TV makers had signaled their intention to get the European Commission to revise the 2019 regulations, based on a clause that says “the Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and present the results of the evaluation, including, where appropriate, a draft proposal for a revision, to the Advisory Forum by 25 December 2022 at the latest”.
Alas, the European Commission has confirmed to the italian newspaper D Day that it will not review the new limits this month. Stricter requirements will therefore come into force on March 1, 2023, without revision. The Commission still believes that manufacturers are able to bring their televisions – in particular 8K models – into line with the new regulations.
Remember that with these new rules, 4K LCD and Oled televisions should have no problems. On the other hand, it will be quite different for 8K televisions which should be above the authorized limit and which can no longer be sold in the current state. The Samsung 55QN700B, a 55-inch 8K model, consumes 193 kWh/1000 h against 81 kWh/1000 h for an LG Oled 55C2, for example. Same observation with large sizes: an LG 75QNED99 8K consumes 219 kWh/1000 h, 247 kWh/1000 h for the Samsung 75QN700B and even 356 kWh/1000 h for the TCL 75X925 Pro, while the limit is set at 141 W for a 75-inch television (the LG OLED 77C2 is content with 119 kWh and the Samsung 75QN95B with 126 kWh).
These consumptions are measured with the default mode used by the television when unboxing (often the standard). Other modes consume more, including dynamic and vivid. Conversely, well-calibrated modes like Filmmaker, Film or Cinema often consume a little less than the standard mode.
Manufacturers could thus find a software parade by reducing the consumption of the mode used by default since the tests carried out by the European Commission are based solely on this mode. It should be noted, however, that the relative consumption of the televisions that we are testing is down overall, whether on the Oled models or the LCD models.
The 2020 LG 65CX thus consumed 85.6 W/m² compared to 92.3 W/m² for the 2021 LG 65C1, and 72.1 W/m² for the 2022 LG 65C2. As for the Samsung QE65Q60B that we recently tested , it broke the relative consumption record with only 47.2 W/m². Proof that manufacturers are still making efforts on the subject. However, as the size of TVs continues to increase, so does the absolute consumption…
