The new Energy Star 3.0 TV specification -- this time including a test for how much electricity televisions use while turned on, not just while off -- goes into effect next month. According to CNET's tests, the difference in power saved by more efficient (but not necessarily ideal PQ) default settings could be as much as a $100 a year, although that will vary based on the TV and the settings. Of course the new rules mean only 25 to 30-percent of TVs are expected to be able to meet the standard, but when you see it on a box, it will actually mean something. Punch the read link for the final draft, we're just going to turn some unnecessary lights off.

[Via Crave]

Even though there are some sketchy figures bandied about in the mad rush to hop on the "green" bandwagon, the trend of producing more efficient devices with less environmental impact is for real. It looks like LCD manufacturer AUO is spreading its tech bets. Only a couple of months ago, the company was touting LED backlighting for a 44-percent reduction in energy consumption (and better images, to boot). Now the company is planning to show off a 32-inch LCD that it claims will cut consumption by 50-percent and will be market-ready in Q2 2008. No radical new technology here, just good engineering that cuts the number of fluorescent tubes used for the backlighting from 16 down to 4. No doubt that LED backlights are the future, but we'll be more than happy to see fluorescent backlights put some pricing pressure on them.

[Thanks, Richard!]

Vizio made some waves recently with the introduction of two bargain-priced plasmas, but it could garner attention from a whole new sect of individuals next month. Reportedly, the outfit is gearing up to launch "its first monitor tailored for dedicated PC users" in late August, the 26-inch widescreen VMM monitor. We are told that it'll boast HDMI inputs, reduced brightness and higher resolution "than typical IT displays," but aside from that (and the $449 price tag), the rest remains a mystery. Also of note, the company is expected to debut an "eco-friendly" line of TVs this October, which are said to "operate with 35- to 45-percent less power than traditional LCD TVs of comparable size." Way to keep us on the edge of our seats, Vizio.

[Via Electronista]

Even we would agree that digital downloads aren't apt to siphon away a significant amount of physical media market share in the immediate future, but a recent survey conducted by CinemaNow (read: your skeptic hat should now be firmly in place) suggests that the vast majority of Americans feel otherwise. As a matter of fact, 87% of those surveyed agreed that "renting DVDs at the video store or through mail service will become a thing of the past," and 94% of those same folks reportedly felt that movie downloads were just "better for the environment." Not like the average joe / jane understands how much energy is consumed by warehouses full of drives, gigantic air-conditioned server rooms and legions of PCs sucking down content, but yeah, these results are totally representative of the truth.

[Image courtesy of Street Knowledge]

Meet the greenest 32-inch TV on the planet, Sony's BRAVIA KDL-32JE1. The set achieves a 232% efficiency rating -- that's just 86kWh/year -- to easily best the 164% rating required for Japan's highest five-star "Energy Saving Label." Spec watchers will find a WXGA (1,366 x 768) LCD, 2,500:1 contrast, 178-degree viewing angle, and range of in/outs including 2x HDMI and 2x component. Yours in Japan starting July 30th for around ¥150,000 or about $1,387.

[Via Akihabara News]

Remember Green Plug? That universal connector we detailed last month which aims to replace wall warts and help Mother Earth out in the process? Turns out, said outfit has just landed its first real believer as Westinghouse committed to using the smart power technology. Even Darwin Chang, Westy's CTO, admitted that his firm "wasn't the largest, but somebody has to be the first." Chang is hoping that utilizing said tech will help it cut costs by eliminating the need to ship power adapters with its wares, but we'd say that's being pretty optimistic. Really, the only way that will go over well is if hordes of other firms jump on the (currently desolate) bandwagon in short order -- any takers?

[Via PCWorld]

AUO's back again, displaying what new flat panel technologies are trickling down to its OEM televisions, and soon to hit shelves in more reasonably-priced models (albeit wearing another company's name) near you. Hitachi and others are at the forefront of the thinner, lower powered LCD movement, and AUO promises an "ultra-slim" 10mm thick 42-inch LED backlit model next week at SID 2008. The new technology gives power savings of 44% over current models, as well as a 46-inch display with 50% power savings, 500 nits of brightness and 5,000:1 "ultra static high contrast ratio". While we'll wait to find out how that compares to other HDTVs with questionable claims to high contrast rations, the company also plans to show technology that provides 200,000:1 contrast ratio with LEDs. Besides just using less power, we can look forward to LCDs built with using less raw materials and resulting in less chemical waste, which due to our extensive comic book research, we can unequivocally say is a good thing.

Though we had previously heard that The Weather Channel's new HD studio wouldn't open until July, it looks like things will be getting started a touch early. Based on a dedicated page on the network's website, we're told that June 2nd is the date in which it will start broadcasting from an all new "state-of-the-art, eco-friendly" high-definition studio. The channel doesn't hesitate to give props to Cisco for its help in constructing the facility, and it has even posted a slideshow and video to give viewers a look at how it all came together. Head on down to the read link if that sounds like something you'd be interested in.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Granted, almost half of OTA-only households in America (48-percent, to be precise) are planning on picking up a digital converter box in order to get a few more years of life out of their old set, but for those taking other routes -- like spending their stimulus checks on a new flat-panel -- it seems as if tossing 'em in the garbage is a last resort. According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association, fewer than 15 million NTSC-only TVs will be removed from homes through 2010. Of those, 95-percent will be resold, donated or recycled -- or so the owners say. We can also remember a time when Salvation Army accepted bulky, inefficient CRT computer monitors with open arms, but trying to hand one over today can be a lesson in futility depending on the store. All in all, we figure it's easy for respondents to voice good intentions, but shortly after these sets become useless in the OTA realm without a DTV converter, we have our doubts about the vast majority of them dodging the dump for very long.

Haven't you heard? OLEDs are gearing up to take over the display world, making your fancy LCD something you'll wrap fish with. Taking up the point in the quest for world domination is Sony's XEL-1, which we admit puts out a great, albeit small, picture. Lab tests by Tech-On, however, show the 11-inch display has an appetite for power that belies its diminutive size. Check out the link for some insight to the wizardry that makes the XEL-1 work, including ramping down panel brightness after turn-on and insertion of "blanking" frames. But eyebrows at the lab arched a little when the unit ate up 28.4-Watts to produce a pure white image. While that figure won't send your electric meter into Whirling Dervish mode, the CEO of Toshiba says that at sizes beyond 30-inches, OLEDs consume 2 - 3 times more juice than LCDs. These kind of challenges are nothing new to emerging technology, and we're sure manufacturers will get things under control; but for now (in an increasingly "green" world), there are still hurdles.

[Via SmartHouse]

Confusion amongst the general populace in regard to high-definition technology has been a problem for quite some time, and while we're not putting too much stock in the most recent survey about our neighbors up north, the results are fairly comical if nothing else. New poll findings from Nanos Research has discovered that 48-percent of the Canadians surveyed "confessed they were not at all knowledgeable about such features as 1080p resolution and pixel response times, compared to only 5-percent who considered themselves very knowledgeable." That being the case, HDTV sales in Canada still managed to surge some 72-percent last year, and around half of the participants did note that "concerns such as power consumption and toxins used in manufacturing" were very important when making their choice of HDTV. Granted, the survey was commissioned by Sharp in order to gloat about its "eco-friendly" AQUOS, but the bigger picture here is that the public at large is still a long ways away from really wrapping their heads around high-def.

[Image courtesy of HomeTheaterMag]

We've no idea if Panasonic's sudden urge to decrease the power consumption of its plasmas has anything to do with this, but nevertheless, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced an updated ENERGY STAR specification for digital televisions that will hopefully "lead to further reductions in the amount of energy consumed by DTVs." The new standard will reportedly grant the coveted ENERGY STAR label only to "the top 25- to 30-percent most energy efficient TV models," and furthermore, it will (for the first time) "take into account active mode or 'On' mode power consumption in addition to standby mode energy use." Needless to say, the CEA found a moment to applaud the new spec, and as far as we can tell, it's being instituted immediately.

[Via Widescreen Review]

We've heard LCD manufacturers point out the low energy consumption in comparison to plasmas, but apparently, Panasonic's heard quite enough. Reportedly, a plan was hatched recently at the company's PDP plant in Amagasaki City to release a new plasma display that incorporates a technology to "reduce power consumption by half." Interestingly, said device is slated to launch sometime this Spring, but no further details were given. Moving forward, the company is hoping to bring the power-sipping characteristics to its entire PDP line by fiscal year 2009, but sadly, no model numbers or anything else remotely intriguing were handed out.

[Via Widescreen Review]

Promotions like this are far from revolutionary, but with piles of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes about to consume any remaining free space in your home, we figured you may as well get $100 back for that ancient TV sitting on the junk pile. Effectively immediately, anyone that drops off an old television for recycling (locations listed here) will receive a $100 coupon towards the purchase of a BRAVIA HDTV. Unfortunately, the coupon is only valid at Sony Style stores, at SonyStyle.com or through Sony's telesales office, and any non-Sony dropped off will lower the coupon's value by "$25 - $50." So yeah, we appreciate the effort here, but the terms and conditions aren't exactly the most desirable.

Accurately measuring exactly how much juice your HDTV is consuming has been all the rage of late, and now, "television manufacturers and broadcasters have produced what may be the world's most boring TV program to measure energy consumption on new-generation televisions." Apparently, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is looking to "have a standard way of measuring how much energy plasma and LCD TVs use," and there seems to be no better way to accomplish the goal than to edit together a ten-minute clip consisting of bits from soap operas, nature programs and sports which the tested sets would play. No word yet on whether this highly-anticipated programming will hit HD DVD or Blu-ray, though.