Windows 7 tips, tricks and secrets [part 1]

Whether you've just bought a new PC running Windows 7 or you've been using it for a while, there are bound to be things you didn't know you could do.



Whether it's tweaks to get the desktop the way you want it, tips for troubleshooting or ways to squeeze more performance from Windows 7, we've got it covered, including how to recover locked-up apps, how to extend your jumplists, leave a Windows 7 Homegroup, and more. Read on for 85 tips to help you get the best from Windows 7.

1. Problem Steps Recorder

As the local PC guru you're probably very used to friends and family asking for help with their computer problems, yet having no idea how to clearly describe what's going on. It's frustrating, but Microsoft feels your pain, and Windows 7 will include an excellent new solution in the Problem Steps Recorder.

When any app starts misbehaving under Windows 7 then all your friends need do is click Start, type PSR and press Enter, then click Start Record. If they then work through whatever they're doing then the Problem Steps Recorder will record every click and keypress, take screen grabs, and package everything up into a single zipped MHTML file when they're finished, ready for emailing to you. It's quick, easy and effective, and will save you hours of troubleshooting time.

2. Burn images

Windows 7 finally introduces a feature that other operating systems have had for years - the ability to burn ISO images to CDs or DVDs. And it couldn't be much easier to use. Just double-click the ISO image, choose the drive with the blank disc, click Burn and watch as your disc is created.

3. Create and mount VHD files

Microsoft's Virtual PC creates its virtual machine hard drives in VHD files, and Windows 7 can now mount these directly so you can access them in the host system. Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter, then click Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you'd like to mount. It will then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer and can be accessed, copied or written just like any other drive.

Click Action > Create VHD and you can now create a new virtual drive of your own (right-click it, select Initialise Disk, and after it's set up right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to set this up). Again, you'll be left with a virtual drive that behaves just like any other, where you can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning software or do whatever you like. But it's actually just this VHD file on your real hard drive which you can easily back up or share with others. Right-click the disk (that's the left-hand label that says "Disk 2" or whatever) and select Detach VHD to remove it.

The command line DISKPART utility has also been upgraded with tools to detach a VHD file, and an EXPAND command to increase a virtual disk's maximum size. Don't play around with this unless you know what you're doing, though - it's all too easy to trash your system.

4. Troubleshoot problems

If some part of Windows 7 is behaving strangely, and you don't know why, then click Control Panel > Find and fix problems (or 'Troubleshooting') to access the new troubleshooting packs. These are simple wizards that will resolve common problems, check your settings, clean up your system and more.

5. Startup repair

If you've downloaded Windows 7 (and even if you haven't) it's a good idea to create a system repair disc straight away in case you run into problems booting the OS later on. Click Start > Maintenance > Create a System Repair Disc, and let Windows 7 build a bootable emergency disc. If the worst does happen then it could be the only way to get your PC running again.

iOS vs. Android vs. Windows Phone [part 5]

Market share


Smartphone marketshare between iOS, Android and WP7 is fairly straightforward, though the numbers between different studies do vary. As in the picture above, Android has 42.8% of the smartphone market, while iOS has 28.3%. All the way on the right, WP7 has a measly 1.2%, as of November 29 in the US. Gartner shows worldwide market share is even higher for Android, with 52.5% (up from 25.3% a year earlier), while iOS has 15% and Microsoft (WP7 and older Windows Mobile OSs) at 1.5%.

Growth is also very pertinent, and Android is the only OS to show any growth worldwide. iOS dropped from 16.6% last year, and Microsoft went down from 2.7% (though many of those losses came from Windows Mobile 6.5 users). Furthermore, 56% of new smartphone users are opting for Android-based devices, compared to 28% of iPhone buyers.

Winner: Android

With overwhelming growth in both the US and worldwide, Android takes the cake. iOS takes a solid second, while WP7 is still behind Blackberry, HP’s WebOS, Symbian, and Microsoft’s own Windows Mobile.


TabletsIn the tablet space, iOS rules. According to a report by Canaccord Genuity, Apple is expected to have 65% of the tablet marketshare with the iPad and iPad 2. Samsung is the closest competitor with just 8% from a handful of their Galaxy Tabs, all Android-based. Combined, Android is expected to cover the majority of the remaining tablets sold, with Windows 7 tablets taking a minimal and ever-shrinking percentage.

Reports of Android growth in the tablet space are inconsistent at best. New reports that come out every few months show growth, but that Apple remains on top of the tablet market by a wide margin. According to Microsoft, Windows Phone 7 will not come to tablets; instead, next version of Windows (for desktop and laptop computers) will be designed from the ground up for tablets as well. Windows 8 is expected to release sometime in 2012. The OS is currently available to developers now and will have an open beta in February.

iOS and Android for tablets share the same traits as they do for smartphones. While the version for Android is currently different (3.2 vs 2.3), it has remained largely unchanged since releasing in February this year. Google will, as with smartphones, upgrade tablet firmware to Android 4.0, but frankly software UI isn’t the problem with Android tablets: apps are the problem.

Both iOS and Android have all smartphone apps available for tablets, but there are pitifully few tablet-specific apps available for Android. While the iPad has the most and best apps by an incredible margin (including recent games like Infinity Blade II and Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies), various Android tablets have unique functions not available on other tablets. Amazon’s Kindle Fire, for instance, can stream any video content available on the Amazon Video Store.

Conclusions

In this battle royale between the two largest mobile OSs and the smallest up and comer, there is no clear winner. That’s up for you to decide, and perhaps rage about, in the comments. iOS is still the king of apps and has the best features, and Android’s openness has enabled it to be the easiest purchase decision and the leader in smartphones.

WP7, however, may yet be a trick pony. It does so much right, from the brilliant software design to simple yet perfect features like instant local search, and even Xbox Live integration. We’re not yet at the point where hardcore 360 owners will want to switch over, but if you aren’t dying to get the latest apps now, WP7 has a lot to offer.

If you’re looking for straight up gaming, iOS is your best bet. Just check out IGN Wireless and you’ll see the vast majority of games are for iOS, and for good reason: nearly every good game hits Apple’s devices first. For anyone living in the Google ecosystem, Android is by far the best. No other handset is built from the ground up for impeccable integration with Gmail, Google Talk, Google Voice, Google Music, or any other Google services.

Which OS is right for you?

iOS vs. Android vs. Windows Phone [part 4]

Smartphone and Tablet Hardware

iOS

iOS is considered the most closed OS because it’s only available to Apple. No other hardware manufacturers have access to making phones with iOS, and that’s not going to change. Apple controls every device it sells, as has been the company’s practice for over 30 years.

There are only three phones with iOS 5 today: the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S. There are three models of each, which vary in how much memory they hold. The 3GS, now over two years old, is still considered a capable smartphone, but battery life is severely handicapped under iOS 5. The iPhone 4 and 4S share a glass front and back, which has historically been very easy to break if dropped. The iPhone 4 also had very serious problems with its antenna when held.

However, every iPhone has received the highest praise from critics year after year. Many technology pundits not only claim that the iPhone is the best phone from a hardware perspective, but that it stands the test of time the longest because of exceptional quality and software built specifically for that hardware. The iPhone is, however, limited by the number of available devices. There is only one new model yearly, and it comes in one of two colors.

Android

Android phones are the easiest and most plentiful smartphones available anywhere in the world. Today, there are over 220 million Android smartphones in use, and half a million are activated daily, according to Google. Every major phone manufacturer makes Android handsets, as well as some major PC makers like Dell.

With literally hundreds of Android phones available, the range is as far as the eye can see. Quality varies just as greatly, with many Android phones as weak and impotent as feature phones. Android smartphones come in all shapes and sizes, have screens from 2.5”-5” in size, and almost always include upgradeable memory in the form of microSD cards. Android is also the only OS that runs on LTE networks in the US today.

Windows Phone 7

WP7 devices are few and far between, for now. As of this writing, there are only 12 WP7 devices available. This is due to the strict requirements Microsoft puts on all WP7 handsets, which includes a minimum processor speed, minimum RAM, minimum camera quality, etc.

Every WP7 device, however, is guaranteed by Microsoft to meet those requirements, which means every WP7 phone has a quality backing. While the iPhone only has one new model a year and Android has an overwhelming selection, Microsoft takes the middle route with pre-set features that are shared across all phones. So while there are differences between models, there is enough similarity between them to make a purchase decision based screen size, external QWERTY keyboard, screen type, or other features.

And with the Nokia-Microsoft deal revealed at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year, Nokia will start making WP7 devices exclusively. The once-largest smartphone maker has already released two models, and Microsoft expects significant growth in the number of WP7 smartphones in 2012.

Winner: Android

Android may have the worst handsets, but it also has some of the best, as seen with phones like the Motorola Droid Bionic and Samsung Galaxy S II. The iPhone may have an edge at release, but as seen with the iPhone 4S, it only took a month for competing handsets to match its overall design and hardware features.

iOS vs. Android vs. Windows Phone [part 3]

Apps and Games

iOS

Apple’s App Store is the largest repository of both free and paid apps in the world. With over 600,000 apps currently available, all of which have been vetted by Apple to ensure quality and meeting Apple’s app requirements, the App Store has not only the most apps available, it often has the newest apps first. iOS app development has become a business. Companies like Rovio (Angry Birds) have sprouted from just a few guys, and established developers like EA and Epic Games have found equally high levels of success.



However, because Apple checks every app before it is available in the App Store, new apps are slow to come, and it may take weeks for individual apps to go through the process. Many apps are turned away, and every few months there’s another story of an app removed from the store for breaking one of the rules. Even then, there have been over 18 billion app downloads on iOS, and we expect that to break 20 billion by the end of this year.

iOS also has the largest selection of games, with tens of thousands of games, already more than every dedicated mobile console ever made combined. Many of those games are free or under a dollar, but so far iOS devices are the only ones that are regularly compared to consoles like the Nintendo 3DS or Sony’s upcoming PS Vita.

Android

Google’s Android Marketplace has the second largest offering of apps, with over 320,000 according to Google. What’s startling about the Android Marketplace, compared to Apple’s App Store, is that 67% of all apps for Android are free. Google just hit 10 billion app downloads, and with that achievement Google released a detailed infographic on the types of apps downloaded, and some fun data regarding apps on the Android Marketplace.

Because Android is the most prominent mobile OS, and because developing for Android is completely free, more and more developers are working either on both iOS and Android simultaneously, or just on Android alone. However, Android still tends to be second when it comes to today’s most popular apps. Games like Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, Words with Friends were all released months after the iOS versions as ad-based free games.

Case in point, Android owners are less likely to spend money on apps. Only two of the top ten grossing games in the Android Marketplace aren’t free. Like iOS, the majority of them are games. While Apple makes billions in gross revenue on apps, analysts think that Android still hasn’t broken the $1 billion barrier, from launch through September grossing only $341.8m. That may change in the future, but it has kept developers who have been successful on iOS to jump over to Android.

App development is also more difficult on Android because of the number of different Android devices. Rockstar Games recently announced Grand Theft Auto 3 will release on iOS and Android, but only on select devices. Of the hundreds of Android devices, only seven will be able to play the game.

Windows Phone 7

As the youngest OS of the bunch, it comes as no surprise that WP7 has the fewest available apps. With just over 45,000 apps, 55% of those apps are free according to WP7 Applist, which monitors all WP7 apps.

What WP7’s apps have that both iOS and Android lack is trials for apps. That is, the option to download the full app to try it out, free of charge. 15% of all apps have trials, including all of the games available through Xbox Live. That means 70% of all apps on WP7 are free to use or try. Neither Android nor iOS allow for app purchasing on a trial basis.

Winner: iOS

With both the largest number of apps and the most well-developed apps, Apple's iOS is king. Not only is it the platform that most developers opt for because iPhone owners are more likely to purchase apps, but the platform has a better application store and is more likely to earn money.

PC vs. Mac

Since PCs and Macs hit the market, the debate has existed over which is best. Depending upon who you're talking to the PC vs. Mac debate is often even hotter than politics or religion. While you have many who are die hard Microsoft PC users, another group exists that are just as dedicated to Apple's Mac*. A final group exists in the undecided computer category.

Cost

For many users, cost is key. You want to get the absolute most for your money. In years past, PCs dominated the budget friendly market, with Macs ranging anywhere from $100 to $500 more than a comparable PC. Now this price gap has lessened significantly. However, you will notice a few key features that Macs tend to lack in order to provide a lower price: memory and hard drive space.

Memory

Most PCs have anywhere from 2GB to 8GB of RAM in laptops and desktops, while Macs usually have only 1GB to 4GB. Keep in mind, this is for standard models, not custom orders.

Hard Drive Space

Macs typically have smaller hard drives than PCs. This could be because some Mac files and applications are slightly smaller than their PC counterparts. On average, you will still see price gaps of several hundred dollars between comparable Macs and PCs. For computing on a budget, PCs win.

There are a few things to take into consideration that may actually make Macs more cost effective: stability and compatibility.

Stability

In years past, PCs were known to crash and users would get the “blue screen,” but, Microsoft has made their operating systems more reliable in recent years. On the other hand, Mac hardware and software has tended to be stable and crashes occur infrequently.
Compatibility

Unlike with a PC, a Mac can also run Windows. If you want to have a combination Mac and PC, a Mac is your best option.

Availability

Macs are exclusive to Apple. This means for the most part, prices and features are the same no matter where you shop. This limits Mac availability. However with the new Apple stores, it’s even easier to buy Macs and Mac accessories. Any upgrades or repairs can only be done by an authorized Apple support center.

PCs, on the other hand, are available from a wide range of retailers and manufacturers. This means more customization, a wider price range for all budgets and repairs and upgrades available at most electronics retailers and manufacturers. It also makes it easier for the home user to perform upgrades and repairs themselves as parts are easy to find.

Software

The final Mac vs. PC comparison comes down to software. For the most part, the two are neck and neck. Microsoft has even released Microsoft Office specifically for Mac, proving Apple and Microsoft can get along. All and all, Macs are more software compatible as PCs only support Windows friendly software. Both systems support most open-source software. Software for both systems is user friendly and easy to learn.

In the end, the choice comes down to personal preference. Due to price and availability, PCs tend to be the winner, while Macs remain the choice for the more elite or anti-Microsoft computer users.

iOS vs. Android vs. Windows Phone [part 2]

Features and Functions

iOS:

iOS does many things right, but the one thing it does exceptionally well is act as a media player. Thanks to a simple and intuitive design with the iPod app (now known as Music and Videos), iOS is the staple media player software. iOS 5 improved on that with wireless syncing and cloud storage, which makes it surpass the more user-friendly WP7.

iMessage is another addition in iOS 5, which provides free texting to any iOS 5 device, include iPods and iPads. iCloud allows for instant syncing and backups of music, photos, apps, and documents, all under one username. Siri (for iPhone 4S owners only) allows for users to tell the phone what to do, be it send an email or set a reminder or find a local movie theater. There is nothing quite like it to compare to, and Siri blows away the competition when it comes to speech commands.

Because gaming is so prevalent on iOS, every device comes with Game Center installed, which mimics Xbox Live with achievements, an easy way to connect with friends in games, and a repository for your game data. It includes cloud storage, so games played on one device can be immediately continued on another, like starting a game of Infinity Blade II on your iPhone and continuing on an iPad.

Android

As a Google device, Android is the best OS to connect all of your Google webapps in one phone. Both included apps and downloadable apps (Google Voice, Google Music) instantly sync in the cloud, so maps will have previously-searched locations so you don’t have to type them again. Upgraded in Android 4.0 is turn-by-turn voice navigation, which is available through 3rd party apps on most smartphones, is free on the newer Android OS. On older Android firmware, users still get Navigation, but without voiced directions.



Android also supports NFC (near-field communication), which is so far used for paying through the phone at compatible terminals. They are hard to find, and the technology is limited to a few hundred stores nationwide, but Android is the first to offer the feature with the ability to actually use it.

Windows Phone 7

“With Mango, WP7 has caught up with Android and iOS in nearly every way, and in some areas it’s even surpassed the other two in functionality.” – Engadget

Microsoft released WP7 with limited features, but supplemented its mobile OS with a wide array of updates. In many ways, WP7 is the most convenient phone to use in day-to-day activities as-is, without any 3rd party apps. Built-in apps like Local Scout, which takes user locations and finds restaurants, attractions, shopping, and local highlights, has no direct comparison. The iPhone 4S’ Siri is a close second, because of the realistic talking experience, but Local Scout is just as fast and easy to use with the press of a button.

WP7 also has direct compatibility with Xbox Live and the Xbox 360, so users can control their consoles with their phone. Games played on WP7 share Achievement Points cross-platform, and users can do basic Xbox Live functions like communicate with friends, check who is online, and watch videos all through the single built-in app.

Every WP7 device also comes with Microsoft Office for free, which includes OneNote, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, all of which are connected to the cloud via SkyDrive, Office 365, or a SharePoint address. The closest comparison is Apple’s iWork for iOS, which is a separate $30. Photos can also automatically be stored in the cloud.

Finally, WP7 has the biggest assortment of social media integration, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Windows Live. These all work in tandem with the address book, messaging, and sharing.

All of these features are supplemented by powerful, though comparatively primitive voice recognition software. It isn’t nearly as robust as the iPhone 4S’ Siri, but it is far more practical and capable at speech recognition than Android.

Winner: iOS

Unified cloud storage, as well as a personal assistant via voice recognition, are a step above both Android and WP7.


Part 1

iOS vs. Android vs. Windows Phone [part 1]

The biggest players in the field are Apple with iOS, Google with Android, and Microsoft with Windows Phone 7 (WP7) when it comes to app development, smartphone sales, and the future outlook of each OS. But which is the best? We compare to find out.

User interface

iOS:

Apple's mobile OS has long been considered one of the cleanest interfaces in every way, from general software functions to adjusting basic settings. Built-in apps have straightforward names (calculator, mail, clock, etc.), the settings menu is clear and easy to use, and apps are built with navigation options closer to the bottom so users can reach them easily. Menu navigation and nearly all OS functions have slight graphical chimes, like sliding between home pages or smooth scrolling. More recently iOS has been updated to include more social media applications like Twitter, and cloud storage and backup through iCloud. Almost all functions of the iPhone are very clear and straightforward, and require minimal (if any) prior knowledge to operate. The new notifications bar, which is very similar to Android’s notification bar, is customizable and shows all of the latest app notifications.

For the iPhone 4S specifically, with Siri users can voice commands and the phone will open applications, type dictated messages, provide internet searches, and do it all with everyday speech. Not the robot-talk you use when speaking to automated tech support.

iOS, however, does have some severe limitations. Ringtones and notification sounds must be in the list of available sounds or purchased directly through iTunes. Some functions just aren’t available, like opening driving directions from locations listed in the calendar. Multitasking, which Apple touts though in reality isn’t true multitasking, has serious limitations for users.

Android:

There are a number of Android OSs in the wild today, anywhere from Android 1.6 to Android 4.0. The UI differs only slightly between these different versions, but because Android is highly customizable, phone manufacturers and cell providers (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) all have their own design preferences. This makes Android a mess of differing UIs. Simple tasks like moving apps are different between not only different versions of Android, but different phones sharing the same Android firmware. This fragmentation means updates to Android phones, and thus UI improvements are sparse and sometimes simply unavailable. Android is the only mobile OS with phone and software fragmentation.

The general OS functions are very similar to iOS. It uses home pages with apps, while also including a full menu of apps so users can choose which apps appear on a home pages. Menu navigation (in the US) relies on four hard buttons: home, menu, back and search. Android 4.0 eliminates the back menu and search button, replacing both with an apps-open button. Built-in functions act differently across all overlays; HTC’s TouchSense, for instance, includes a built-in phone button, while Samsung’s TouchWiz is more similar to iOS’s four bottom apps which are the same on every home page.

Android is the first and currently only OS to feature widgets. Android also has live wallpapers, which are interactive wallpapers for the home screen, completely adjustable ringtones and notification sounds, and even adjustable lock screens. There is no limit to the level of customization available on Android, from ringtones to virtual keyboards. Social media integration is limited to Facebook and Twitter.

Windows Phone 7:

Microsoft's mobile OS is a far departure from the app-centric designs of both iOS and Android. Everything about WP7 is different from its competition thanks to a feature-centric design. Like Microsoft’s desktop OS, WP7 is based around centralized apps (like Internet Explorer and Office) and folders (like Xbox Live, which opens a list of owned games). This UI is so different from iOS and Android that critics like PC World have called it “refreshing”.

The home screen uses large tiles that act like Widgets. Any app can be added to the single home screen, and they act either as a shortcut to the app or open the folder to the apps. Xbox Live, for instance, houses all games; Pictures stores all photos in sections based on what’s on the phone, what’s in the cloud, etc.

The general layout of apps, and the build quality, is superb. The Metro UI uses subtle pictures or visual cues to hint that users should slide to the right to see the next screen, or slide up to unlock the screen. This implementation is unlike any OS available, and is far more intuitive than iOS or Android. WP7 uses three hard buttons – back, start, and search – which help users navigate between menus or activate features like speech recognition.

Built-in apps like Internet Explorer feel great, and feel as though they’re designed for both one- and two-handed use. Options are a simple tap away, and navigation is easy thanks to the option selection staying near the bottom of the screen. The keyboard is almost as precise as on iOS, but with word prediction it is the best virtual keyboard available.

Winner: Windows Phone 7

Microsoft's mobile OS takes the cake with the most intuitive and easiest-to-use user interface. It’s not app-centric, but it is the most functional and the most convenient mobile UI to date.

Part 2

Blu-ray vs. DVD

In most ways, Blu-ray is fairly similar to DVD. The players look the same, the discs look the same, and even the disc menus are similar. So why pay more?

Blu-ray brings three major improvements over DVD: better image quality, better sound quality, and more special features. All three are made possible by the larger storage capacity of Blu-ray, which is capable of storing 50GB of information on a single Blu-ray Disc, compared with DVDs, which can hold about 8GB.

What's better about Blu-ray?

Image quality: Superior resolution is a big part of what makes Blu-ray look great. In layman's terms, this means you'll see a more detailed image: more clearly defined strands of hair, wrinkles in clothing, etc. The technical difference is that Blu-ray's maximum resolution is 1920x1080 (1080p), while DVD is limited to 720x480 (480p). Beyond resolution, Blu-ray also uses better video-compression methods, resulting in more contrast and richer colors. If you like the way HD from your cable or satellite provider looks, Blu-ray looks even better. It's the highest-quality video format available today, and in some ways it surpasses the picture quality of your local movie theater, especially when shown on a good-performing HDTV or projector.

Audio quality: Audio quality is also improved. New high-resolution soundtrack formats, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, are essentially identical to the studio master, so you'll be hearing things exactly as the director and audio engineers intended.

Special features: Blu-ray also has additional special features over DVD. The most basic innovation is the pop-up menu, which allows you to access the menu functions while the movie continues playing. Other innovations include picture-in-picture video commentary and the ability to download new content right from your Blu-ray player, although your player needs to have the right Blu-ray profile to access these features. In our opinion, the special features on Blu-ray have mostly been underwhelming and aren't a good reason to upgrade.

What's worse about Blu-ray?

Cost: Blu-ray's main drawback is cost. Prices for players are still generally over $200 and movies cost about $25. While the one-time cost of a player isn't that bad, the cost of building up a new Blu-ray library really adds up. At least it's possible to pick and choose which movies you "buy Blu," since every Blu-ray player can also play standard DVDs.

Available titles: Another downside is that the number of titles on Blu-ray is still much smaller than DVD. There are currently about 3,000 Blu-ray titles available, compared with more than 90,000 (!) on DVD. Depending on your taste in movies, you may only find a few movies you actually like available on Blu-ray.

As of June 2011, more than 2,500 Blu-ray Disc titles were available in Australia and the United Kingdom, with 3,500 in the United States and Canada. In Japan, as of July 2010, more than 3,300 titles have been released

For more information on Available titles, check out blu-ray.com

Load times: When Blu-ray first came out, load times were unbearable; it could take more than 3 minutes to load a movie. Since then, players have gotten much faster, but they still don't compare with the speed of loading a DVD. While simple Blu-ray movies can load in about 20 seconds on a good Blu-ray player, movies with complex menus still take close to a minute and a half to get to the actual movie, regardless of the player.

Portability: Lastly, if you start buying Blu-ray movies, you may get frustrated that your new movies won't work in places where you only have a standard DVD player. For example, if your bedroom only has a DVD player, you won't be able to watch the second half of your new Blu-ray Disc from the comfort of your bed. Or if you have a car with a built-in DVD player, your new Blu-ray Discs won't work there, either.

What about upconverting DVD players?

You've probably heard about upconverting (also called upscaling) DVD players. Often they'll promise to take your existing DVD collection and make it look like HD. Sounds like a great idea, but unfortunately, it's not quite true. Main takeaway is that while it is possible for an upconverting DVD player to make your existing DVDs look a little better, they won't look like true high-definition. If you want HD video quality, you need Blu-ray.

What about my existing DVD collection?

When the home video format of choice changed from VHS to DVD, it was a rough change for consumers whose existing tape collection was slowly rendered obsolete. Luckily, that's not the case with this transition, as every Blu-ray player is capable of playing back standard DVDs. In fact, every Blu-ray player is also an upconverting DVD player, but remember the benefits from upconversion are still minimal. The bottom line is that all your existing DVDs will play in your new Blu-ray player.

LCD or LED?

It’s tempting to assume LEDs belong in a completely separate category beside LCD and plasma TVs, but in reality, an LED television is just a type of LCD TV. The proper term would really be “LED-backlit LCD TV,” but that always seems to get truncated to “LED TV” in everyday conversation, perpetuating the confusion.

What is LED TV?
An LED (Light Emitting Diode) display is a flat panel display that uses LED backlighting instead of the cold cathode flourescent (CCFL) backlighting used in most other LCDs. The use of LED backlighting allows for a thinner panel, lower power consumption, better heat dissipation, a brighter display, and better contrast levels. LED backlit LCD TVs use the same TFT LCD technologies as CCFL backlit LCD TVs. Picture quality is primarily based on TFT LCD technology independent of backlight type. While not an LED display, a television using this display is called an “LED TV” by some manufacturers and suppliers. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority has made it clear in correspondence that it does not object to the use of the term “LED TV,” but does require it to be clarified in any advertising.

To understand how LEDs function in an LCD TV, think of an actual liquid-crystal panel as the plastic pegs in a Lite Brite. They hold a translucent image, but without a powerful backlight to punch through and light it up like a signboard, you’re not going to see much. On your old Lite Bright, an inefficient incandescent light did the job, but pretty unevenly. On a typical LCD TV, fluorescent lights provide the backlighting through a special plastic sheet called a light guide that distributes light from a fluorescent tube evenly over the surface of the TV. On an LED-backlit TV, fluorescent tubes are replaced with light-emitting diodes – LEDs – the same technology that probably lights up your digital watch, the buttons on your monitor, and the indicators on your stereo. They can be either situated along the edges of the TV like a fluorescent tube, or arranged directly behind the screen in a grid. But what difference does it make, and why would anyone spend so much money on it?

How an LED TV is different from an ordinary LCD TV
The most obvious reason LEDs have fallen into favor in LCD TVs: they’re simply more efficient. Although fluorescent lights do a decent job converting electricity to light in the big scale of things, LEDs perform even better. Typically, manufacturers claim an efficiency improvement of up to 30 percent over fluorescent-based sets, which can add up significantly over the lifetime of a TV, especially on larger screens that use more juice to begin with.

LEDs are also much smaller than tubes, even after accounting for the number of them needed to light an entire TV. That means LED-backlit televisions can be manufactured significantly thinner than their tube cousins. For instance, many of the ultra-thin televisions that measure under an inch thick use LED backlights, because they add very little depth to the profile. Though commercial variants aren’t quite as dramatically thin as these prototypes, they’re significantly skinnier than their fluorescent-backlit counterparts, making them some of the most chic and living-room-friendly HDTVs out there.

For home theater enthusiasts, LEDs only matter for one reason: image quality. Because fluorescent tubes must light the entire screen evenly, designers have no way to vary the backlighting intensity in different parts of the screen. Even if you want to show a single white pixel on an all-black screen, the light needs to be blazing away in back. But with some LED setups, lighting different parts of the screen separately becomes possible, allowing the lighting to actually improve the image.

It’s made possible by a technique called local dimming, which can only occur on TVs that offer “full-array backlighting.” These TVs arrange the individual LEDs – up to 1,500 of them – in a grid behind the LCD, rather than clustering them around the edges as you’ll find on “edge-lit” screens. Because each LED lights a specific part of the screen, they can intelligently brighten or darken different zones of the screen to match the content being displayed on the LCD panel.

For instance, in a scene showing the Earth as viewed from space, the lights around the planet could be turned to maximum brightness, while those in the blackness of space could be dimmed or turned off entirely to help darken the screen. Not only does this improve efficiency, since not all the lights are running all the time, it improves contrast, producing blacker blacks and whiter whites on the same screen.

Keep in mind that not all LED TVs can achieve this effect. Many of the super-thin LED televisions you’ll find use edge lighting to reduce their side profiles, making them slimmer and more efficient, but unable to “turn off” different parts of the screen intelligently the same way a full-array set can. Always make a point of discerning between edge-lit and full-array backlighting, and go with full-array, unless a thin profile is your number one priority.


Differences with CCFL-backlit LCD displays

Compared to CCFL-backlit LCDs, LED-backlit LCDs

• produce images with greater dynamic contrast
• can be extremely slim, some screens less than half an inch (0.92 cm) thick
• offer a wider color gamut when RGB-LED backlighting is used
• produce less environmental pollution on disposal
• are more expensive
• have typically 20 to 30% lower power consumption
• are more reliable
• can allow a wider dimming range

Is the price premium for LED worth paying?

TV manufacturers are still asking for a higher price for LED-backlighting when many cheap devices — particularly mobile phones and netbooks — use LEDs as backlights. As of 2009, Samsung said that LED backlights cost three times more in large sizes than the equivalent CCFL arrangement, and this is mostly due to a lower number of manufacturers. Presumably, as the technology continues to take a firmer hold, the price will keep coming down.

In 2011, only the budget LCD televisions use CCFL backlighting, and all of the major manufacturers use LED lighting in their mid-range and premium models. It won't be too long before it will become the default method of backlighting. While some people still prefer the look of a plasma, the LED's combination of thin design and sharp picture quality will soon find favour with many people. If you're looking for a further explanation of how LCD screens work, then you can try this video on the 3M site.

LCD vs. Plasma TV

I think this is a question of the decade. Both types of flat panel televisions have advantages and disadvantages.

Plasma TV
Advantages

Plasma TVs have advantages over LCD, in the following areas: Better contrast ratio, better ability to render deep blacks, more color depth, better motion tracking (response time), and more availability in very large screen sizes.

Briefly: Picture quality

• Capable of producing deeper blacks allowing for superior contrast ratio.
• Wider viewing angles than those of LCD; images do not suffer from degradation at high angles like LCDs.
• Less visible motion blur, thanks in large part to very high refresh rates and a faster response time, contributing to superior performance when displaying content with significant amounts of rapid motion (though newer LCD screens have similar refresh rates, but that also introduces the soap opera effect).

Disadvantages

However, the disadvantages of Plasma vs LCD include: more susceptible to burn-in (although this is not as much of a factor now, due to technology improvements, such as "pixel orbiting"), more heat generation (as well as more power consumption), does not perform as well at higher altitudes, naturally darker image and screen glare in brightly lit rooms, heavier weight, and more delicate to ship.

Briefly: Picture quality

• Earlier generation displays were more susceptible to screen burn-in and image retention, recent models have a pixel orbiter that moves the entire picture faster than is noticeable to the human eye, which reduces the effect of burn-in but does not prevent it.
• Earlier generation displays (circa 2006 and prior) had phosphors that lost luminosity over time, resulting in gradual decline of absolute image brightness (newer models may be less susceptible to this, having advertised lifespans exceeding 100,000 hours, far longer than older CRT technology).
• Screen-door effects are noticeable on screen sizes smaller than 127 cm (50 in); the effect is more visible at shorter viewing distances.

Other

• Use more electricity, on average, than an LCD TV.
• Do not work as well at high altitudes due to pressure differential between the gases inside the screen and the air pressure at altitude. It may cause a buzzing noise. Manufacturers rate their screens to indicate the altitude parameters.
• For those who wish to listen to AM radio, or are amateur radio operators (hams) or shortwave listeners (SWL), the radio frequency interference (RFI) from these devices can be irritating or disabling.
• Due to the strong infrared emissions inherent with the technology, standard IR repeater systems cannot be used in the viewing room. A more expensive "plasma compatible" sensor must be used.

LCD TV
Advantages

LCD TVs have advantages over Plasma TVs in the following areas: no burn-in susceptibility, cooler running temperature, less screen glare, more functional at high altitudes, longer display life (although improvements are being made in Plasma screen life), looks better in brightly lit rooms due to the ability to produce a naturally brighter image, and less power consumption than Plasma.

Also, LCD TVs have made great strides in upping-the-ante in native pixel resolution, with a majority of sets offering a full 1080p (1920x1080) display capability at affordable price levels in screen sizes ranging from 37-inches and up, but there are some 1080p set down into the 32 and 26-inch screen sizes. On the other hand, the number of Plasma Televisions offering 1080p native pixel resolution are increasing, but many "budget-priced" sets in the 42-inch (and even some 26 and 50-inch) screen size are 720p sets.

One factor to consider in favor of LCD over Plasma (at least for the near future) is that if you are looking for a smaller screen television, Plasma TVs have not been available in screen sizes below 42-inches for some time now.

One other factor to consider is that LCD TVs are typically lighter (when comparing same screen sizes) than their Plasma counterparts, making wall installation easier.

Briefly:

• Very compact and light.
• Low power consumption.
• No geometric distortion.
• Little or no flicker depending on backlight technology.
• Not affected by screen burn-in.
• Can be made in almost any size or shape.
• No theoretical resolution limit.

Disadvantages

 LCD TVs do have drawbacks in several areas vs Plasma televisions: Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, not as good at tracking motion (although this is improving, especially with the implementation of 120 Hz refresh rates (and some now offer 240 Hz on higher-end models).

Also, although LCD TVs do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you. Finally, large screen LCD televisions are usually more expensive than an equivalent-sized Plasma television, although the price gap is closing.

Briefly:

• Limited viewing angle, causing color, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary, even within the intended viewing angle, by variations in posture.
• Bleeding and uneven backlighting in some monitors, causing brightness distortion, especially toward the edges.
• Smearing and ghosting artifacts caused by slow response times (>8 ms) and "sample and hold" operation.
• Only one native resolution. Displaying resolutions either requires a video scaler, lowering perceptual quality, or display at 1:1 pixel mapping, in which images will be physically too large or won't fill the whole screen.
• Fixed bit depth, many cheaper LCDs are only able to display 262,000 colors. 8-bit S-IPS panels can display 16 million colors and have significantly better black level, but are expensive and have slower response time.
• Low bit depth results in images with unnatural or excessive contrast.
• Input lag
• Dead or stuck pixels may occur during manufacturing or through use.
• In a constant-on situation, thermalization may occur, which is when only part of the screen has overheated and looks discolored compared to the rest of the screen.
• Not all LCDs are designed to allow easy replacement of the backlight.
• Cannot be used with light guns/pens.
• Loss of contrast in high temperature environments.

My advice
My recommendation is to go to a dealer and really take a look carefully at several Plasma and LCD televisions and compare the performance based on the above factors and narrow down your choices to one or two of both types and make your decision based on what type will give you the most pleasing image, connection flexibility, and fits your overall budget expectations.

LCD TV left, Plasma TV right.