic blinking will occur automatically with no action required by you to engage it. Read on to learn what these diagnostic codes mean, and how you can use that information to get up and running again.

My friends and I were discussing TiVo yesterday and how it has changed our TV watching habits. Most people in the discussion didn't watch "Live" TV at all anymore. When they did, it was because there was that one particular show (e.g. Battlestar Galactica) that they had to watch immediately when it was broadbast because they were addicted. The conversation continued to other related topics which included some simple tips for watching shows on TiVo. Here's a couple of items that were discussed: How much time is left? "Are they going to screw me?" That was the question that one of my friends asks of himself when the episode is coming close to the end and there is a strong possibility of a big cliffhanger. He hates having to wait a week to find out how it the conflict is going to be resolved. As it gets close to the end, he presses the play button on his remote to find out how much time is left in the show. It's a simple and easy way to know where you are in the movie or TV show. Skip ahead 30 seconds This is one of my favorite tips. Rather than ...