A guide to green graphics and TV technology

Television screen technology has come a long way since the bulky CRT systems of a few decades ago. Nowadays, there are several large-screen technologies existing side by side with one another. Due to the energy crisis in several parts of the world, there is a growing concern about the sustainability of the technology used by the typical television sets in past years.

Due to this growing concern, display technologies are making the effort in helping Mother Nature. From energy star logos to the required energy guide labels in all TV sets, the industry of home entertainment is going green.

CRT vs Plasma

Cathode ray tube, or CRT, televisions were the first to find themselves in American living rooms. It was the first technology developed and is still used in some part of the world today. In the U.S., CRT systems were already replaced by more efficient technologies such as plasma, LCD, and DLP.

Today, CRT remains the most affordable of all the display technologies. It is reliable and tends to have fewer problems. However, since it is essentially using a light bulb, it is not very energy efficient and has a larger carbon footprint compared to other technologies. Some systems today are more efficient than the first systems, but mainly due to the smaller size available in the market.

Plasma TV was the first to emerge from the old CRT television. It was thinner and could be mounted to the wall. Plasma is basically a type of gas that is trapped between two sheets of glass. The gas is then electrically charged and excites the phosphors to emit light. It replaced the bulky CRT's not only because of its size, but because it uses less energy. It offered better performance. However, compared to the newer technologies, Plasma TVs produce more heat, which constantly need an AC to run. Although, it uses less energy than CRT, it is considered an energy hog compared to modern display systems.

LCD vs DLP

Liquid Crystal Display, or LCD, televisions are probably the most common system on the market these days and the most popular among consumers. It was first used in laptop computers and personal desktops. It typically uses 125 to 280 watts and varies in size. LCD systems use fluorescent technology as a backlight to display sharper images. Note that LED TVs are essentially LCD systems with light-emitting diode as a backlight instead of the typical fluorescent.

Digital Light Processing, or DLP, technology on the other hand was developed much later, in 1987 and is the youngest display technology mass-produced nowadays. It uses electronic chips called Digital Macromirror Devices or DMD. Each DMD is equipped with micromirrors that are electrified to tilt in order to create an image. DLPs are usually available in larger sizes, which are 50 inches and above.

Which is the most efficient?

Energy saving depends on the consumer's viewing habits. The Federal Trade Commission that all TVs display a yellow Energy Guide sticker showing the energy consumption and the cost of running the system for a year. The cost shown on the label roughly reflects the energy usage of a typical household. There are also Energy Star labels that determine which of the sets are 'green' and efficient. Note that energy consumption does not directly translate to size. Some smaller displays eat up more energy than large sets due to the technology used.

When purchasing a new set, consumers should be aware of their television habits and their preferred TV size. For best efficiency, LCD TVs can save a lot in electricity bill for models with sizes up to 50 inches. For larger viewing experience, LCDs are generally better than DLPs when it comes to color reproduction, although technologies for both are always improving.

The Future of Display Technology

Pressing energy issues have prompted the industry to develop more energy efficient technologies. As the demand for green technology rises, newer innovations are pushed forward to replace the current systems.

This year, Organic LED TVs are made available to the market albeit with a hefty price tag. LG recently released one of the first OLED TV available to the public. It is thinner than most systems—with just the thickness of three credit cards at its thinnest point. The company claims that even the larger models are incredibly efficient without sacrificing performance. Samsung is set to release its own OLED TV later this year. Consumers can expect to see more affordable and efficient OLED systems within as the next few years as manufacturers compete for the attention of the market.