White on! Mountech brings first all white TV wall mount range, designed and manufactured in the UK, and guaranteed to fit any screen for life

The ‘Pure White’ range by Mountech has been developed to give a wider choice when selecting a wall mount to suit the interior of modern homes.

The brackets are designed and manufactured in the UK from a high-grade steel, which is then coated in premium quality, pure white powder gloss. The range includes brackets to suit any fitting requirements, such as, Corner, Flush, Ultra Slim LED or Swivel & Tilt mounting options, and fit a range of TV and Computer screen sizes from 10 to 63 inches. Prices start from as little as £19.99.

All Mountech brackets are covered by a Guaranteed Fit (“G-Fit”) Service. This means in the event of the customer having a problem with a bracket, Mountech will guarantee to remedy the problem and send out replacement parts directly to the customer within 48 hours. All Mountech brackets are also covered by a unique Lifetime Guarantee.

FACTFILE:
With over 40 years of combined retail experience, Mount Technologies (Mountech) was founded in 2006 to address a need in the market for premium quality; British designed and manufactured TV wall mounts that encompass a unique personal customer service guarantee.

It was apparent that retailers were not fully equipped to deal with the common issue of brackets being returned, due to the wide variety of screens and their different fittings. With their local manufacture, Mountech provide a solution to this by offering a Guaranteed Fit service that ensures a customer has all the components they need to fix the screen to the bracket, and in turn, the bracket to the wall.

In the event of a fixing issue, customers are encouraged to contact Mountech, rather than returning the bracket to the place of purchase. The problem is assessed by Mountech’s in-house engineers, and if necessary, parts are sent to the customer within 48 hours. This ultimately eliminates the need for customers to return products, and the retailers need to accept returned goods.

Why do we need G-Fit?:
Screen manufacturers are attempting to provide a more consumer friendly approach to wall mounting a screen by adopting the VESA standard. VESA are an independent organisation that try and encourage amongst other elements a common approach to wall mounting and cable positioning. This standard however, remains largely exclusive to a select group of Blue Chip LCD/TFT manufacturers. Non, or Own Branded LCD manufacturers have a less organised approach to wall mount connectivity which often causes a problem when people try to wall mount entry price point televisions or computer monitors.

Mountech prides itself on its close relationships with display manufacturers. It is these long-standing alliances that have resulted in the most thoroughly researched and developed wall-mount designs on the market. Mountech innovative universal wall mounts are therefore, a convenient and retail friendly way of meeting the demands of an ever changing and rapidly expanding market, offering 100% manufacturer compatibility. However, the lack of uniformity between display manufacturers, does present a challenge to even the most generic wall mount design. Common problems encountered are:

- A poorly positioned SCART socket
- A poorly positioned Antenna socket
- A poorly positioned HDMI Socket
- The mould of the rear screen panel. (Convex or Concave)
- A brand name that has been pressed into the rear mould of the screen
- Screw depths as these can differ dramatically
- Removal of a table top stand to expose the fixing points for wall mounting

To overcome this problem, Mountech (and only Mountech) provides an after-sales service consisting of a direct link between customer and our factory. “Guaranteed Fit” is a free of charge service providing a total problem solving solution. The Guaranteed Fit, or “G-Fit” service, allows all compatibility issues to be dealt with efficiently and without involving the retailer. This stops product returns and guarantees total customer satisfaction.

www.mountech.co.uk

Otone Audio's new speaker systems bring modern sound experience to a totally new level

Otone Audio has developed a revolutionary new range of lifestyle inspired speaker systems that are set to take the current market by storm.

Otone Audio is a savvy new company based in the UK that brings together years of experience in the audio industry. The company works alongside a team of top designers on the continent and has collaborated with leading industry manufacturers to create its exciting new range of speaker systems which are excellent performers on sound, quality and price.

Otone Audio's development team has set this new level of performance by extensively researching the UK music market and refining its systems accordingly. This means their speaker systems better complement the more bass-centric sounds of dance, hip-hop and rock found in the home market. They also offer a whole new sound experience for gamers taking on the latest challenges, whether that's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3. Ultimately Otone Audio systems are unique - producing a sound that is totally tailored to UK culture.

Gareth Thomas from Otone Audio explains: "By tightened up the bass drivers, which in turn reduces their response time, the drivers in our systems can move [in and out] faster and respond in sync with the [faster] beat of the music.

"In speakers where the bass drivers are looser they cannot move as quickly and become out of sync - this is what causes distortion. We have also boosted the midrange performance to enhance the vocal clarity.

"Otone is growing quickly and we are now ready to really start shouting about our amazing range of speakers. We believe Otone provides better audio clarity and quality than any other directly competing sound system on the market at the moment, achieving this with equal or better sound at a lower price point than our rivals. Thanks to elegant styling and contemporary design, the speakers look as good as they sound too.

"We want people to see how different our products are; from the sound quality and edgy design to the clever functionality. With the full range of Otone speakers at our disposal, plus new product development on the horizon, 2012 is set to be the year that Otone makes its mark."

For more information about Otone Audio visit www.otoneaudio.co.uk.

Otone Audio have a stand at the Gadget Show this year and will be exhibiting the full range - 10-15 April 2012, NEC, Birmingham. Come and test the systems out for yourself over a beer!

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Door2Tour.com reports rise in sales for London theatre breaks

Door2Tour.com, the online travel company, has revealed that sales for its London theatre breaks are up 7% compared to the same period last year.

The provider of coach tours suggests that the rise in popularity could be because of sell-out productions such as new kid on the block, 'Matilda the Musical', and the continued success of Les Misérables, now in its 26th year. Last year, approximately 8 million people hit London's West End to see a musical of some sort. 

The success could also be attributed to the rise in popularity for West End plays with just over 3 million people seeing productions such as 'Frankenstein', 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Noises Off', 'Two Guvnors' and 'Jerusalem' which had audiences queuing around the block just to get their hands on a ticket.

Rachel Jones, Online PR & Marketing Co-ordinator for Door2Tour.com said: "It just goes to show that even with all the doom and gloom surrounding the UK economy, our customers still want to treat themselves or others to London theatre breaks. We have certainly seen renewed interest in plays such as 'The Woman in Black' and 'Warhorse' since their respective big budget film releases. 

"We have also noticed that as the school holidays arrive, parents still wish to treat their family to a day out and this is where London theatre breaks are ideal as you get to see a bit of the city and finish with an entertaining evening at the musicals with the delights of 'Matilda', 'Shrek' and 'The Lion King' proving to be huge hits with families from across the UK."

Sometimes it’s not just a new show that attracts new audiences to the West End, sometimes it can purely be down to who is starring in it. Michael Crawford made his return to the West End when he starred as the Wizard in the (then) new musical 'Wizard of Oz' and that saw a huge rush in ticket sales. His role has since been taken over by Russell Grant who was extremely popular in the last series of 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Alfie Boe and Matt Lucas are due to star in 'Les Misérables' for a limited run in June 2012 which is sure to see a surge in interest from those avid fans of the show.

The popularity of reality TV Shows have also helped to attract new audiences to London's West End with shows such as 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?' attracting record numbers of viewers who in turn wish to see their winner perform in their lead role on stage.

Rachel concluded: "Although our customers are thinking very carefully about where their money goes and not necessarily wanting to travel too far, lately we have noticed that many are still looking to get away from it all to celebrate a special birthday or big anniversary. We have received numerous enquiries from people looking for a London break combined with a West End show to treat that special someone in their lives. It is without a doubt that London theatre breaks have been boosted by a host of new shows such as Singin' in the Rain' and 'Dreamboats & Petticoats' and a series of new stars freshening up the London stage."

www.door2tour.com

Oh, no! Not another digital TV switchover? International agreement boosts pressure for another TV switchover

A deal signed by representatives of 165 countries has greatly increased the likelihood of a second digital switchover across Europe. This could involve viewers having to retune their sets or buy a new set top box or TV. It comes only a few years after they had to replace equipment to receive digital terrestrial television.

The agreement was made at the World Radio Conference (WRC) in Geneva, held by the United Nations body with responsibility for Information and Communications Technology, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Delegates agreed to clear the way for mobile services in the 700 MHz band, which is currently used for terrestrial TV in most of Europe. The deal means that from 2015 mobile services operating in this band could legally demand protection from interference by other countries.

In practice this means that the 700 MHz band could not be used for mobile and broadcasting where two countries shared a land border as the mobile signals would be drowned out by the high power broadcasting signal. This creates a strong pressure for regional blocks, like the EU, to use the 700 MHz band for either broadcasting or mobile.

The switchover from analogue to digital TV has freed up the 800 MHz band for mobile services, a process known as the digital dividend and coordinated across Europe. This was agreed over the past few years, and the emergence of this deal for a second “digital dividend” in 700 MHz has taken many by surprise.

Furthermore, 700 MHz will be globally harmonised as it is also a mobile band in North America and the Asia - Pacific. Today’s agreement will ultimately extend that arrangement to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Ironically, what may be a headache for Europe will be good news for Africa and the Middle East who proposed the 700 MHz mobile agreement. In these two regions 800 MHz is used for other services, meaning that they would have had little or no “digital dividend” from the switch to digital terrestrial TV. Giving them access to 700 MHz would bring huge economic benefits by allowing the roll out of wireless broadband networks in a much shorter timescale than the wired equivalent.

“This WRC decision doesn’t mean that any European government has to move TV out of 700 MHz but it certainly tips the scales in the decision making process,” said Martin Sims, PolicyTracer’s Managing Editor. ‘If a significant number of European countries want to have mobile in 700 MHz this wouldn’t be practical unless the whole region went along with them. The economies of scale associated with a global market mean that 700 MHz mobile handsets could be cheaper, creating a powerful incentive for a second TV switchover,” he argued.

FACTFILE:
PolicyTracker is the spectrum management newsletter and has been published online and in printed form since 2004. We also provide consultancy services, market the Global Spectrum Database and organise conferences and training courses. For more details please see www.policytracker.com

Chak 89 greets yet another Bollywood Star - John Abraham

Bollywood actor and former model John Abraham paid a surprise visit to Chak 89 recently. Diners at the exclusive restaurant could not believe their eyes when they saw John mingling and posing for photographs.

Born in 1972 the Indian film actor made his film debut with ‘Jism’ in 2003 which earned him a nomination at the Filmfare Best Debut Award.

He then went on to star in commercial successes like ‘Dhoom’ in 2004 and then later ‘Water’ in 2005 and ‘Baabul’ in 2006. His most recent film was Desi Boyz where he starred as a desi college-student in London, opposite Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar.

Owner and Managing Director Frank Khalid commented; “John attracted a lot of attention when arriving at Chak 89 – He was a really nice guy and a great pleasure for us to entertain.”

Chak89 are not only a top Indian restaurant in London, but are also perfect for all types of wedding celebrations and a great Indian wedding venue, they can accommodate and cater for up to 650 guests in two adjoining banquet halls. They are also perfect for business conferences, or can bring the CHAK89 experience to you by allowing their Indian catering to stage your special day at any venue of your choice.