Making The Right Choices With The Summer Infant Monitor

The Summer Infant monitor products include the widest selection of digital monitors on the market. Parents can choose from the Baby's Quiet Sounds Video Monitor, Day & Night Baby Video Monitor, Day & Night Color Flat Screen Video Monitor, Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor, Day & Night Color Flat Screen Video Monitor Set, Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor, Secure Sounds Digital Color Video Monitor w/ Remote Controlled Crib Soother, Best View Handheld Color Video Monitor or the Complete Coverage Color Video Monitor Set. These systems range from $119 to $298.

The Summer Infant monitor "Day & Night Video Monitor with 5-Inch Screen" is their least-expensive model. The picture only comes through in black and white, but the camera has LED lights to enable you to see in the dark room.

You can adjust the camera in any direction you need and mount it on the wall if you'd like. The 900 MHz technology ensures that you get clear sound quality that doesn't interfere with nearby electronics. Extra cameras are also available, as are handheld sound monitors, making this a versatile system.

Not everyone loves the Summer Infant monitor products. For instance, at Amazon, 19/194 consumers gave the "Handheld Color Video Monitor with 1.8-Inch Screen" a 1/5 stars in their baby monitor reviews.

One consumer worried about security, saying: "During setup, I had not yet plugged in the camera... yet when I turned on the handset, I could see someone else's crib." A few other consumers mention they heard static, crackling and popping through their monitors as they tried to sleep.

Several people reported that their rechargeable batteries died after 2 to 7 months, which meant they could only use the system if they plugged it in. One person went so far as to say, "Glad I got this as a gift, I can send it off to the recycling bin without attempting to get a refund."

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Finding Better Projector Screens

Much attention is given to choosing the right home theater projector. Do you want an LCD or a DLP projector? Will you buy a cheaper lamp that will burn out after 2,000 hours or a costly high-end lamp that is guaranteed for at least 60,000 hours?

Which manufacturer will you select? However, buying the projector is only one component of your home theater. Almost equally important are the projector screens, which affect resolution, contrast and color accuracy.

Next, you will have to consider screen surface to determine how sharp and bright your projected image will be. Matte white surfaces are the most popular option, offering fine and vivid detail. Smooth silver or white pearl surfaces are sometimes also used for the sharpest image for video or computer, although they're not recommended for overhead projectors because hotspots may appear.

Glass beaded surfaces may be used for video, slide and film projection, but cannot portray sharp minute detail needed for computer projection. If you're in a classroom with window light and you need a screen for video and slide projection only, then lenticular surfaces may focus projected light and deflect ambient light in the best way possible.

Now that you know what to look for, let's talk about some of the top projector screens below $500 on the market. The Elite EZ Frame White is a popular projection screen on the market for $420. Setting up the screen is easy and takes just over a half hour. The surface is perfectly smooth, although the seam in the horizontal frame bars is a bit unsightly.

The Elite White doesn't reflect very much light and is 17% brighter than comparable products, although the color balance is slightly cooler. Other top performing projection screens include: Grandview Fixed Frame White, Da-lite Screen Company's Affinity HD or the Stewart Grayhawk RS.

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Finding Online Home Theater Projectors Reviews

It's clear now that high definition is certainly the way of the future. America is full of film buffs, so it's natural that nearly every household would love to have a fancy big-screen HDTV. Unfortunately, the hefty price tag of LCD television sets and plasma screen TVs are still out of reach for many consumers.

Home theater projectors can cost up to $10,000 just for the projection unit; however, there are also high-quality units that cost less than $2,000 and rival the television technology. Let's take a look at a few of the models that have garnered positive feedback this year.

Another review site, www.projectorreviews.com, wrote up a report of the best 1080p home theater projectors out this year. According to site editor, Art Feierman, the best video projectors under $2,100 are: the Epson Home Cinema 6100 3LCD, the InFocus X10 DLP projector, the Mitsubishi HC5500 3LCD, the Sanyo PLV-Z700 3LCD and the Optoma HD806 DLP projector.

The best projectors between $2,100 and $3,500 are: the BenQ W5000 DLP projector, the Epson Home Cinema 6500UB 3LCD/7000/7500UB, the Optoma HD8200 DLP projector, the Panasonic PT-AE3000 3LCD, the Mitsubishi HC6500 3LCD/HC7000 3LCD, the Sanyo PLV-Z3000 3LCD, the Sony VPL-HW10 LCoS or the Viewsonic Pro8100 DLP projector.

As for luxury projectors from $3,500 to $10,000, Feierman recommends the BenQ W20000 LCoS, the JVC DLA-RS10 LCoS/JVC DLA-RS20 LCoS, the InFocus IN82/IN83 DLP projector, the Optoma HD8000-LV DLP projector, the Planar 8150 DLP, the Sharp XV-Z20000 DLP projector or the Sony VPL-VW70.

There are several new technologies for home theater projectors that have come out in recent years. One of the most significant is creative frame interpolation, which reduces motion blur. If you watch a lot of action flicks or sports, try the Panasonic PT-AE3000, the Epson Home Cinema 6500UB, the Epson Pro Cinema 7500UB or the Sanyo PLV-Z3000.

Anamorphic lens emulation is another noteworthy feature found in the Panasonic's PT-AE3000, the Epson Pro Cinema 7100 and the Epson Pro Cinema 7500UB. This lens can stretch an image further horizontally to fit the screen for HDTV content and wide screen movies. A less expensive pseudo-anamorphic lens can be found in the revolutionary Panasonic PT-AE3000.

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