The 42PFL5603D is the new energy-efficiency champ.
(Credit: Philips)It's official: The Philips 42PFL5603D consumes less power than any HDTV we've tested, regardless of screen size. The so-called Eco TV earned our nod for Best in Show at CES by hugging trees harder than any flat-panel HDTV yet. We based that decision partly on a Watts Up! power meter Philips had set up in its booth, which showed the 42-inch LCD sucking down electricity at a miserly rate between 60 and 80 watts (check out the video).
As proven by our somewhat more rigorous power consumption test, the Eco TV deserves a place next to your Prius, your low-flow toilet valve, and your almost-watched copy of An Inconvenient Truth. The display set new records among all of the HDTVs whose power use we've tracked, scoring an average of 91.23 watts in the default picture setting, 67.29 watts in the power saver mode--that's right, barely more than a standard incandescent light bulb--and just 0.33 watt in standby... Read More
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Hitachi's LCDs are just 1.5 inches thick.
(Credit: Hitachi)The whirlwind of CES 2008 is finally over, and now that we've had a few seconds to gather our thoughts, let's reflect on some of the major HDTV trends we observed at the show.
Thin is in
Flat-panels are popular for a reason, and part of it is people love thin screens. While plenty of people are satisfied with standard 6-inch-deep screens, HDTV companies are betting there's a market for ultrathin sets measured in millimeters rather than inches. The most impressive thin TV tech we saw was Pioneer's "Project Kuro" prototype plasma, which measures only 9mm thin, but unfortunately won't be released in 2008. On the more conventional side, JVC announced the "world's thinnest" LCD--coming in at 2.9 inches deep--while LG showed off an even thinner 1.9-inch thick LCD with a hole in it. Trumping both JVC and LG was Hitachi, with its new superslim LCDs measuring only 1.5-inches thick--although they ditch an internal ATSC tuner to do so. And, of course, no mention of thin HDTV would be complete without OLED...
Sony's 11-inch OLED is coming to the states this year.
(Credit: Sony)OLED is coming
Sony made a big splash by showing off the 11-inch XEL-1, which will be the first OLED HDTV available in the United States and measures just 3mm thick. Samsung also had a 31-inch prototype OLED on display and there's no doubt the OLED technolgy is promising: razor thin screens, low power consumption and an excellent contrast ratio. At this early point in the game OLED isn't commercially viable--Sony's 11-inch set will cost $2,500--but as prices drop and screen sizes increase, OLED could be a major flat-panel TV technology.
WebTV all over again?
Bringing the web to your TV sounds like an idea better suited to CES 1995 rather than CES 2008, but we saw a lot of HDTV manufacturers promoting their sets' ability to grab content off the internet. HP, which has been a step ahead of everyone in this regard, announced an update to its existing MediaSmart HDTVs. Sharp is promising the ability to check weather and stock quotes on certain LCDs, while Samsung is focusing on recipes, artwork and RSS feeds. And Sony is continuing to support its Bravia Internet Video Link service, which at least looks slightly more interesting now that Sony's announced a deal with CBS.
RPTV is (mostly) dead
Mitsubishi's trio of laser TVs hang on the wall.
(Credit: Mitsubishi)Some of the biggest HDTV news at CES 2008 was what wasn't there. Rear-projection HDTVs (RPTVs) were basically nowhere to be seen on the show floor, and just a week before CES started Sony announced that it would officially stop producing RPTVs altogether. While the general buzz is that RPTVs are essentially dead, that didn't stop Mitsubishi from launching a big laser TV demo--which was short on details and did little to convince us that laser has a real shot to dismount flat panels as the dominant HDTV technology.
The 42PFL5630D uses less power than any 42-inch LCD we've seen.
(Credit: Philips)Green machines
While we were expecting to see more green HDTVs this year, we're betting Philips is in front of the curve on power-saving TV tech. The power-savings innovations on the Philips' Eco TV was enough to earn it CNET's Best in Show award and it uses less power than any other 42-inch LCD we've tested. In addition to using less watts, the Eco TV is produced using only lead-free materials and "trace" amounts of mercury. With a very reasonable $1,400 price tag, the Eco TV could be a big hit with consumers looking to control their energy costs--and if so, we'll see more green TVs from other companies.
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