Residential Interior Design

Just when consumers thought they understood the issues of LCD vs. Plasma displays, a new technology, LED, is emerging to make our purchasing decisions more complex. In this article, you'll find out if you should jump into those already appearing holiday prices or wait for this newly announced technology to become more widespread. Let's get started.

Let's begin with Plasma which is experiencing a slow, inevitable demise.  For absolute picture quality, Plasma wins, hands down.  Like the VHS / Betamax wars, technical superiority is only part of the equation. Plasma technology, relative to LCD, is a one trick pony. Its only use is in TV displays while every notebook PC creates R&D dollars to enhance LCD quality and drive prices down.  If you're a video connoisseur, Plasmas deeper blacks won't disappoint. However, you'll discover the advantages over LCD are shrinking. This has forced industry pioneers Fujitsu and Pioneer out of the market. This leaves Samsung, and Panasonic. The latter company just announced availability of a $30,000 80" model even as they increase their selection of LCD displays.  My recommendation is to purchase a Plasma if you like see the visual advantages. Act quickly as the number of choices is decreasing.

The real story is LCD's ability to continually reinvent itself and consumer mindset.  Let's cover the mindset angle first.  Consumers buy very few floor standing speakers and are instead opting for SoundBars and In-wall speakers.  Floor standers clearly sound better, but their obtrusive presence is falling out of favor with most consumers.  They're making a compromise.  These stonehenges may sound better, but most consumers put a premium on aesthetics over audio quality.

Back to LCD technology. PC suppliers are creating less expensive displays even as they overcome previous picture quality limitations.  Even modestly priced notebooks are sporting High Definition LCD displays.  Beyond quality enhancements, consumers are seeing value in LCD's lower power consumption, lighter weight, and adaptability to gaming systems like the increasingly popular Wii. With 46" displays approaching $800 and 52" closing in on $1,200, the marketplace is voting overwhelmingly for LCD.

So what about LED, the technology behind super thin displays from Samsung, LG, Sharp, and others? They are attractive, but priced at a premium. Light Emitting Diodes are really a different way to light an LCD display although the big players are trying to tout this as a "completely" new technology.  Understandably, they don't want LCD's continual price erosion to affect LED profit margins. That's fine. Just be aware there's some creative use of language in their advertising. My recommendation is to tread lightly and wait until spring of 2010 to purchase one of these skinny delights.  They don't leave a lot of room for the circuitry to product picture excellence or ports to connect your equipment. Also, 2010 will be LEDs first full year out and you can expect prices to fall and many of the anticipated shortcomings to be worked out. Finally, the Consumer Electronics Show is just around the corner, and new LED styles may make current models look dated. Stick with LCD or Plasma for the time being.

I hope this overview provides some clarity when you're viewing an endless wall of displays or a Sunday ad.  It's hard to see the market dynamics at play.  If you have any questions or comments, just contact me, and I'll be happy to respond.

James Stout

Bay Area Gadgets

www.bayareagadgets.com

james@bayareagadgets.com

Every design style eventually runs its course.  These styles are influenced by architects, designers, consumer demand and available materials.  In the last 7 to 10 years there has been a shift away from exterior and interior wall covering mediums such as brick, wooden siding and paneling and stucco towards more decorative and aesthetic products such as stone thin veneer products

The advent of natural stone thin veneers which are ¾" to 1 ¼" thick and fall below the 15lb per square foot dead load limit on walls, make it an ideal material for the design theme of a new home or as that special ingredient for a remodel.  Natural stone, in all its variations in size, color and texture can either blend into a room's décor or make a very strong statement to the design identity.

As with many mediums, imitation and substitute products have been developed.  As these products gain acceptance in the marketplace questions arise as to which product is more viable and especially in these slower economic time, most economically feasible.

To answer that question, one really has to look at the new paradigm of the building industry of the sustainable building trend.  The new materials and systems are not only friendlier to the environment but are being made to last longer and function more efficiently.  This is one reason that stone veneers are specified more often now than in the recent past.

Two types of stone veneers have emerged; natural (real) stone and manufactured stone.  Natural stone is self explanatory.  It is a naturally formed product that is quarried for veneers and has had some type of fabrication done to it to shape it and bring out the inner, un-weathered color of the stone.  The durability and value based on resale of a property has made it the sought after product.

Manufactured stone is generally made of a cast concrete based product that is either face-dyed or painted to resemble various natural stone formations.  Manufactured stone has been marketed as a less expensive alternative to natural stone.  Until recent innovations in manufacturing natural stone, that statement was true.

So the question pops up, "Which do I use?"  When you tally up the pros and cons of the two in today's sustainable market combined with the lowering costs of the natural stone, it becomes readily apparent that the real stone thin veneers have taken front stage in the market.  Even more importantly, you will get a product that will stand the test of time in a world where doing things once helps save future resources and time.

So, as you are making those design changes now and finding yourself less inclined to using the older mediums such as brick or wood siding, you want to set up your home so that you won't have to come back and redo a project down the road.  You also will be making a real design statement while increasing durability and dependability by using natural stone.  After all, not every stone nowadays is a real stone.

Granite Rock Cupertino Design Center

Jim Christensen

www.GraniteRock.com