OTHER TECH

Maximum TV

Q. I've never been in a position to spend the thousands it seems to take to get a good bigscreen TV, so at the beginning of the year I finally broke down and decided to upgrade to a widescreen direct-view set, even though the one I had was working just fine. I chose a Sony KV-30HS420. It's apparently capable of providing 1080 interlaced lines of resolution, which is considered high-def. I currently have the set connected to an older Panasonic DVD player via component-video cables. Even though the video it produces looks pretty good to me, I have a feeling the set is capable of producing a far better picture. Can you make some suggestions as to the best player and connections to take advantage of all that I think this set is capable of? Joel Camicia VIA E-MAIL

A. Al Griffin says: You definitely own a high-definition TV set, but it sounds to me like you haven't used it yet to watch HDTV programs. So, to maximize your Sony TV's picture, I'd suggest that you hook it up to a high-definition satellite receiver or cable box and one of the new HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc players. High-def disc players - which have the added benefit of making regular DVDs look better through upconversion of their standard-definition picture - transmit unpconverted signals only through HDMI jacks, however, so you'll need to use the set's HDMI input for that connection. Its component-video jacks, meanwhile, can be used for the high-def satellite receiver or cable box. Picture look better? I thought so.

Squeaky Reel

Q. I still have a reel-to-reel tape deck and a large collection of tapes, some of which are 30 or 40 years old. Some of these lose "tape dust" on the tape heads, which causes a high-frequency squeal. Cleaning and lubrication of the tape heads help for a short period, and then the noise returns. Is there any way these old tapes can be lubricated to prevent this problem? Russell Rowan Albion, MI

A. Ian G. Masters says: It's more than just a matter of lubrication, unfortunately. That "tape dust" is actually the oxide that carries the information, and the fact that its shedding means that your tapes are falling apart. The best thing you can do is to keep lubricating the heads if that helps, then shoot for one last good play of each tape as you copy it to another medium, such as a recordable CD. If the sound is electronic (rather than mechanical) and makes its way into the recordings, you might be able to record in small sections and edit the pieces together. In the worst case, baking the tape sometimes corrects things for a while. Although you can find instructions for this on the Internet, it's not for the faint of heart - I'd suggest trying to find a service that specializes in restoring old recordings before resorting to such drastic DIY measures.