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Such great speakers ... why not use them for whole-house audio?
These days, some TVs have pretty decent speakers built in. Is there a way to use those speakers for background music, without having to turn on the video?
In other words, is there such a thing as a “video mute” function?
Derek Cowburn of Distinctive Audio Visual Environments, a professional integration firm in McCordsville, Ind., asked us that very question. Not only did he want audio without video, he wanted rich control of said audio—a feature that his clients have been asking about.
Specifically, Cowburn requested:
A “video mute” that powers off all the video electronics and leaves only the audio section operating. Volume and mute controls would still operate as well as input selection. This would allow the TVs to be used as part of a whole-house audio system without the large energy draw of keeping the video on. “Instant-on” video would allow the display to be used for music selection or other navigation purposes, then off again to conserve power. Discrete audio and video source selection via IR, RS-232 (serial), or IP would also be important.
Initially, we were stumped. Remembering Mitsubishi’s line of TVs with a built-in surround bar, we posed this question to them.
Lo and behold, the manufacturer provides the very feature our integrator seeks.
Mitsubishi tells us that its Unisen branded LCD TVs enable users to turn off the video panel to conserve energy when listening to music selections.
Enjoy the TV’s virtual surround sound without the video
In this mode, users can still operate the volume and mute controls on the remote. But press any other button, and the TV video turns back on.
The entire line of Unisen LCDs has discrete IR (infrared) codes for audio and video source selection and discrete ON and OFF commands. In other words, you can adjust the video without messing with the audio, and vice versa.
Just how much energy are you saving? The folks at Mitsubishi haven’t crunched those numbers. Our inquiring integrator suggests, “Have them pick up a Kill-a-Watt for $30 and test the power consumption with video on and off.”
Mitsubishi’s Unisen Diamond series has an RS-232C serial control for rich integration with third-party control systems.
The Unisen TVs (starting at $1,799) features 16 “intelligent speakers” that reproduce 5.1 surround sound.
You can do this with ANY TV, simply add an A/V receiver! It amazes me that people are still trying to re-invent the wheel here. If a customer is wanting “rich control of audio”, wouldnt it be a good idea to sell them something that actually is designed for audio as a PRIMARY function rather than an afterthought?
coult 45,
Thanks for the info on the Pioneer. I’d be more annoyed by the 30-second looped audio on most dvds! I think I have a few tracks permanently burned into my sub-conscious because I fell asleep during a dvd and had that music playing over and over…. :-D good thing I added a sleep timer or my brain would be mush by now.
The Pioneer Kuro 5020 Has a similar feature. I have never thought of energy saving. I just get annoyed by the dvd player background.
Definitely, Derek.
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First of all a flat screen TV has the worst sound since the first transistor radios. The main problem is that the screen is not thick and therefore the cavity volume required for good sound at bass frequencies is lost. Also the power output and speaker complement are both puny because of cost considerations. Forget about any kind of stereo imaging or smooth response as the manufacturers cram some speakers in that restrictive space just to get some noise out of the box. Just buying a cheap surround integrated amp and some cheap bookshelf speakers is going to project way better sound than any flat screen TV. Shutting off video should happen when a motion detector detects no movement in the room for a selectable period of time.
As far as energy use…..LEDs will eventually replace the CCFL backlight, most likely from CREE corporation, which are twice as efficient, run cooler, and have truer color (higher CRI=color rendering index).