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Posts with tag EnergyEfficient

3M optical film for greener LCDs making an appearance at FPD International 2009

by Richard Lawler Oct 20th 2009 @ 10:38AM


Not happy with the green TV movement so far? 3M promises its latest Vikuiti Optical Film technology will save 32% more energy in LCD screens under 40-inches, without cutting into image quality, while enhancing the viewing angle and color uniformity. Checking it out before this film makes its way into the latest LCDs will require a trip to the FPD International show next week in Japan, where the it will also show off film intended for autostereoscopic (no glasses) 3D handhelds, but just a note, tearing off a piece and sticking it on your VIZIO at home won't help, we've tried that.

LG FreeSat LCDs are finally official, shipping this month

by Richard Lawler Apr 9th 2009 @ 6:05PM


LG is ready to ship its line of LCDs with integrated FreeSat tuners starting this month. The 1080p LF7700 series comes in sizes from 32- to 47-inches and includes 100Hz Trumotion in the 42- and 47-inch versions, with a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and invisible speaker design. Don't think a TV would hit the market today without the green tag, these claim to use 69% less power, thanks to the integrated light sensor. The cheap ones start at £700, even with BBC HD and ITV HD beckoning lackluster UK buyers may choose to wait for the 200Hz LH5000 models due later this year.

Hitachi unveils 11 latest Wooo plasmas & LCDs: Greener, better looking & network connected

by Richard Lawler Apr 9th 2009 @ 8:41AM


This year's edition of the Hitachi Wooo line of flat panels look a lot like their predecessors on the outside (120Hz IPS LCDs, 250GB HDD equipped models with iVDR slots for additional hard drives and Wooonet DLNA network support) but it's what's inside that counts. The four new XP plasma models range from 42- to 50-inches and promise even better contrast ratios, as high as 40,000:1, with better color reproduction and the promise of greater energy efficiency. The ultra-thin 35mm / 1.4-inch thick LCDs are back in four new models, with UWB wirelessly connected tuners, auto sensing/adjusting brightness and aforementioned "eco" power sipping improvements. The relatively fat XP line of LCDs consists of just three displays, but just like all the rest, buyers can still hook up to the 'net and pull down video on-demand or Yahoo! Japan's web TV portal -- features unlikely to make the jump when we see U.S. versions of these later this year. The XP plasmas and LCDs go on sale in Japan later this month or next, while the ultra-thins will be crash dieting until October.

Read - Hitachi, recording double-35mm-thin LCD TV "Wooo UT800"
Read - Hitachi, 7 new plasma / LCD

Sony's BRAVIA VE5 series brings zero-watt standy, HCFL backlighting

by Darren Murph Jan 7th 2009 @ 7:45PM


During the run-up to CES, we heard through the grapevine that eco-friendly and well-connected HDTVs were going to be all the rage in early January, and so far, those premonitions are spot on. Sony's new BRAVIA VE5 line sucks down around 40% less power than many of the company's other LCD HDTV models, and there are two main developments to thank. First, the 52-inch KDL-52VE5, the 46-inch KDL-46VE5 and the 40-inch KDL-40VE5 all tout a zero-watt standby switch, which -- when flipped on -- cuts power usage to "nearly zero watts." Additionally, this Energy Star 3.0-compliant trifecta is the first from Sony to sport the micro-tubular Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HFCL), and as if that wasn't enough, there's even a motion sensor that can turn the set off if no action is sensed and a ambient light sensor for good measure. All greenness aside, each of the three also boasts Motionflow 120Hz technology, a USB port for loading up digital media files, the BRAVIA Engine 2, BRAVIA Sync, four HDMI inputs and 24- True Cinema. Check 'em this summer for currently undisclosed prices; full release is after the break.

Continue reading Sony's BRAVIA VE5 series brings zero-watt standy, HCFL backlighting

Researchers achieve new efficiency record of blue OLEDs

by Darren Murph Dec 23rd 2008 @ 3:55PM

Ever since Sony's XEL-1 hit the market, pundits have pointed to the (comparatively) short-lived blue OLED material as its biggest hamstring. Researchers have been toiling around the clock in order to bring the blue lifepsan in line with its green and red siblings, and now it seems like a team of Gators are that much closer to the promise land. Reportedly, a gaggle of whiz-kids from the University of Florida have "achieved a new record in efficiency of blue organic light-emitting diodes, and because blue is essential to white light, the advance helps overcome a hurdle to lighting that is much more efficient than compact fluorescents." Franky So (pictured) and his diligent crew were able to reach a peak blue OLED efficiency of 50 lumens per watt, which is halfway to his goal of at least 100 lumens per watt. Hurry it up, folks -- CES is just around the corner.

[Via Physorg]

JVC brags about smashing Energy Star 3.0 requirements

by Darren Murph Dec 12th 2008 @ 9:09AM


With just about every new set out besting those newfangled Energy Star 3.0 requirements, we're not so sure why JVC would choose to brag about it. Unless, of course, it has really trumped practically every other set out there in terms of efficiency. As fate would have it, that's exactly what the outfit is claiming, noting that in the 32-inch class, JVC is "tied for the most efficient TV," while in the 40- to 42-inch and 46- to 47-inch classes, it "swept the first four places, in every case significantly more efficient than the Energy Star requirement." All in all, JVC's sets managed to outperformed the baselines by anywhere from 29- to 60-percent, instantly skyrocketing them onto the must-buy list of tree huggers the world over. Check the full release after the break.

Continue reading JVC brags about smashing Energy Star 3.0 requirements

South Korean scientists claim development of "true blue" for OLED displays

by Darren Murph Nov 24th 2008 @ 3:52AM


It's no secret that OLED gurus have had the toughest time improving the life of blue luminance to match the lifespans of its red and green counterparts, but a team of South Korean scientists have purportedly stumbled upon (or developed, as it were) a breakthrough "true blue" material that can "accelerate the development of next-generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays." Up until now, scientists have been able to create highly efficient green and red OLED materials, but the inability to make a true blue OLED material was really holding things back. So, now that this little hurdle has been hopped, how's about we get some big screen OLED HDTVs out to the people?

[Via OLED-Info, image courtesy of Universal Display]

Japanese outfits to collaborate on power-saving OLED panels

by Darren Murph Jul 17th 2008 @ 11:48PM


The energy-saving nature of OLEDs has certainly been debated, but a passel of big name firms and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) are pushing forward with an initiative to promote the technology. Aside from the aforementioned entity, ten companies including Sony, Sharp, Toshiba and Matsushita (Panasonic) are collaborating on the five-year effort, which will likely cost ¥3.5 billion ($32.8 million). In sum, the project is aimed at "developing a core technology to mass-produce 40-inch or larger OLED displays in the late 2010s," and there's even a mention that said companies are racing South Korean firms to get a jump on OLED deployment. Race on, we say.

[Via Widescreen Review]

Green Plug starts small, signs on Westinghouse

by Darren Murph Jun 14th 2008 @ 11:46AM


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]

Tranquil's T7-HSA shipping with Windows Home Server

by Darren Murph Sep 12th 2007 @ 4:46PM

It's been quite some time since we've heard any noise from Tranquil, but apparently, the firm's T7-HSA server is finally shipping. Notably, these wee machines not only utilize an energy-efficient, fanless design, but it arrives at your door with Windows Home Server under the hood. Granted, you won't be encoding any movie clips or recording 16 tracks of simultaneous audio with the modest 1.5GHz CPU, but it should handle basic media serving / home automation tasks just fine. Nevertheless, those interested can get their orders in now starting at £338 ($686), and you shouldn't have to wait long before having it in your hands.




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