Ever dreamed of owning your own hot tub? Well now you can. 247electrical are proud to introduce the Lay-Z-Spa. The Lay-Z-Spa is a fully functioning hot tub for just £371.66 + Free Delivery.
The Lay-Z-Spa™ is an inflatable hot tub that can be used both indoors and outdoors. The Lay-Z-Spa™ is easy to set-up and requires no tools. Also included in the package is an easy to use digital control panel on the pump. This can be used for controlling the massage system, water filtration system and rapid heating system. A FREE DVD set up and maintenance guide, filter cartridges (twin pack) and a chemical floater also provided.
The Lay-Z-Spa comes in 2 sizes, 4 persons (£371.66) and 6 persons (£485.74). Both come with free delivery as standard as well as a one year manufacturer’s warranty.
The weather is getting hotter and so are our deals! Check out the Fridgemaster 12” Chrome Desk Fan with 90 degree oscillation and fully adjustable tilting head.
This fan has stylish aluminium blades, 3 speed settings and is whisper-quiet. This item also comes with free delivery and is accompanied by one year manufacturers warranty all for just £40.02
This month, winning by a mile is the White Knight 43AW 6Kg Integrated Dryer with Reverse Tumble Action – White. This dryer boasts 2 heat settings, reverse tumble action and mobility wheels.
The machine has adjustable legs to fit any integrated kitchen height and includes a vent kit as standard. The dryer is one of the quietest machines we sell making it suitable for night time use – even if you have very light sleeping neighbours.
The 43aw is also great value for money at under £190. All this plus one year manufacturers warranty. We even offer Free Delivery.
All of the above combined is the reason that the White Knight 43aw integrated tumble dryer has won the title of March 2011 product of the month.
One of the best things about shopping online is the ability to attend the January sales from the comfort of your home. Rather than face the busy high street, extra long queues at the check out, no parking spaces and lots of scattered goods on the shop floor, you can browse at your own pace, 24 hours a day and hunt for all the greatest bargains.
Shopping online in the January sales does require a bit of planning however - it may be as busy as the madness of high street shopping if you do not tackle it with a plan in mind.
First of all, you need to think about what sort of items you need and make a list of the shops and websites you want to visit. Next, make sure you have a set budget in mind – it is so easy to fill your online shopping basket with dozens of items and then realize you are way over budget when you reach the checkout. Check your basket regularly and keep a close eye on the total- if you can’t decide whether or not you should buy a particular item, pop it in your cart - this will stop it from being snapped up by another shopper and you always have the option to delete it from your basket at a later stage. Don’t forget that most shopping baskets expire and automatically be emptied if they are left idle after 15 minuets – this helps to keep as many items as possible available to other shoppers.
Once you have purchased your items make sure you keep the e-receipt in a very safe place and do not forget the double check the returns process just in case you need to send any items back. A lot of sale items will stipulate that they need to be returned in a shorter time frame than normal. There may extra rules when returning sale items such as a re-stocking fee or postage and packaging costs. This is because the retailer is already making huge savings in the January sale and may be faced with a loss if they need to re-stock the items.
If you follow the above guidelines you should have a much better online shopping experience and make some huge savings in this years January Sales.
Happy Shopping!
For those who have not yet settled on which high definition disc to invest in, this article will help bring several issues to light. First of all, the potential video and audio quality remain alike between both formats, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. The difference lies in the laser that reads the disc; where the former uses the identical red laser used to read DVDs, the latter employs a blue laser that reads only Blu-Ray. Both lasers can decode an identical amount of information, called the bitrate. A bitrate can be labeled as the amount of "bits" decoded per second. Generally, the higher the bitrate the higher the quality of video/audio. So a bitrate of, say, 30mbs (megabytes per second) should be preferable to a meager 10mbs. The average hi-def picture, with its superior clarity and contrast, can maintain a bitrate between 15mbs-35mbs; compare this with an ordinary DVD, which averages 2mbs-7mbs.
With its ability to store and transmit at a higher bitrate, hi-def media easily trumps the quality of DVD. This higher bitrate allows for less compression, and thus can retain most of the clarity from the original master print of a movie; whereas a DVD will look blown-up and fuzzy. But the differences between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray begin with how they can be played. HD-DVD players have the advantage of backward compatibility, as it can playback DVDs. Blu-Ray players cannot, due to their unique laser, which completely isolates it from older generation technology. But the advantages of Blu-Ray lay in its inherent differences.
Blu-Ray players come equipped with Java software, which some believe to allow more interactivity with the user. This gives it the ability to have fancier menus and in-depth bonus options, such as picture-in-picture display. At the moment, bugs and slow performance have hindered some confidence in its support of Java, where Bill Gates complained that it was not user friendly enough to be used in PCs. Counter this with HD-DVD, which uses Microsoft's own HDi Interactive Format. It allows anyone to author simple content, where Java requires a more intimate knowledge of scripting.
If all the information so far sounds redundant, it is. The only thing that can make or break a hi-def entertainment center does not stem from the format at all. In fact, it all depends on what you choose to display it on. Be weary of interlaced televisions. Rather than playing back video at 1080p (progressive), the user gets short-changed with 1080i (interlaced). Progressive scan means that the picture gets scanned upon each frame; this results in a properly displayed picture, like a solid photograph, with no aberrations. Interlacing occurs when no progressive scan exists in the television, and so the picture gets displayed as a series of individual lines rather than as a single, uniform "photograph." In short, the fine edges in a progressively scanned movie may otherwise appear to be jagged, or even fuzzy, on an interlaced display.
The only reason to get invested in the so-called format war would be to avoid a costly personal investment if "your" format ever loses. Blu-Ray may be considered to be the superior technology, as its unique blue laser, while radically different and incapable of DVD playback, allows for exciting future developments. HD-DVD, largely compatible and user-friendly, is considered by some to be a static technology. Lately, however, Toshiba released its plan to market the format as cheaper, practical alternative to Blu-Ray. And, in the event that you still cannot make up your mind, there exists a combo Blu-Ray/HD-DVD/DVD computer drive that sells for less than £300.
More and more people are shopping online for their printer and toner supplies. There are online stores that carry almost every brand name and accessory in existence. There are advantages and disadvantages of using an online source for these products, and a few things to watch out for while shopping as well. Here's a quick checklist of what to look for when buying printer and toner supplies online.
Check for Compatibility
The tricky part to buying laser printer supplies and toner is making sure the accessories are compatible with your printer. Most printers come with a toner cartridge already installed. But when it comes time to replace the cartridge, you should look at the old cartridge and write down the product serial or identification number on the cartridge. If you're not sure about the type of toner cartridge needed, check in your printer manual.
You can also check in the printer manual to find out about other replaceable parts if your printer needs a repair. It's important to buy parts that are compatible. Trying to install toner or other parts that are not compatible could harm the machine. Also, you'll save time and money by checking the compatibility in advance. If you order the wrong toner, it will have to be shipped to you and then shipped back to the company for an exchange. The company might not refund your original shipping amount so that's money lost.
Price versus Quality
Compare prices on printer supplies and toner, but don't go by price alone. There are many companies that sell cheap made products at cheap prices. It's better to pay a little more and get a good brand name product than to waste money on a product that won't last.
Search online for quality brand names such as Apple, IBM, Lanier, Epson, Dell, Brother, Canon, Digital, GCC, Genicom, Samsung, Panasonic, Pitney Bowes, and HP Comp. This will ensure you are getting printer accessories that are of a good quality.
Ordering, Shipping, and Other Products
Check to be sure the online company offers secure ordering and has reasonable shipping charges. Sometimes the shipping charges can eat up your savings.
When designing your home theater, there are many questions and decisions to be made regarding audio and visual elements. The type of television itself is usually one of the biggest of these decisions. Plasma, LCD, flat panel, rear-projection – these terms are thrown at us each day and many of us are just starting to understand the differences. The most common televisions being purchased in the United States are plasma televisions and LCD flat panels.
There are several pros and cons to consider before choosing a LCD television. While the reduced footprint and the flat screen are nice they certainly aren’t for everyone. You should carefully consider the various advantages and disadvantages of this TV versus a plasma screen before making a purchase.
The following is some of the basic information about the LCD and some advice to help you in making your decision. You should keep personal considerations in mind as well, and ask electronics and audio-visual professionals for their opinion if you still aren’t sure as to what you should buy.
Advantages of LCD Flat Panel Television Sets
LCD flat panel televisions have the most options available in regards to how they are installed. When including one in your home theater, installation can be as simple as placing it on a standard television stand or you can choose to mount it on the wall. Most LCD flat panel televisions are aesthetically pleasing because they are incredibly sleek and thin. They should fit in well with pretty much any home theater design, and they are relatively lightweight when compared to other televisions so that they can be moved easily.
LCD televisions are also considered to be good long-term television investments because they will run for 50,000 – 60,000 viewing hours. Most modern LCD televisions also support higher picture resolutions and high-definition display options are becoming more available as well. And unlike some brands of plasma televisions, LCD video displays do not but an image into the screen after a long period of time.
Disadvantages of LCD Flat Panel Television Sets
Because of the nature of the liquid crystal display in their screens, they are much more likely to be damaged if something hits the screen. LCD screens should always be installed by a professional; an incorrectly-installed wall mount will pull away from the wall over time and could fall. The cost of an LCD television set is generally higher than plasma or rear-projection televisions, as well. You should consider that while high-definition display options may be available, not all LCD flat panel televisions are HD-ready and even if they are additional components are generally required to allow HD programming to display. These must be purchased as an additional cost. Additionally, early models of LCD screens did not display black and dark images as clearly as a plasma screen. This differentiation appears to have been improved upon in newer models.
Deciding if LCD Is Right for You
While some of the disadvantages listed above are worst-case scenarios, they should be considered simply because they add additional costs to your overall home theater system. Be sure to consider exactly how much you want to spend on a television that fits your home, especially if you’re still in the process of buying your system and want it to be included in the home theater installation. Decide whether you need a high-definition system now or not. The decision to buy HD ready televisions and components now is one you will have to make based on your budget and household’s entertainment habits. This is a major decision to make, and you’re going to want to make sure that you’re happy with the final result when you make it.
When choosing a home theater system one must first consider there budget. In years past a home theater system was for only the rich, but with improvements in technology, home theater system are available for almost any budget. Costs range from £299 to £30,000 or more, depending on the components chosen and the size of your home theater system.
Components
Most people try to achieve creating a movie theater in there home. Now of days a most theaters have surround sound system. Therefore in a home theater you will want to look for the following components, a large-screen television (usually 32” or larger), and a speaker system with a subwoofer (a loud speaker designed to reproduce bass frequencies) & front and rear (usually a minimum of 5 speakers) speakers for quality sound. You will also need an audio/video surround receiver, a DVD player, and a cable or satellite receiver. Most people also add a video recorder and a DVD recorder.
The big screen television
High-definition television (HDTV) is the most popular for Home theater systems. HDTV’s digital technologies give a much sharper & crisper picture quality, also an improved video field to bring the audience right into the middle of the action.
One of the things you must consider when you design your theater system is to look to the future. This way your system will stay up to date longer. To do this you will need to consider things like purchasing a high-quality, integrated HDTV monitor with wide screen display, because the conventional full screen movies we have enjoyed for years will someday be replaced with the movie theater style wide screen movies that more and more we are enjoying now. Even cable systems are delivering digital viewing services, which will only continue to develop.
Wide-screen HDTV monitors start at 27” for a traditional square shape and 30” for a wide-screen, and range up to 82”.
When considering a televisison for a smaller area you may want to look at direct-view televisions. For larger areas you can consider rear-projection or plasma televisions, Direct-view televisions don’t require viewers to sit so far back from the viewing screen.
Surround-sound
Remember when considering your home theater system that sound is a very important part of the experience. You can buy a box system for as little as £200. You will want to look at different system and choose the one that best fit your needs and the sound quality that best fit you space and needs.
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound has been the industry standard for years, says Craig Eggers, director of consumer electronics technology marketing for Dolby Laboratories. Dolby is now the North American audio standard for HDTV. This technology "delivers 5.1 channels of fully discrete surround sound audio to any home theater," Eggers says. This means the soundtracks are recorded with five main channels: left, center, right, left surround and right surround, plus a low-frequency effects bass channel.
Surround sound systems use a minimum of five speakers to bring the listener inside the viewing experience. Instead of watching the picture, you're a participant--just like at a movie theater.
These box systems also include various components such as DVD players or recorders, or am fm stereo, VCR players or recorders, some system may also include iPod or Mp3 technology.
This will complete the basic systems, but don’t forget that you may also want to consider a camcorder or digital camera technology for those home videos.
Once you have developed the home theater that best fits your needs the only thing left is to sit back and enjoy and don’t forget the popcorn.
How-To Tips
Cables are an integral part of a home theater. Good cables will enhance the performance of your entire system, while poor quality cables can actually reduce quality. Look for the following when cable shopping:
· Look for cables with high-density shielding, gold-plated connectors and durable jackets to provide long-lasting, reliable connections. If you have the choice of using either digital or analog cables, choose digital to eliminate unneeded digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversions, which lead to reduced image and sound quality.
· When you're looking for the right cables, make sure you avoid generic cables made with low-grade materials and low-quality construction because they're highly prone to noise and distortion. Watch especially for connectors that fit loose or too tight, with inadequate shielding and unprotected solder joints.
· Be wary of manufacturers that don't provide information concerning the construction of their cables. Quality cable companies, such as Accell or Monster Cable, often will provide a cable cut-away illustration, providing clear visibility of their cables' material and construction.
· Finally, make sure to keep your cable lengths as short as possible to get the best quality sound.
If you have any more hits or tips then please feel free to comment below 
MP3 player, also well known as digital audio player has become a staple of our gadget life. There are many brands of MP3 players on the market today. So, which MP3 player are the most suitable for you? That's where this MP3 player guide comes in.
Basically, there are 3 types of MP3 player based on capacity: -
1. Hard drive MP3 player
- highest capacity
- largest in size
- heavy
- often labeled as an "Jukebox MP3 player"
- has moving parts
- example: Apple iPod video, Sony Network Walkman NW-HD5
2. Micro hard drive MP3 player
- use smaller hard drives
- lighter than hard drive MP3 player
- lower capacity than hard drive MP3 player but higher capacity than flash memory MP3 player
- example: Apple iPod mini, Creative Labs Zen Micro
3. Flash memory MP3 player
- smallest in size
- lowest capacity
- very light
- has no moving parts
- often labeled as an "portable MP3 player"
- example: mobiBLU Dah 1500i, Apple iPod nano
What should you concern when you want to buy a MP3 player?
1. Use / Purpose
a) MP3 player good for travel
Hard drive MP3 player is good for people traveling or away from computer for an extended period of time, where they can't transfer music files from their computers. Micro hard drive MP3 player is another option for travel since it is slightly smaller and lighter than hard drive MP3 player. Flash memory MP3 player is also popular for travel if you do not mind to listen to the same music.
b) MP3 player good for sport / jogging / gym
Flash memory MP3 player is good for people exercising and jogging since it is very light. No moving parts for Flash memory MP3 player make it ideal for sport.
c) MP3 player good for home use
Hard drive MP3 player is good for listening song in living room. It is suited to be connected to external speakers.
2. Connectivity
There are two main options to transfer files from your computer: USB or FireWire. USB supported by both PCs and Macs whereas FireWire is supported only on Macs. For PC users, they need to ensure that the MP3 player support USB 2.0 which is faster than USB 1.1. Most of the MP3 players on market today are support USB 2.0.
3. Display screen
Majority of MP3 players have LCD screen. Some MP3 players have color screen instead of dull black and white screen. The main things to consider are all the information such as battery level, song name & elapsed time are easy to read.
4. Compatibility
PC or Mac compatibility. Mac users should ensure the MP3 player can support Mac since some MP3 players can only support PC.
5. Battery
MP3 players come with either rechargeable batteries (some can be charged via USB port) or disposable batteries.
6. Music format
Music files can be one of several types of formats, such as MP3, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), WMA (Windows Media Audio) and Ogg Vorbis. Ogg Vorbis is a completely open, patent-free, professional audio encoding and streaming technology with all the benefits of Open Source.
7. Functionality
Some MP3 players have extra features such as voice recorder, FM radio, FM recorder, image viewer, video player.
8. Memory capacity
Most of the flash MP3 players come with 256MB, 512MB and 1GB. For hard drive MP3 players, they have gigabytes of storage capacity. If you would like to store many songs or CD collections in one, hard drive MP3 player or micro hard drive MP3 player is a better choice for you.
We hope you have found this article useful. If you have any more tips to add then please feel free to comment below.
Digital cameras have exploded in popularity in recent years. The convenience that they have brought to the market with the ability to review your pictures instantly and correct any imperfections by retaking the picture and the ability to store, edit, and email them from your own personal computer has fueled this growth.
It is now no longer a matter of if you need a digital camera, but rather which one do I choose?
First decide how you are going to use the camera. If simplicity is your goal, a simple point and shoot digital camera will do. If you wan the flexibility to be able to grow with the camera as you gain experience get a point and shoot that offers manual controls, this way you will have the best of both worlds – infinite options for creativity and the ease of an automatic mode.
The next item on your agenda should be megapixels. To keep it simple, the more megapixels the better the picture will be. So, how many megapixels do you need?
If all you are doing is printing or emailing photos, a 3 or 4 megapixel digital camera will work. If you are going to use it for more professional work and enlarging photos, go with one with 5 or 6 megapixels.
If you want uncompromising clarity go with a 7 megapixel or above. Just remember the higher the megapixels the higher the price!
How much zoom do you need? You have two types of zoom with digital cameras, digital and optical. Optical is the more important because it brings your object closer without losing quality. The digital zoom will bring the object in closer, but you sacrifice the quality of the picture. If all you do is take everyday pics a 1x to 4x optical zoom will do. If you take pics like sporting events, get one with a 5x optical zoom or higher. For really intense professional work choose a 10x or better optical zoom.
Digital cameras have evolved now to the point where you can get a great fully featured camera that will fit comfortably in your shirt pocket so don’t think you have to get a large one to get good quality. If you are using it for more professional use with large optical zoom and such expect to have to buy a larger one however.