Carters Audio Video Wins

Heather — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:17:58 +0000

Carters Audio Video won the award for 2nd best booth at the 2012 Fort Smith Home Show. We were very excited and were not expecting it. Our goal was to showcase our product and give our customers the very best live, in-home experience. We want to thank everyone who came by and the members of the Fort Smith Home Builder’s association. We appreciate the opportunity and hope to see you soon!

First place went to a company that built an entire home inside the expo.

Fort Smith Home Show This Weekend

Heather — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:34:24 +0000

Carters Audio Video will be showcasing lots of new products at the Home show this weekend!

Come by and sign up to win a BRAND NEW Red-Eye Remote Control system…check this system out here.

Fort Smith Homebuilders Annual Home Show
at the Fort Smith, Arkansas, Convention Center exhibition hall.

Friday, February 10th, 2pm until 8pm
Saturday, February 11th, 10am until 7pm
Sunday, February 12th, Noon until 4pm

Why Color Calibration?

Heather — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:46:31 +0000

Color Calibration can give you the best possible color combination for image viewing on your TV or Projector for your space. Normally, TV’s out of the box are calibrated for a showroom floor, not a normal living room or theater room space.

From CNet.com…

“Professional calibrations almost always involve a few common steps aimed at improving the image. Many of these require accessing the display’s internal service menu and measuring the image with test equipment–two reasons why the service calls for a trained professional. We strongly advise against tampering with the internal service menu unless you know what you’re doing.

Here are the services included in a typical calibration:

Direct-view and flat-panel TVs: Setting the grayscale to the NTSC standard of 6,500 Kelvin, improving color accuracy of the entire palette; set contrast, brightness, color, and so on using test patterns designed specifically for each of these controls; optimize overscan and picture position, enabling display of more of the incoming picture; correct “red push” in the color decoder when possible; optimize all DVD input sources using DVD test patterns and HDTV input using an HDTV test-pattern signal generator.

Rear-projection and front-projection TVs: All of the above for non-CRT displays; for CRTs, also converge all aspect ratios and focus the three guns to maintain image sharpness.One of the most important components of professional TV service–and one that definitely requires special gear–is grayscale calibration. This procedure equalizes the color of gray at various light levels, from very dark to very bright, at the NTSC standard color temperature (a.k.a. white balance) of 6,500 degrees Kelvin, or D6500K. DVDs are created to be displayed at that color temperature, so if your TV is set to 6,500K, you’re that much closer to seeing the image the director intended.”

Call Carters today to have your home entertainment system calibrated to the best possible picture for your space.

Spotlight: Red-Eye Remote

Heather — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:09:28 +0000

The new Red-Eye remote by Thinkflood is one of the most popular new products that Carters A/V is currently carrying.

Get your Redeye Remote from Carters for $299* installed!

From Thinkflood’s Website:

RedEye: control for the whole family

RedEye connects to your home Wi-Fi network, allowing anyone in your house with a smartphone, tablet, or PC to control your home theater. RedEye automatically synchronizes information across all these devices, so you can pick up right where the last person left off. Now in an updated design, RedEye includes an infrared out port so you can easily stow it in a cabinet and still control your TV.

Personal.

Each person in your house can use her own smartphone, tablet, or PC as a controller, and more than one controller can interact with your gear simultaneously.

Simple.

One touch launches any activity – watch TV, listen to music, play a video. And custom screen layouts for each activity mean you never have to hunt for the right button.

Smart.

Multi-touch and motion gestures, free software updates, backup to a PC, integrated TV program guide, all for a fraction of the price of other professional systems.

*Some restrictions may apply
CALL CARTERS TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION…

What is THX certification?

Heather — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:27:34 +0000

Have you ever seen a TV or other A/V equipment that says THX certified and wonder what that means? Are THX certified products better? How can the average consumer benefit from THX certification? These are all questions we hope to answer with this week’s product spotlight.

What is THX?

THX stands for “Tomlinson Holman’s eXperiment,” and it is an industry standard for sound reproduction developed by its namesake at Lucasfilm studios.

For speaker systems, THX Certification is meant to ensure that the sound produced by an audio system (most often 5.1 Surround Sound) is heard in exactly the manner that the audio engineer intended, thus making the standard an intensely popular feature for Hollywood sound artists.

For TV’s it means each TV and projector has gone through a rigorous design and laboratory testing process, which includes more than 400 data points to ensure exceptional image quality and signal processing performance in your home theater.

THX is mainly a quality assurance system.

Where did THX come from?

THX is a trade name of a high-fidelity audio/visual reproduction standard for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, and car audio systems. The current THX was created in 2001 when it spun off from Lucasfilm Ltd. THX was developed by Tomlinson Holman at George Lucas’s company, Lucasfilm, in 1983 to ensure that the soundtrack for the third Star Wars film, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, would be accurately reproduced in the best venues. THX was named after Holman, with the “X” standing for “crossover” as well as a homage to Lucas’s first film, THX 1138.

What are the Key Benefits of THX Certification?

Exclusive THX Movie Mode: Comes as close as possible to reproducing the HD Color Standard used by filmmakers in the studio with THX Movie Mode.
Smooth motion for every type of content: THX certification improves de-interlacing and scaling performance, ensuring smooth motion for action-oriented content.
Optimized video scaling: Presents all content in the best resolution possible, including standard definition video.
Sports fans and home theater junkies often complain of jaggy lines and image softening when a TV’s motion becomes too intense. THX works closely with manufacturers to minimize these types of distracting artifacts, letting you experience clean, smooth motion and vivid colors with every frame.

At Carters we carry a full line of THX certified products ranging from LG TV’s to receivers and speakers, you can have a full THX certified theater in your home, call us today!

479-646-5901

The New Plasma = Quality and Longevitiy

Heather — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:23:11 +0000

There has been some rumors in the past about Plasma TVs being a bad investment, often when we visit with our customers, they will questions us about Plasma TVs, because they have heard negative things about them. As with all technology, TVs are advancing so quickly that the manufacturers are constantly making improvements and the Plasma TV is definitely one of those improvements. Consumer reports has this to say about Plasma TVs: ” Despite reports you might have read about plasma’s allegedly short life span… plasma sets should last a good 10 years or more in normal use.” They go on to list the main reasons why someone may want to purchase a Plasma TV:

Why buy a plasma TV?

To get more bang for the buck

Plasma sets tend to cost a bit less than comparably sized LCD TVs, so the same budget could buy you a bigger screen. That’s especially true of 720p plasmas, which are often exceptional bargains.

To enjoy a movie-theater experience

A good plasma TV’s deep black levels and strong contrast can provide rich, natural-looking images with a more dimensional, cinematic look than an LCD offers. None of the LCD sets we’ve tested, including the LED-backlit models, have those same characteristics. And even LCDs that have strong blacks and contrast tend to lose them unless viewed from dead center. Also, on certain LCD sets, uneven brightness from the backlight can create cloudy areas in darker scenes that can be distracting.

For the best overall 3D quality

The attributes that give plasma displays their cinematic look also help with 3D content. So far, our tests of 3D plasma and LCD TVs have shown that plasma sets typically do a better job than LCD sets of presenting clear, sharp three-dimensional images with full HD detail and minimal ghosting.

For a wide viewing angle

With a plasma TV, as with a picture-tube set, the picture looks the same from almost any angle. That’s a big plus if a TV will be watched by a number of people sitting around a room. Most LCD TVs still look their best only from a limited “sweet spot” in front of the screen. Generally, as you move off to the side, the picture quality of an LCD screen degrades. The image can dim, lose contrast, look washed out, or lose color accuracy as you angle away from the center of the screen. Vertical position also matters, for example if you’re sitting on the floor or watching a set that’s mounted above a mantel. Some new LCD TVs have a somewhat wider viewing angle than the typical set of this type, but few if any maintain off-angle picture quality as well as a plasma.

For blur-free motion

In general, plasma sets are better than LCD TVs at displaying fast motion with no blurring. In our tests of LCDs with the typical 60Hz refresh rate, using special images designed to reveal this problem, we saw blurred edges, smeared details, and problems with detail on the worst performers. Most LCD sets with 120Hz or 240Hz did better than 60Hz sets, displaying less blur. Casual viewers might not notice any blur in TV programming with little motion, such as news and talk shows, but it might be apparent–though fleeting–in sports, movies, and video games. Note that the anti-blur feature on LCD sets is sometimes linked to motion smoothing, which can give film-based movies a video effect you might not like. The only way to restore the film look is to turn off the anti-blur feature.

To see the original Consumer reports article, click here.

Why is technology so important in a church setting?

Heather — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:43:58 +0000

Technology has advanced so much in the last few years, it is only natural for churches to learn to incorporate these new innovations into their worship services. If you wonder why its so important, then lets begin by looking at a few statistics that may surprise you…

According to the Nielson company:

99% of US households own at least one TV
In US households, the TV is on an average of 6 hours per day.
The youth in America watch TV an average of 1500 hours per year

According to research by Pew Internet

Over 69% of teens 12-17 have their own computer
80% of teens in the US that are 12-17 have a game console
The percentage of adults in the US who owned some sort of tablet computer (such as an Ipad) grew from 3% to 8% in one year

As you can see in these statistics, TV, Video, electronic media, video games, and the internet are a normal way of life for this generation, they are used to stimulation that comes in all forms electronic, why should church be any different? As we know from past history, change is inevitable and although some may see these electronic mediums as distractions or negative influences, they can and must be used for good. At Carters Audio Video, we understand all forms of technology that are available today, including:

Projectors
Screens
Televisions
Stage Lighting
House Lighting
Sound
Mixers
Speakers
Computers
Editing programs
Computer imaging systems (such as Mediashout)
Video production
and much more…

All of the employees and technicians at Carters AV are on staff or volunteer in their own home churches, we understand the specific needs a church may have, we will help you find what you want and advise you on product so your church does not buy more than they need for their desired results. There are options available for every size of church with every size of budget.

Call us if you have any questions or would like to set-up a free consultation.

“The Church welcomes technological progress and receives it with love, for it is an indubitable fact that technological progress comes from God and, therefore, can and must lead to Him.” – Pius XII Pacelli

JBL MR918 MR938 Speakers For Sale

Heather — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:46:22 +0000

We have a set of 8 JBL speakers for sale…4-MR918 Subwoofers and 4-MR938 Speakers. These speakers were used for live production and have some nicks and dings on them, all work except for 1 of the subs needs a new driver. We can replace the driver for an additional $250, otherwise sold as -is.

All 8 speakers for $1500

Christian Valley Church Install

Heather — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:59:16 +0000

Congratulations to Christian Valley Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas!

With the completion of their new building and complete installation of lighting, video, booth computer, and sound from CartersAV, they are ready for their first service in the new facility.

As you can see, we installed 2 brand new front projectors and a rear projector at the church, along with a full brand new sound system.

An LED lighting system adds some creative touches to the stage and makes for easy color changes to enhance the worship service in subtle or dramatic ways. Carters also installed a brand new computer built by our technicians exactly to the church’s specifications, complete with the latest version of MediaShout.

Thanks again to Christian Valley Church for allowing Carters to work alongside you in your new build, Blessings in your new facility!

LG 55″ 3D TV On SALE

Heather — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:45:15 +0000

We are re-doing our showroom so we have a Brand New LG 55″ 3D TV floor model that is currently marked down.

For $1995 you can have this TV delivered and mounted on your wall, call us at 479-646-5901

Key Features:

3D Ready TV*
LED Plus w/ Local Dimming
NetCast™ Entertainment Access (Wi-Fi Ready)*
Wireless 1080p Ready*
TruMotion 240Hz
Full HD 1080p Resolution
8M:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
Picture Wizard II (Easy Picture Calibration)
Smart Energy Saving