EU-funded research group ComplianTV recently performed a series of tests and concluded Samsung TVs actually use more power in real-life conditions than when undergoing efficiency tests.
A myriad of Samsung TVs come equipped with a ‘motion lighting’ feature that’s supposed to reduce brightness when fast video motion is detected, resulting in less power consumption.
However, the EU study suggests that while motion lighting kicks in during International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) test conditions, in an everyday setting, no such power reductions are observed.
A Samsung spokesperson told The Guardian:
“There is no comparison [between motion lighting and VW defeat devices]. This is not a setting that only activates during compliance testing. On the contrary, it is an ‘out of the box’ setting, which reduces power whenever video motion is detected. Not only that, the content used for testing energy consumption has been designed by the International Electrotechnical Commission to best model actual average picture level internationally.”
One could certainly argue that this is not that big of a deal, but when you take into account the fact that TVs consume an estimated 10 percent of a household’s electricity use, it becomes a bit of an issue. This is especially troublesome if we think a major company like Samsung has been acting unethically.
