Going green, or being sustainable seem to be trendy names these days as the society has done everything to change products so that they’ll have a more environment friendly appeal. Today there are electric cars, solar panel housing, and recycling centers for all types of materials (cardboard, paper, aluminum, and electronics) and with all this green hysteria it appears that technology has put another strong green foot forward with the development of OLED or electronic light emitting diode television screens. No the OLED isn’t a new surging brand market name, but a type of television screen that in a few years will strongly compete with the common LCD, liquid crystal displays and plasma television screens.

So what is OLED and how does it work?

Well, OLED works with a series of electroluminescent layers composed of a film of organic compounds which are placed between two electrical conductors. Electrical current is applied to the conductors and a bright light is emitted from the film.

What are the advantages of an OLED television compared to an LCD television?

The first advantage of an OLED television is that unlike LCD televisions it does not have a backlight. This means that an OLED television can have deeper black levels and be thinner and much lighter. Some screens measure to be 3mm thick which is a futuristic contrast to the clunky big LCD screen televisions. OLED televisions also have a faster refresh rate, better contrast and better color reproduction. OLEDs have higher natural contrast ratios because they use cold cathode fluorescent lamps. The greater artificial contrast ratio is measured in primarily dark conditioned settings. Another advantage of OLED televisions is the viewing angle. An OLED has an almost 190 degree viewing angle as the color pixels don’t seem to shift with the viewers position to the screen.

One of the biggest advantages of an OLED television is the decrease in power consumption. The OLED is a green friendly innovation which consumes no light and therefore doesn’t need to power a backlight. They also contain no bad metals in order to be produced. They’re organic illuminating machines, which continue to challenge the future of television screen technology. With OLED it might not be a surprise to see flexible and transparent screens which can be rolled up to make a circle and appear almost invisible when not in use. What appears to be a bare wall can transform into a mega big screen entertainment center with the click of a switch.

OLED screens are already being used for commercial products such as cell phone screens, digital audio players, car radios and digital cameras but it is just a matter of time before this green technology explodes on the scene for the general television consumer. What a world it will be when OLED television screens are used for anything from a family television set, to a portable visual screen for a tee shirt. With OLED television technology going green will become more and more of an increasing trend due to the visual capabilities accompanied by innovative environmental practice.

Take a look at Atacama’s range of TV Stands to compliment your brand new TV.

Every year, the shows displaying the world’s latest and most exciting technology offer consumers a glimpse into the future. Some time ago, the HD television sets must have been thrilling show pieces. Today, they are a fixture in so many homes that they are barely worth mentioning. However, there is no shortage of hopes and dreams of the tech-obsessed consumer. One of the latest crazes – which is one of the oldest crazes – is 3D technology. In actuality, it may be in homes much sooner than most people think.

Why All the Fuss?

You can call it a coincidence or just a happy accident, but it seems more than a little curious that this phenomenon is on the brink of mass distribution just when the biggest movie of all time is using 3D technology. There is no reason to dream up a conspiracy theory, however. As far back as the 1950s, movie theaters were filled with bobby soxers getting their fill of 3D films. Would the clumsy UFOs land on earth and attack the local citizens? Would the Martians wandering across the cardboard cutout landscape take over and alter life forever as we know it? These now hilarious concepts were preoccupying moviegoers back then, who were more than happy to strap on their 3D glasses and visit this strange and enchanting world.

So now, more than half a century has passed. Do viewers still need those hokey glasses to see a 3D film? The answer is yes, but the difference is in the work itself. Anyone who has been near a newspaper or television set in recent times is aware of the fact that Avatar is the most expensive film ever made and was crafted using this 3D technology. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive and the Avatar craze has definitively swept the world. The next step, as all would anticipate, would be to enjoy this same experience within the home. When will it arrive?

The Latest Notices on 3D Tech at Home

The arrival of 3D tech in the home is in many ways like the arrival of most other impossibly sophisticated concepts. You wait and wait, but they never seem to arrive. Then one day a company figures out a way to get it done and the lid is blown off the project. Before anyone knows it, they are accepting deposits on 3D home projectors in advance of the date they go on sale. Then the public sits back and sees if this version of the technology is enough to carry the day for good.

While most people thought 3D tech would arrive in the home around 2015 or after, that date has been pushed up considerably. In fact, everyone is already jockeying for position, especially the television networks. If the technology exists, what will people watch? Avatar cannot captivate the world, forever, so there must be a regular slate of programming to accommodate this demand. It seems like the most natural subjects will be the first to get their shot in 3D: space travel, nature and – oh yeah – sports. The technology is apparently already in place, so the day the equipment goes into mass production and ends up in homes, there will be material to watch.

With sports, there will naturally be an endless supply of material, with the audience clamoring for more every day if the returns are as expected. Most people have a limited amount of time and energy for nature programming: it is awe-inspiring, but in the end it doesn’t hold one’s interest for good. Hence the fact that none of the major networks have yet to cut local news programs so they can be replaced by Shots From the Sahara or another vision of an exotic locale. In that respect, when critics say that Avatar has changed cinema forever, they may be right. Once a large number of homes are ready for it, filmmakers will want to get their movies onto those screens.

The Technology Already in Existence

Most people are not surprised to hear that 3D television sets have already been produced and have been on display at a number of the tech shows around the world. However, what about the brilliant HD TV that many people have only recently bought? Well, it’s true that the tech habit can be an expensive one. As soon as a newer, better form of the same product becomes available, people begin wondering what to do with the ‘old’ one. Can HD TV sets be transformed into 3D-capable machines? While some companies have tried to pull off this trick, the only realistic solution seems to be creating an entirely new 3D model TV. Shortcuts may be possible, but it will probably complicate things and end up delivering less than ideal results.

So anyone looking to jump on board will have to shed their equipment and take a step up into the 3D world from scratch. Fortunately, analysts expect the effect to be similar to that of switching from normal television sets to HD TV. One day, you are watching a film or sporting event and want to yawn, the next day you are wondering where all the magic came from while you see it in HD. The 3D format will take it to the point where a ball will literally seem to fly into one’s plane of vision, or a car drive into the living room. While HD televisions and programming made everything clearer and more thrilling, it could not bring the action into one’s personal space.

The skeptics will appear and campaign against such a format, citing the nausea-inducing effects 3D technology can have. Some people do get a little queasy when watching a 3D film, and as of yet, glasses are guaranteed to be part of the bargain. The question may be whether or not enough people will be willing to don the glasses and sit back on the couch being moved to and fro by an action hero or football star. In the world of video games, the answer has already been a resounding ‘yes.’ Most 3D developers are banking on the same verdict in households everywhere with regular television programming.

No matter when or how 3DTV reaches our living rooms, you can rely on Atacama Audio to provide the best TV Stands for you to place it on!

Music fans young and old have been brought together in grief by the news of the tragic death of one of the most iconic figures in music history. With a career that spans nearly 40 years, all of our record collections include tracks by, or at the very least inspired by the unrivalled King of Pop – Michael Jackson.

Signed to Berry Gordy’s Motown Records aged only 11 years old & the fronting face of The Jackson 5 – their first hit I’ll Be There was released in 1969 and since then he has been one of the most instantly recognisable sounds in the industry.

His solo career launched a fresh & different sound to his music & his 1979 record Off the Wall is arguably his greatest album, with legendary tracks like ‘Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough’ the inspiration behind the careers of this generation’s pop greats like Usher & Justin Timberlake.

Michael Jackson was a master of transformation - reinventing himself yet again for the 1982 album Thriller, this time with a bigger, edgier sound & collaborating with rock legend Eddie Van Halen on Beat It. Almost every single track on the album was a huge hit & the record sold millions, more than any before it and more than 25 years later no album has sold more since.

Albums such as Bad & Dangerous followed, but unfortunately as time went on, his personal battles grappled the limelight from his musical talent.

Not only reknowned worldwide for his music – Michael Jackson was a pioneering figure in the use of music video. His 14 minute long mini-movie for Thriller has been named the greatest music video ever made & also the most expensive production of its time, costing half a million US dollars to make.

Michael’s highly-anticipated comeback tour sold out after only minutes of being on sale earlier this year & the sense of loss felt by many fans will be further tinged by the fact that they were only days away from seeing their hero perform live, for many of them for the first time in their lives.

Although Michael Jackson’s life & career has been cut tragically short - his legendary sound has inspired many of today’s performers, like R Kelly, Estelle, P Diddy, Madonna, Fall out Boy & The Black Eyed Peas. In the words of The Bee-Gees’ Robin Gibb: “He had a great voice and millions of people yet to be born will sing his songs…One consolation is that he will triumph by his legacy.”

The thoughts of everybody at Atacama Audio are with Michael Jackson’s family.

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How many people have gone out and purchased incredibly cutting-edge electronics equipment (say, for their home theater system) at a very significant price, only to get home and have absolutely no clue as to which cables go where, what kinds of cables are needed, and how everything gets properly hooked up? Audio/video (AV) cables are one of the most common sources of consternation among the non-technologically savvy demographic of the population, which is a clear and overwhelming majority of people in the country, and throughout the world.

When dealing with AV cables, most people don’t have the slightest clue as to what the different colors mean, what the words on the back panels of the equipment stand for, and what the different jacks (both male and female; another area of confusion) are all about. The first and most important thing that anyone can do when trying to set up audio/video equipment is to READ THE MANUAL BEFOREHAND—there is no surer way to have a clue than to do so, period. Nonetheless, this article will seek to appease those obstinate souls that simply refuse to even break the plastic cover of the user’s manual, as well as supplement the knowledge of those that tried reading it, but could not absorb its super condensed and techie-sounding jargon.

The most common AV cable combination comes in the form of one single cable with three male jacks on either end—male jacks are the ones on a cable itself; female jacks are the ones on the back panel of the equipment, into which the male jack is inserted—each of which has a distinct color from the rest. The yellow jack is the video jack, and it carries video images alone. The white jack is the left audio (stereo audio systems are composed of two channels, left and right, unlike the single channel of mono audio systems) connection, and the red jack is the right audio connection. The two ends of such an AV cable (in reality three cables, two for audio and one for video, but that have been placed inside the same plastic insulation, effectively making them one for our purposes) are absolutely the same, and when connecting two separate devices (like a camcorder and a television) it does not matter which end of the cable you hook up to either apparatus. As long as you use one end for each device, and have placed the audio jacks where they belong and the video jack where it belongs (with no crossing over at all in this regard), then there is absolutely no difference in using one end or the other of the cable.

To fill out the color coding generally used for analog AV equipment, it is important to keep in mind that green represents the center audio channel, blue represents the left surround channel, gray represents the right surround channel, brown represents the left back surround channel, tan represents the right back surround channel, and purple represents the subwoofer channel.

The preceding descriptions are all applicable to analog audio and video cables; things get a little different when we’re talking about digital audio and video. Of course, digital technologies are booming and more homes and professionals are switching from analog to digital for their music, television, etc. Consequently, knowing which AV cables to use for your digital equipment is important. Color coding is used for digital jacks as well. With your digital audio cables, orange is used for the S/PDIF channel.

Digital video cables can come in a few different varieties, such as HDMI. You will want to use a high-quality digital video cable if you are connecting high-quality equipment like an HD TV to your high-def cable box or satellite decoder, but not to connect an old VCR to an old tube TV. You will only need high-quality AV cables if the content you are trying to play is also high-quality, and under no other circumstances. To try to capture this point with an allegory: if you bought yourself a $100,000 dollar top of the line sports car, would you want to outfit it with the cheapest possible tires? No, you wouldn’t!

Basically, you need to think of the fact that a good home audio/video system can’t be built using poor AV connections—and that’s what the cables are, they connect things. Poor quality cables can allow for serious issues with noise and interference in the signal coming from your source components, a situation which will have a significant and unpleasant effect on the quality of your viewing and listening experience. Cheap cables can often break or wear and tear easily in addition to providing a weak signal.

It is always important to measure the distances you need your cables to be and buy extensions of a similar if not exact distance; you can go down to an electronics store and the employees will be able to cut you an exact length of cable and add the jacks afterwards. If you are going to do an in-wall installation of your cables, then you will really want to make sure that the cables are of a higher quality. Though it is not demanded by law, it is a very good idea to only put UL-rated cables into your walls, as these have been tested and have proven to meet certain safety standards, which means you won’t need to be worrying about your home! Try going for nothing less than CL2 or CL3 cables for in-wall installation.

To recap, know that if you are working with cutting edge home electronics equipment, you need to make sure that your AV cables are high-quality; otherwise you will be failing to take advantage of the inherent benefits of your superior home entertainment technology. Always make sure that you have inserted the cables into the correct jacks and that you are obeying the color coding of these, when applicable (which will not necessarily always be the case). Remember that for the best final results, every link in your audio/video chain needs to be as good as possible!

We are proud to announce that from January 2009 distribution of the Nordost range of cables, mains conditioners, interconnects and other products within the united Kingdom has been awarded to Atacama. Both companys share many core values, including having the ability to offer some of the best award winning accessory products available. For more information,please contact the Atacama sales office.

As part of our drive to engage with our clients, we’d be glad if you’d come and join us on our Facebook Page.

Facebook is a wonderful website for us as it enables us to talk to over 100 million people: we can share photos & videos with you, invite you to special events and talk to you about our products and help to make them better. We’d also like you to post your pictures and comments to the Facebook page so come & see us.

You can find the Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atacama-Audio/56705442316

The Atacama website has undergone a number of changes thorughout November and December. These changes have been aimed at making the site more user-friendly and to allow us to have a better conversation with our customers.

Among the new features of the site are:

• Increased Accessibility We aim to better cater to visitors of all abilities.
• Increased Interactivity We aim to have a conversation with our customers and to provide them with the best products possible. The best way to do this is to engage you at every step along the way.
• A Newsletter Visitors are welcome to sigh up to our periodical newsletter which will deliver all the latest Atacama information direct to their inbox.
• News Section This section gives up-to-date information on Atacama & their latest products and allows visitors to make comments and interact with the site.
• eCommerce Integration Atacama Audio fans can now make purchases direct from the website. Visitors simply navigate to the product that they want, click ‘Configure & Buy’ and they can get their favourite audio furniture at the touch of a button. There is also the option to ‘Buy Online’ at the top of each page.

We hope you enjoy the new-look site and look forward to hearing from you with whatever thoughts and comments you may have.

Welcome to the brand-new Atacama news section. This section will keep you up-to-date with the latest news and announcements from Atacama Audio and showcase the new products we are developing and the awards we are winning all the time for our design and innovation.

We look forward to recieving your comments on the site and on our news and to keeping in touch with you, our valued customers.

The Atacama Staff