The Problem with 8K TVs and Energy Efficiency
As we continue to advance in technology, it's amazing how often our actions can have unintended consequences on the environment. One such consequence is the energy consumption of modern TVs, specifically the latest 8K models. The issue at hand is not necessarily the 8K TVs themselves, but rather the fact that they were designed with a different standard than their 4K counterparts.
According to data, the overwhelming majority of people never change the picture mode on their TV, leaving it to default settings as it comes out of the box. This lack of awareness and control over energy consumption is a tragedy in itself, but it's not the main problem here. The real issue lies with the standard that governs 8K TVs, which cannot be simply copied from 4K TVs.
In fact, this standard needs to be reviewed and revised by the commission responsible for creating such standards. Unfortunately, sources close to the commission are reportedly not interested in revisiting this and that's not okay. As someone who is passionate about energy conservation and efficiency, it's disheartening to see a policy-making body being so shortsighted.
The problem with 8K TVs goes beyond just energy consumption; it also highlights the need for better technology and design. What if there was a feature on TVs that would confirm whether or not you were actually watching them? Imagine a button that you could click every hour, saying "yes, I'm still here" to prevent the TV from going into standby mode. This simple idea could make a significant difference in reducing energy waste.
As it stands now, taking an 8K TV out of its eco-mode can turn it into an electricity guzzler if not used correctly. Perhaps a better approach would be to focus on stopping waste and encouraging responsible behavior rather than simply trying to curb energy consumption.
The EU's recent decision to make USBC the standard charging port for all phones across the continent is a prime example of how policy-making can drive change at a global level. This move is not just limited to phone manufacturers but will have far-reaching implications for industries and organizations around the world.
Similarly, California's strict emission standards for car makers are another example of how policy can shape the way we produce and consume goods. The impact of this EU rule without any modifications will be massive, affecting not only TV makers but also content creators and every other organization in the middle.
It's time to make some noise about this issue. Share this video, send emails to officials, and let it be known that this poor, ham-fisted policy-making isn't going to slide. We can affect change if we make an effort. Thank you for watching, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and check out these two other videos that I think you might enjoy.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enEurope is about to ban most of the best TVs you can buy and if you think that doesn't affect you think againwelcome back everyone I'm Caleb Denison and let's just get into this I'm wow okay look here's what's happening as of right now on March 1st 2023 a revised restriction on TV power consumption goes into effect in EU Nations and if nothing changes between now and then there isn't a single 8K TV that can be sold in the EU a handful of 4K OLED TVs will also be banned 65-inch cutie oleds will be off the shelves and even a few 4K qled TVs they won't make the cut either so yeah most of the best TVs that you can buy today simply won't pass muster can't be sold in the EU and would effectively be banned now I don't know about you but when I first heard this I kind of dismissed it as ridiculous as in no way is this true well it turns out it is true I still think it's ridiculous but it is definitely not something we should just shrug our shoulders at this has some huge implications which I'm going to get to in a moment but first how did we get here well there's a lot of mystery around that as well but here is what I do know several years ago the EU developed what it calls the Energy Efficiency index or eei for short in order to figure out what the Energy Efficiency of a display was the commission looked at data from displays that were sold between 2012 and 2017. so TVs that are now 7 to 10 years old now I haven't dug into the methodology of how they determine these efficiency numbers did they measure the power use of a TV when it displays a 10 white window is it a full screen white window is it a giant bright moon on a black background I don't know I will find out but what I can say for now is that the TV industry generally felt like the numbers the commission came up with were sound and fair and that meeting those efficiency standards was totally doable and they have been meeting those standards for a few years now now keep in mind that these efficiency standards were developed for HD and UHD or 4K TVs and things have been fine but fast forward to a few months ago when the EU decided it was going to not only increase the efficiency requirement meaning HD and 4K TVs will have to consume less power than they do now but they also decided that after reducing that number by like 0.20 they would also just copy and paste the exact same power efficiency standard to apply to both 8K and micro LED TVs and therein lies the problem either somebody in this governing body doesn't understand the fundamental science behind how TVs and displays work or they just don't care because AK TVs consume a lot more power than 4K TVs because they have to and in fact several 4K TVs like the 65-inch versions of the Samsung s95 QD OLED the Sony a95k QD OLED and the Samsung qn 95b consume enough power that while they pass the requirement before as of March 1 2023 they're not gonna and where 8K TVs are concerned it's not like they're just barely over the line most 8K TVs on the market blow past the limit by like 300 percent they consume three times more power than the limit so they aren't even close to being okay now at this point I can practically hear some of you out there saying well 8K TVs are stupid anyway so I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for this situation and besides sucks for Europe but I live in America and there's no shot we'd pass such a restrictive law here to which I would respond well a don't forget that this also bans the best 4K TVs on the market and micro LED TVs it's not just about 8K and B it could absolutely affect us here in the U.S and in pretty much every other country I'll explain why in a moment but first why is it that 8K TVs consume triple the amount of power of most 4K TVs I mean that can't be right can it oh but it's true I spoke to Chris Chinook who heads up the 8K Association and penned a paper on this very topic you'll find a link to it down in the description and he points out that as most of us know an aktv panel has four times the pixels of a 4K TV panel and because of the way LCD panels work it is a lot harder to pass light through the tiny aperture of those tiny pixels the harder it is to pass light the harder you have to push and that means increasing the brightness of the backlight which as you can imagine requires a lot more power three times the power as it turns out so 8K TVs necessarily need way more power just to be as bright as 4K TVs let alone a bit brighter if we're talking about a premium TV changing this would require Reinventing the LCD panel as we've known it for decades that's not happening overnight if it happens at all so what could be done well one idea that's been floated is that TV makers could come up with what would basically be an EU picture mode see the way the EU rules work the TV just has to pass the efficiency standard by drawing no more than a certain amount of power as the TV comes out of the box for an SDR signal you can change it to power guzzle mode later if you want to but in this case the out of box picture mode would be a super duper Ultra eco mode for SDR made just for the EU and again because of how 8K TVs work the resulting picture would be so dim it would be laughable this is such a bad Solution on so many levels first off can you imagine the average consumer going to the store and seeing this amazing TV buying it getting it home turning it on and getting a super ridiculously dim picture on their TV I mean they might think it was broken and then return it so how do you solve for that nightmare problem well I suppose salespersons could warn their customers that when they get their TV home they're going to need to click the settings button then go to picture settings then scroll down to this menu and turn this thing off and then go into this other menu and select you know what we have actual data that shows that the overwhelming majority of folks never change the picture mode on their TV they just use whatever it's set to as it comes out of the box that's another kind of tragedy but can you just imagine but you know what maybe the problem isn't the 8K TVs or the super bright 4K TVs crap we haven't even talked about micro LED TVs rest in peace but maybe the problem is the rule maybe you can't just copy and paste standards from 4K TVs to 8K TVs yeah I'm pretty sure that's the case this standard needs to be reviewed and revised but unfortunately sources close to the commission responsible for this standard are reportedly not really interested in revisiting this and that's not okay I mean I can't hear you it's so childish now before you attack me in the comments for being against energy saving and efficiency understand that I as a tree-hugging dedicated composter and recycler who supports wind and solar energy and drives a tiny little electric car here in the Uber Green State of Oregon I'm all about energy conservation I do think TVs need to be as efficient as possible I'd like to see energy consumption during an energy crisis go down yeah that's not just reasonable it's smart but there are better ways like what about this idea what if TVs didn't just stay on all day whether you were watching them or not what if there was a feature on TVs that was something like Netflix's hey you still watching feature where you would click a button every hour or so to confirm that you are actually watching the TV as opposed to having just left it on all day for Giggles or maybe forgot to turn it off before you left the house I bet that would save a lot more energy because as you've probably figured it out by now you can just take a TV out of its eco mode and have it be an electricity guzzler if you want to there's no stopping that perhaps stopping the waste of energy would be a better tactic anyway for all of you out there who might be like haha Europe sucks to be you I wouldn't be so quick to chuckle in your little bubble okay look at what just happened with apple the EU just said yeah from now on USBC is the charging port on phones in our Nations that's just how how it is you think apple is going to make one USBC iPhone for the EU and another phone for Every Other Nation well since it is Apple maybe at first they will just as a big middle finger to the whole situation but ultimately no apple will make one phone that it sends to All Nations this illustrates how the EU has the power to make Global changes when it makes policy also look at California emissions do car makers make one car for Californians and another for the rest of the US not anymore all cars have to pass California emission standards off the production line whether they're headed to California or Connecticut so yeah if this EU rule goes into effect without any modification it is going to seriously rattle a number of Industries not just the TV makers but the folks who make content and every other organization in the middle the ramifications of this move are massive and I would argue this whole debacle is just irresponsible so make some noise about this get the word out share this video send some emails to officials make it known that this poor ham-handed short-sighted ignorant policy making isn't going to slide we can affect change if we make an effort thanks as always for watching everyone what do you think about this whole issue leave me a comment about that down below don't forget to like And subscribe and here's two other videos that I think you might likethank you\n"
