Re: [OT] centre speaker and TIVO

[Keith Doxey <ukha@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Ade,

>
> I know a centre speaker is supposed to be shielded so it doesnt
interfere
> with TV, is it likely to stuff up a TIVO if its sitting directly above
it?
>
> Would rather have speaker below TV on top of TIVO but worried it may
stuff
> up HD, else will have to go on top of TV itself
>

Hard disk should be fine. There are really powerful magnets in a hard drive
that dont cause problems.

CRT's, especially the larger ones, are incredibly sensitive to magnetic
fields
because that it what moves the electron beam over the face of the CRT.

Even the Earth's magnetic field can upset a CRT. Try turning a large
monitor on
its side whilst it is running. You will see that the colour purity is lost
because of the different ambient magnetic field. After degaussing the
monitor
the colours are fine again.

At work there is another desk with the monitor about 3 feet from mine. When
it
is turned on, the degaussing field from that shakes the whole picture on my
monitor however my PC continues to work perfectly despite the hard disk
being
less than 6 inches from the degaussing field of my own monitor.

If you really want to hae some fun... find an old BLACK AND WHITE TV and
get it
displaying a picture, then use a magnet to twist the picture to all sorts
of
wierd shapes.

DO NOT TRY THAT WITH A COLOUR CRT. At best you might magnetise it so much
that
it needs an external degaussing coil to restore it to its former self, at
worst, you might actually distort the shadow mask and wreck the tube.

I once screwed up my TV by carrying my disco speakers through the lounge.
The
closest they came to the TV was about 4 feet but they have got bloody great
magnets on them!! It took about 10 degaussing attempts to clear it
properly.

Likewise I messed up a portable TV in the kitchen whilst fitting a shelf.
Stood
the cordless drill too close to it and the bottom left hand corner took on
a
strange tinge. Again several attempts were needed to degauss fully.

If you always put your TV onto standby rather than switching it off
completely
the chances are it will never get degaussed and after time can also become
stained. Power off and leave for about fifteen minutes before turning it on
again will allow the degauss circuitry to kick in.

Look on the bright side.... TiVo's are regarded by SWMBO's as an essential
item. If you do screw up the hard drive you just blame it on natural causes
eg.
too many episodes of Eastenders, and then use the failure as cover for a
stealth upgrade to 2 x 120Gb + Turbonet Cache Card.  :-)

Keith

www.diyha.co.uk
www.kat5.tv