Service Care Blog

Service Care, as a service to our customers, has launched a free newsletter that will remind subscribers when it's time to perform maintenance on their appliances and electronics.

This will be a very low quantity of emails per year, the majority of which will be seasonal notices that will remind you to do the little things that you can do yourself to save yourself money, increase the life of your appliances, and help to avoid unnecessary service calls.

Of course, we are happy to perform all of these services, but many people will want to do this themselves to save money (especially in light of the current economic troubles).

We're hoping that many people will subscribe, and we assure that their personal information is very safe (see our Privacy Policy).

Labels: appliances, diy, electronics, Service Care

That's okay, but here's some articles highlighting some good and bad news from the Consumer Electronics Show for 2009.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2338779,00.asp

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/10036.html

http://www.designtaxi.com/news.jsp?id=23431&monthview=0&month=1&year=2009

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008616880_brier12.html

http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?id=12468&cid=5

Labels: electronics

If you're interested, Samsung execs met had a roundtable discussion about the future of electronics and how Samsung will fit into the new markets.

http://www.gadgetell.com/tech/comment/samsung-executive-hdtv-blu-ray-roundtable-discussion/

Labels: electronics, Samsung

This is a handy article which lists four local groups that recycle old electronics.

Recycle your electronics in Alabama

Here's another article from the Shelby County Reporter about Technical Knockout, a Birmingham company that specializes in electronics recycling:

Technical Knockout

Labels: Alabama, Birmingham, electronics, green, Shelby County

Samsung Electronics plans to unveil a flat-panel TV that's as thin as just 6.5-millimeters at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it said Sunday.

The TV set, few details of which were immediately available, is between 6.5mm and 7mm across its width and has an LED (light emitting diode) backlight.

The backlight sits behind the LCD panel and generates the light that shines through it to allow the image to be seen. Most LCD panels use thicker backlights that make use of fluorescent lights but LEDs are fast finding favor with TV makers for their thinness and better overall light.

Read the full article here.

Labels: electronics, LCD, LED, Samsung, TV

"The U.S. digital TV system got a big boost late last month when the ATSC approved a preliminary, or “candidate,” standard—ATSC-Mobile/Handheld, or ATSC-M/H—for a mobile DTV system that will allow local stations to broadcast to cellphones and other portable devices."

That means a television signal, built for mobiles, within the signal for regular digital TV, that you will be able to watch on your phone. The future's so bright... well, you know the rest of that line.

Read more about it here:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6572728&articleid=CA6620365#124805

Labels: digital, electronics, LG, Samsung, televisions

"He first thought of the idea of an electronic television when he was only fourteen years old."

A fascinating radio program from voanews.com (Voice Of America - special english) about Philo Farnsworth. This page has a transcription, or you can listen to the actual program.

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2008-12-06-voa3.cfm

Check it out if you're interested.

Labels: electronics, radios, televisions

Apparently, this Toshiba REGZA television, an LCD TV, exceeded energy efficiency requirements (as did all involved in the manufacturing process).

It also helped that Toshiba, Panasonic, and Sharp have joined forces to recycle old electronics.

You can read more about the testing process here:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Toshibas-REGZA-R-TV-Wins/story.aspx?guid={35E776C4-D530-4487-BAAF-416A26D35B5F}

Labels: electronics, green, LCD, Panasonic, REGZA, Sharp, televisions, Toshiba

We wish everyone the happiest of Thanksgivings.

Service Care is thankful for many things. We're thankful for the continued support of our customers, without whom we would not exist. We're thankful for our families, for our friends, and the fact that we live and work in what we believe is the greatest country in the world.

We're also thankful that you stopped by to read this lil' blog and we hope you'll be thankful that you found us. If you have any problems with electronics repairs (like televisions), or home appliances (like refrigerators), we're always ready to help you in Alabama.

Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your family time!

Labels: Alabama, appliances, electronics, refrigerators, televisions

Read on the internet that a big amount of electronics were found to be missing or stolen from Bluff Park Elementary school. Apparently this happened in the night between November 4th and 5th, and employees found the doors still locked the next day.

Some of the items indicated to be missing were 19 laptop computers, 9 video cameras, 4 projectors (film, I guess) and 2 speaker systems.

According to Hoover police, the items can be identified if found, but I don't think there are any leads.

This is a darn shame, and pretty low. These electronics items were most likely used for the education and improvement of Hoover area school kids and someone has taken them for personal gain. I hope they recover the items and get them back to Bluff Park soon.

Labels: Bluff Park, electronics, Hoover

I found this on Toshiba's website (and Panasonic & Sharp's)... finally read it. Who knows, you might find this of interest if you have old electronics products (televisions mostly, I presume) that you want to get rid of.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 30, 2008

MRM LAUNCHES NATIONAL RECYCLING INITIATIVE

Link: http://www.mrmrecycling.com/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Editorial Contacts:

David Thompson
MRM
201-348-3486
david@MRMrecycling.com

Maria Repole
Toshiba
973-628-8000 x4250
maria_repole@tacp.com

Christopher Loncto
Sharp
201-529-8680
lonctoc@sharpsec.com

Jim Reilly
Panasonic
201-392-6067
reillyj@us.panasonic.com

Minneapolis, MN (October 30, 2008) — Today, MRM, a leading provider of e-waste recycling management services to manufacturers, will begin creating a national recycling infrastructure that manufacturers can utilize to provide convenient recycling opportunities for their customers. Panasonic Corporation of North America, Sharp Electronics Corporation and Toshiba America Consumer Products, LLC, will be the first companies to utilize this expanded recycling service to operate their individual manufacturer recycling programs. MRM´s goal is to address America´s e-waste recycling needs most efficiently by bringing the electronic product manufacturing community together into a unified voluntary effort.

This new initiative will enable MRM to expand its operations beyond its current compliance management activities in Minnesota and Texas. Now entering its second year of operations, MRM has successfully implemented and currently manages recycling services in these two states for some 25 individual electronics manufacturers.

The first phase of the MRM nationwide ramp-up will kick off in November with management of electronics recycling for manufacturers in several additional states, including California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. MRM will continue its expansion until its services cover all 50 states. Additional details on MRM´s plans will be available in January 2009.

"MRM is focused on enhancing the sustainability of individual company brands and product offerings through convenient, environmentally sound and efficient recycling," said MRM President David Thompson. "This type of collaborative effort is essential to providing consumers with convenient recycling opportunities and to achieving practical, long-term solutions."

"The power of MRM´s platform is its capacity to help the electronics industry move beyond individual company programs that focus on only a single company brand, often at separate, widely dispersed and costly collection locations, to make use of a common efficient system," said Tricia Conroy, MRM´s Executive Director. "Our consolidation and management services make electronics recycling more convenient and accessible for both consumers and manufacturers."

(Continued on Toshiba's news website)

Labels: electronics, green, Panasonic, Sharp, televisions, Toshiba

Found something of interest to Panasonic Plasma owners:

Dear Valued Panasonic Customer:

At Panasonic, we are constantly working to improve your satisfaction with our products. As such, we would like to inform you that a firmware upgrade has been made available for the following Panasonic Plasma Television models: TH-42PZ77U, TH-42PZ700U and TH-42PZ700UA.

If you own one of these models, you can perform the plasma firmware upgrade yourself. Click on the Self Service tab above to verify if an upgrade is required for your Panasonic Plasma Television set and download it yourself. If you'd rather receive the firmware by mail, click on Order Firmware.

The main purpose for performing this upgrade is to improve the reliability of your television. You can continue to use your television as you normally would after the upgrade is completed. Panasonic takes great pride in excellent quality, and customer satisfaction is our number one goal.

Your patronage as a satisfied Panasonic customer is valued and highly appreciated.

Thank you.

(From Panasonic website: Original link http://www.panasonic.com/announce/updatemytv/ (may not be working))

****************************************************************************
UPDATE! These links went bad within a few days of this blog, so here's a new link to the
firmware download... without instructions (unless they're contained in the download itself).

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vSupportDownloadDetail?idval=UCM_PRD_CNT_007552&ModelNumber=TH-50PZ77U&productTitle=PZ77+-+PZ700+Series+Plasma+TV+Tuner+Firmware+Update&contentType=Software+Download&storeId=15001

Not sure why the link died... it's still on their own consumer support page as a very recent announcement (maybe it will start working later).

Labels: electronics, Panasonic, Plasma, televisions