EnergyStar

Last year, our Editors' Choice plasma, the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U, earned a good portion of its praise by virtue of excellent color accuracy, which we lay at the feet of THX Display Certification. For 2009, Panasonic has included THX in two series of plasma TVs, of which the most-affordable will be the G10s.

The company's G10 series of plasmas comes in four screen sizes. The 42-inch TC-P42G10 ($1399 street), the 46-inch TC-P46G10 ($1699), and the 50-inch TC-P50G10 ($1999) will ship in March, while the 54-inch TC-54G10 ($2,399), a new screen size for the company, will ship in May.

THX Display Certification consists of a series of hurdles the TVs must clear to earn the all-important THX logo. While we're generally pretty skeptical of a certification program that refuses to divulge the height of those hurdles--aside from vaguely mentioning that they include certain minimum specifications for contrast ratio, color gamut based on the HDTV standard, uniformity, viewing angle, gamma, and still picture resolution--in our tests of the PZ800 and other THX plasmas from LG delivered improved color accuracy, at least.

Update March 13: According to the Panasonic manual unearthed by the folks at AVS Forum, and later confirmed by Panasonic, the G10 models will have 24p compatibility; previously, Panasonic indicated that the feature would be reserved for the step-up V10 and Z1 lines. According to Panasonic, the G10 and G15 lines will refresh at 48Hz, which leads us to suspect that they'll suffer from the same sort of flicker seen on the 24p modes of last year's PZ800U and PZ850U models. The V10 and Z1 lines, however, will refresh at 96Hz, which shouldn't introduce flicker. We'll know for sure when we get the displays reviewed.

Panasonic's answer to other TV makers' Internet connectivity is called VieraCast, and new for 2009 the company is adding the capability to view content from Amazon Video on Demand. We'd like to see Netflix streaming added too, a la LG, but that's not in the cards so far. Check out our hands-on look at VieraCast for details.

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Update 3-11-2009: We've posted reviews of three products in this series, albeit with smaller screen sizes: the 42-inch TC-P42S1, the 46-inch TC-P46S1 and the 50-inch TC-P50S1. Judging from their identical specifications, we expect the picture quality of the larger 54-, 58- and 65-inch models to be similar to those of the smaller ones. See the reviews for further information.

As we've been reporting for years, plasmas are much less energy efficient than LCDs. Panasonic aims to level the playing field with its new NEO PDP plasma panel, which uses half as much energy to create the same brightness, … Read more

As Americans become more conscious of TV power consumption, manufacturers are taking full advantage by offering more eco-friendly HDTVs. The KDL-VE5 series is Sony's power-sipping entrant for CES 2009, and includes the ability to turn off automatically when viewers leave the vicinity.

The three-size series includes the 52-inch KDL-52VE5, the 46-inch KDL-46VE5, and the 40-inch KDL-40VE5. As usual, prices were not divulged, and availability details were limited to "summer."

To save power, the VE5s incorporate a new Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL) backlight that the company says saves 40 percent compared with its conventional backlights. But more … Read more

Q: I heard that TV calibration could reduce energy consumption and therefore reduce costs to operate. Do you have any evidence of that? --Scott, via e-mail

A: Yes it does and yes I do, but first it's worth mentioning that you don't necessarily need to pay hundreds of dollars for a professional calibration to get the savings.

What saves energy and operating costs, as well as increases product lifespan, is reducing light output. That's typically controlled by the contrast or "picture" control and, in an LCD TV, the backlight control. Since calibration usually involves reducing light output from the very bright default picture settings, it will generally result in cost savings. The picture is still plenty bright after calibration, especially for the kind of darkened home theater environment more conducive to watching movies, it's just not as blindingly bright as the default modes often used to compete with other TVs on the showroom floor.… Read more

On November 1, Energy Star will officially launch its revised specification for TVs, version 3.0, which promises to significantly reduce power consumption. After that date, TVs must meet the new spec to carry the Energy Star logo.

It may come as a surprise that prior to the new spec, TVs were only tested in standby mode (plugged in but turned off) to comply with Energy Star. The TVs were never turned on for the test, and the only thing that qualified them for the logo, since 2005, was the ability to draw less than a watt when turned off.

Standby testing is important, of course--TVs, even in America, spend more than 80 percent of the time turned off--but by early this year the majority of TVs on the market have standby draws of less than a watt, which is insignificant considering how much power they draw when turned on.

Version 3.0 finally institutes standards for "power on" certification, and judging from the extensive list of supporting documents at Energy Star's official site, settling on a spec was a long and contentious battle. But now that the spec is in effect, TV power consumption in "power on" mode will lilkely fall across the board. The key, as usual, is in the details of the spec.… Read more

Today at CEDIA, Sharp announced two new lines of flat-panel LCD HDTVs, one with a special energy-saver function and another with the company's first iteration of true 120Hz processing. Full details are available after the jump.… Read more

Q: I am very interested in a TV's power performance, and would like to double check something I found on the site. I saw that on the specs page for the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U plasma, you guys had that the power consumption is 692 watts. Whereas on your 104 HDTVs' power consumption compared chart, the same television is listed as using only 191.22 watts, and is said to be a "good performer." Can you help me out and let me know which one is the correct one or why they are 400 watts different? -- Joe, via email

A:The short answer is pretty simple, Joe: the 692-watt spec cited on CNET, according to that TV's user manual, corresponds to the maximum power consumption, whereas the 191-watt result of our testing reflects a real-world usage scenario. The long answer is a bit more complex, especially for Panasonic plasmas.… Read more

The government's Energy Star program and the tech industry's Climate Savers Computing Initiative will work over the next three years to develop more-efficient standards for consumer electronics.

"Today's partnership announcement unites Energy Star and industry in an effort to rally the technology industry to reduce computer energy consumption and fight climate change," said Bob Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, in a press release.

Energy Star, launched in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency, is considered the first "green" U.S. consumer label for electronics … Read more

Online shoppers will soon be able to tell at a glance if computers offer "green" features. Desktop and laptop PCs, as well as monitors, sold online are set to display the EPEAT logo starting early this year.

The label is the closest the electronics industry has come to adopting a third-party, green seal of approval for computers.

EPEAT's bronze, silver, and gold ratings mark electronics offering energy efficiency and sustainable product designs. Equipment that's easily dismantled, made from recycled plastics or using low-toxic ingredients get high marks.

The nonprofit Green Electronics Council runs the EPEAT system … Read more