California Plans Ban on Power-Guzzling TVs

State is the first to demand better efficiency

(NEWSER) - Move over Hummer, there's a new energy-hogging villain in town—flat-screen TVs. California yesterday became the first state to mandate better energy efficiency for televisions, reports the San Jose Mercury News. All sets sold there must reduce consumption 30% by 2011 and 50% by 2013. The industry is outraged, but advocates point out that televisions and their assorted gadgets now make up 10% of the average electricity bill, a huge jump from the good old days of cathode ray tubes. More»

Pioneer, Vizio axe plasma production lines; retailers slash prices

(NEWSER) - TV buyers are increasingly choosing liquid-crystal-display over plasma as LCD manufacturers beef up the technological capabilities of their sets, the Wall Street Journal reports. With 30 million LCDs sold in North America in 2008, compared with 4 million plasmas, Pioneer and Vizio are discontinuing their plasma lines. The shift means consumers can find deep discounts on plasma sets, once a strictly luxury item. More»

3mm-thick wonder trumps LCDs, plasmas — though it's tiny, and pricey

(NEWSER) - Sony’s new XEL-1 television is neither plasma nor LCD: it uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, and “its picture is so incredible, Sony should include a jaw cushion,” David Pogue writes in the New York Times. Sony is the first to sell TVs using the system, which is "like looking out a window. With the glass missing,” Pogue notes. More»

(NEWSER) - Sony will delay production of its next-generation ultrathin television as the struggling electronics giant seeks to avoid further losses, reports the Wall Street Journal. The organic light emitting diode, or OLED, television was to succeed a three-millimeter-thick model released in late 2007, but will be held back until at least next year. At present Sony is on track for a sixth straight year in the red. More»

Say buyers will continue snapping up flat panels; investors not so sure

(NEWSER) - Who cares if there’s a recession? The Super Bowl’s on! Even after the worst retailing Christmas in years, the makers of flat-panel, high-definition TVs are confident their trendy product will keep selling, spurred by falling prices and prime tube-watching events like the Olympics. One market-research firm is predicting LCD sales will jump 27% worldwide. More»