Plasma TV 'off limits': watch this space

[admin]

MOST current plasma television sets would be banned from sale in Australia within a year under onerous mandatory energy requirements recommended in a report commissioned by the Federal Government.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/plasma-tv-off-limits-watch-this-space/2007/10/09/1191695909983.html

If they ban plasmas, then this would also mean some LCDs would get banned too. For example, Sony's popular Bravia LCD panel's power usage is rated at 320W for the 52" model. In comparison, Pioneer's 50" plasma uses 369W. Not a huge difference, but if one gets banned, the other will get banned too.

How about somebody invent a new display that uses less energy before bans are put in place, there's just no alternative to plasma and LCD at the moment.

[blutach]

Projector?

Regards

[admin]

Rear projection has been around for a long time, but it's not as bright as LCD or plasma and suffers from serious viewing angle problems. Plus, it's huge compared to LCD or plasma. A 50" Sony Bravia rear projection TV uses 240W, so it's more energy efficient but still quite a power hog.

Front projection doesn't really work for people who have really bright rooms, and again the angle problems plus expensive lamp replacements every 5000 hours or so. The great thing about them is the viewing size, which is unbeatable. These are actually even more power hungry at more than 250W for the lamp alone, and the Sony 1080p project actually consumes 300W.

I think the power issue comes from people using bigger and bigger screens. Future tech like OLED promises much lower power consumption. There is also SED, which promises only half the power requirements of plasma. Until these next gen TVs are available (probably around 2010), there's really no other choice other than LCD or plasma at the moment. There is also laser rear projection which could be available quite soon, and it's quite power efficient as well (although some claim that the laser used could damage human vision if not properly filtered).

[blutach]

Rear projection's quality also sucks. Room brightness is an issue for front projection if it is exposed. And yes, they are power hungry

I heard yesterday that if your power mad plasma needs servicing, it would not be possible under the new laws. You'd have to chuck it out and buy a less hungry one. Somehow, can't believe that one.

Regards