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Filtering electrical power supply noise to improve picture quality
Atlantean
30-08-2008
Not exactly sure what I am on about here. I was in DID Electrical the other day having a look around when I saw something that caught my eye. They had 2 LCD's on display showing the same picture. One was a tad fuzzy while the other was pin sharp!

The reason for the sharpness on one was apparently because they had a device which filtered out noise from the power supply powering it!

I was skeptical about this but I didn't get a chance to investigate it. Can a 240V supply be filtered to improve picture quality in such a way?
Nigel Goodwin
30-08-2008
Originally Posted by Atlantean:
“Not exactly sure what I am on about here. I was in DID Electrical the other day having a look around when I saw something that caught my eye. They had 2 LCD's on display showing the same picture. One was a tad fuzzy while the other was pin sharp!

The reason for the sharpness on one was apparently because they had a device which filtered out noise from the power supply powering it!

I was skeptical about this but I didn't get a chance to investigate it. Can a 240V supply be filtered to improve picture quality in such a way?”

No, the poor one was probably Composite (or even RF), the good one will have been RGB , Component, or HDMI.

Sounds to me like a scam to sell expensive mains conditioners!
Atlantean
30-08-2008
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“
Sounds to me like a scam to sell expensive mains conditioners! ”

Kind of what I was thinkin as well! I was about to have a look to see what cables they had used but unfortunately a friend of mine spotted me and came over to chat and I forgot about it.
-GONZO-
30-08-2008
Monster Power have them built into some of their surge protectors.
Nigel Goodwin
31-08-2008
Originally Posted by -GONZO-:
“Monster Power have them built into some of their surge protectors.”

Never buy anything with 'monster' in the name

'Monster' refers solely to the price!.
+3dB
31-08-2008
With analogue, especially audio, it's well worth using decently shielded signal cables to minimise interference from any source including mains.

It's also worth considering surge protection to safeguard your valuable equipment from the effects of lightning strikes and the like.

However, the notion that you could improve a digital picture by filtering the TV's mains supply is laughable. Personally I'd be inclined to have a word with Trading Standards about the display described in the opening post.
Glawster2002
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by +3dB:
“However, the notion that you could improve a digital picture by filtering the TV's mains supply is laughable. Personally I'd be inclined to have a word with Trading Standards about the display described in the opening post.”

But on the other hand the clock circuitry will be powered from the mains so, if the mains transformer isn't very good, that could lead to clock jitter which could well affect the displayed picture, so I wouldn't be 100% dismissive.
Atlantean
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by Glawster2002:
“But on the other hand the clock circuitry will be powered from the mains so, if the mains transformer isn't very good, that could lead to clock jitter which could well affect the displayed picture, so I wouldn't be 100% dismissive.”

I would imagine it would have to be way out to make such a dramatic difference which I witnessed in the store!
niall campbell
01-09-2008
on a high end Hi-Fi system it does help with the sound and with the picture? doubt it

if you could beg/borrow someone elses to try it out then you would see

did you ask the shop to swap it over in front of you? then you would be able to see
Glawster2002
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by Atlantean:
“I would imagine it would have to be way out to make such a dramatic difference which I witnessed in the store!”

I agree it would have to be, but you'd be surprised at how little jitter is needed on some equipment to cause problems.

Originally Posted by niall campbell:
“on a high end Hi-Fi system it does help with the sound and with the picture? doubt it”

I've certainly heard demonstrations to verify that, although I think you have to weigh up how much improvement you hear compared to how much it would cost to get the benefit!
Nigel Goodwin
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by Glawster2002:
“I've certainly heard demonstrations to verify that, although I think you have to weigh up how much improvement you hear compared to how much it would cost to get the benefit!”

I can only imagine that such demonstrations are rigged
Glawster2002
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“I can only imagine that such demonstrations are rigged ”

It certainly wasn't rigged, there was a definite improvement to the sound.

However, as I say, it's up to the individual to decide whether they think the cost is worth it for the improvement they hear.
+3dB
01-09-2008
Fair enough, if you have convinced yourself that there's a difference then I'm not going to tell you how to spend your hard-earned money.
Chorley Matt
01-09-2008
I often wonder how many of these people would hear the difference if they didn't know which setup supposedly had the fancy cables on it?
Nigel Goodwin
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by Chorley Matt:
“I often wonder how many of these people would hear the difference if they didn't know which setup supposedly had the fancy cables on it?”

Funny how none of these companies can pass independent blind tests
LCDMAN
01-09-2008
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“Funny how none of these companies can pass independent blind tests ”

Viz, the coathanger vs oxygen-free-bulshot-ripoff cable article I read somewhere (here at DS?) where the coathanger won!!
Geoff_W
01-09-2008
Check out www.russandrews.com if you want to see how much you could pay to improve your mains quality!

Geoff
Glawster2002
02-09-2008
Originally Posted by +3dB:
“Fair enough, if you have convinced yourself that there's a difference then I'm not going to tell you how to spend your hard-earned money.”

All I'm doing is saying that when I listened to a demonstration there was a difference in the sound output with different mains filters demonstrated. There was no "convincing" required as some filters made more of a difference than others.

As to whether I would purchase one, well that's a different matter and, as you rightly say, no business of anyone else.
niall campbell
02-09-2008
`yes filtered mains for sound does work

I heard it on a Linn hi fi and definetly works. However I doubt very much if it would work on my Aiwa cheapo one.

you would have to ask the guy in front of you to swap over the power sockets.
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