Electronista: The California Energy Commission has approved a new set of efficiency standards aimed at regulating televisions sold in the state, according to CNET News.

The rules apply to displays 58-inches or smaller, requiring retailers to stock TVs with 33 percent less energy consumption by 2011.

The terms increase once again for 2013, with mandatory reductions in consumption by an average of 49 percent.

The Commission claims the mandate will reduce electricity costs by up to $8.1 billion. The group also expects the rules to eliminate the need for building a natural gas power plant of 615 MW capacity.

The Consumer Electronics Association has opposed the bill, arguing that the regulations will effectively kill the plasma TV market in California.

The Commission, however, claims that CNET and Energy Star test data shows that plasma screens utilizing new phosphors with enhanced gas mixtures will be able to meet the 2011 and 2013 standards, especially if the technology is paired with automatic brightness control.

consumption lcd tv Plasma TV

HD News: Panasonic have unveiled their new entry level range of HDTV ready Plasma screens which are due to arrive in the UK this March. The TX-P37X10, TX-P42X10 and TX-50PX10 are already available to pre order from some retailers.

As entry level screens all of the new panels offer an HDTV resolution of 1366x 768 pixels along with three HDMI inputs and two scart sockets.

Panasonic are claiming a 20,000:1 Native Contrast Ratio and 1,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for all of the models in the PX10 range. All of the new screens will sport the latest incarnation of Panasonic’s famed V Real picture processing technology in the shape of V-Real 4. Panasonic’s 100Hz ‘Double Speed’ technology takes the frame rate up to 100 fps (frames per second).

panasonic Plasma TV TX 50PX10 TX P37X10 TX P42X10

Dealerscope: Worldwide shipments of plasma display panels fell along with the global economy, as they dropped 12 percent year over year in the fourth quarter. That’s according to numbers released Monday by research firm display search.

According to DisplaySearch’s Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, Plasma and LCD TV Panel Shipment Module, shipments of the panels dropped 12 percent to 3.8 million in the final quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, 1080p panels grew in share, representing 25 percent of those sold.

Meanwhile, Panasonic widened its market share lead to just under 50 percent, followed by Samsung and LG; Panasonic was the only brand whose sales grew in the quarter.

“Due to the demand reduction brought about by the economic crisis and manufacturing line shut downs by each plasma panel maker, it is hard to expect optimistic results for 2009 PDP shipments,” DisplaySearch’s Director of Display Technology and Materials, YS Chung, said.

DisplaySearch Plasma TV

HD News: LG’s flagship PS8000 Plasma series for 2009 includes technology for smoother more natural frame-to-frame transitions, 600Hz ‘Smooth Motion’.

600Hz ‘Smooth Motion’ increases the rate at which the plasma pixels refresh to improve High Definition motion tracking. It is worth noting that the figure is not directly comparable to an LCD refresh rate.

The 50in and 60in panels also come with THX certification. THX display certification has been designed to set a benchmark for flat panel display performance, driving quality in manufacturing and helping consumers to simplify their buying decisions.

The PS8000 series will feature “THX Media Director” which has been designed to simplify operation and ensuring optimised settings.

LG Plasma TV PS8000 Smooth Motion THX certification

Pioneer Europe: Recent press reports claimed that Plasma TV technology may be banned from the market soon for energy efficiency reasons. Such statements are factually incorrect, according to EICTA (link opens PDF).

According to the pertinent EU directive a technology such as plasma cannot be banned from the market as long as the TV sets (using this technology) comply with the energy efficiency requirements.

The EU and its member states are currently working on new regulations to ensure improved energy efficiency of TV sets across all technologies, including Plasma TVs, LCD TVs, CRT based TVs, etc.

All manufacturers will be required to meet these new minimum efficiency standards in order to continue producing, importing and selling TV sets on the European market. This regulation is expected to be published during the second half of 2009.

EICTA Plasma TV power consumption

Telegraph.co.uk: Giant flatscreen televisions have been dubbed the ‘4×4s’ of the living room because they can consume four times as much energy as traditional televisions. Now European governments are finalising a mandatory EU regulation to set minimum standards for televisions. The worst performers will be phased out, and the rest will have to be labelled with energy ratings.

Britain has 60 million television sets, one for every person in the country. In the past five years the main television in many households has changed from being a 24-32in cathode ray model to a 32-42 flatscreen television.

Power consumption goes up as the screens increase in size, so a big plasma model could use four times as much electricity and be responsible for the emission of four times as much carbon dioxide as the biggest CRT, and they account for twice as much as a fridge-freezer.

eu Plasma TV power consumption