Are you ready for green TV?

Flat-panel TVs, especially plasma TVs, consume a good deal of power—perhaps more than your fridge, as we found when we tested the power consumption of a range of TV types recently. But how much do you care about that?

We ask because some TV manufacturers, when they gather at events like the Consumer Electronics Show, say that energy consumption and other green considerations aren't yet a high-priority concern for a critical mass of consumers. And that, they say, makes them reluctant to compromise on attributes that are clear consumer priorities, like low prices and bright screens, in order to boost greenness.

Yet greener computers and monitors have entered the market. Why? In part because the federal government buys millions of those products every year and insists that 95 percent of them meet environmental standards set by EPEAT—the Electronics Product Environmental Assessment Tool. The standards stipulate that desktops, laptops, and monitors contain fewer toxins like lead and mercury, be Energy Star-qualified, and contain recyclable or reusable parts, among other criteria. Some of the greener models developed to meet EPEAT's stipulations are available to consumers, too; the program's website has a searchable list.

Currently, EPEAT standards are being considered for TVs. But since the Feds don't buy many TVs, the incentive to create the standards wouldn't be there the way it is for computers. Our advocacy colleagues at Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, believe it will be key to have other big purchasers and retailers engage in the development of the standards.

Of course, the biggest driver in all of this is you, the consumer. Are greener TVs on your radar? Would you trade off other attributes, like screen size or price, to get a greener set? Tell us what you think.

Super Bowl: Getting a big screen for the big game

There's still time to get a new high-definition TV delivered and set up before Super Bowl Sunday, but the countdown clock is ticking.

Best Buy and Circuit City, two of the biggest players in the TV business, promise they'll have your new set up and running by kickoff as long as you seal the deal by Jan. 26 or Jan. 30, respectively. Online giant Amazon.com has a cut-off date of Jan. 26. P.C. Richard & Sons, a regional chain in the Northeast, takes the prize for last-minute specials, giving procrastinators up to noon on game day to buy a set in a New York or New Jersey store. That's the big picture—with all these deals, there are restrictions and caveats, as spelled out below.

Sears doesn't specifically guarantee delivery by Feb. 3, but a random check of various models on the company's web site showed that we could have some TVs delivered before game day, depending on zip code. That doesn't include setup; you'd have to call Sears to see when you could get an appointment in your area.

Of course, if you're willing and able to haul your big-screen set home from the store and set it up yourself, you have more time and more options. You can order a set online and pick it up at a local store with Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, and Wal-mart, or you can head over to a nearby Target or a Costco warehouse for a cash-and-carry transaction.

Don't forget that you'll need high-def TV service in place to enjoy the game in all its big-screen splendor. For cable, satellite, or phone-company fiber-optic service, that means a high-def receiver and service package. If you don't already have such a setup, call your provider ASAP to get the ball rolling. Depending on the company, you can pick up the equipment at a local outlet or have it shipped or delivered. For free off-air broadcasts, all you need is a UHF/VHF antenna hooked up to your new TV (all new sets have the required digital tuner). That's assuming you're in a location where you can pull in signals, without tall buildings, trees, or mountains obstructing transmission.

Then there's the actual setup—putting all the plugs in all the right places. If you've paid for installation, which might run you $100 to $150 for a basic setup, the retailer's crew will hook everything up and make sure you have a high-def picture coming in. Doing it yourself isn't that hard, though. You plug the incoming cable into the HD receiver, then use an HDMI cable, or component-video and audio cables, to connect the receiver to the TV. Tune in an HD channel, and you should be good to go. You should also check the TV's settings to make sure you're getting a full-screen picture with optimal image quality.

One final tip: Hang onto your receipts and check prices for a month or two after your purchase. Many retailers offer a 30-day or 60-day price guarantee, and you can collect the difference if your set is sold at a lower price either at the store itself or at a competitor during that period.

Check out Consumer Reports' Guide to Super Bowl Sunday for more HDTV shopping advice, including access to our Ratings of HDTVs and for tips on throwing a great Super Bowl party.

Now, it's on to the players.

CES 2008: Green gains, but only so far…

This year's Consumer Electronics Show proclaimed itself the world's first carbon-neutral trade event, proudly detailing how it required suppliers of everything from displays to disposable plates to choose environmentally benign options. This was also the greenest CES ever in terms of what participants were shown and invited to discuss.

But a greenfest it wasn't. At best, environmental issues rose from the near-invisibility of past shows to a scattered presence on the show floor, with the occasional green or brown sign carrying a corporate pledge or strategy. The conference program featured a day of modestly attended panel discussions on environmental issues, in the farthest reaches of the Las Vegas Convention Center's cavernous South Hall. A few other green-themed sessions dotted the calendar.

I attended as many of those events as I could and chatted afterwards with some of the panelists, who included manufacturers, mostly from big companies such as HP, Sony, and Panasonic, and regulators but not environmentalists (organizers say they tried without success to get environmental groups to participate).

Here are some of the promising developments I heard:

Energy Star designations will improve and expand. As we'll report more fully in a few weeks, when our annual TV feature-content posts to ConsumerReports.org, a flat-panel TV can easily consume $50 or more of power a year, possibly as much or more than your fridge. Many plasmas and LCD sets now bear Energy Star labels, but the current requirements reflect only power consumption in the standby mode—which is many times less than sets consume during the eight or so hours in which they're on in an average home. Energy Star's administrator, Katharine Kaplan, says a new TV standard will be finalized next month that reflects power when the set is on. She also said that standards would be similarly upgraded for printers and some other gear in 2008.

Digital photo frames, portable GPS join TVs as Black Friday doorbusters

TV deals on Black Friday generally garner the most attention, but the latest Black Friday ads on sites such as www.gottadeal.com and www.theblackfriday.com show that digital photo frames and handheld GPS devices are also being singled out for star treatment.

The best deals we’ve seen—so-called “doorbuster specials”—generally occur in the early-morning hours (typically starting at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m.) and last for several hours. The sale items are generally offered in limited quantities, which could be as few as 10 per store. Make sure you read the fine print in the ads to see if there’s a chance you can actually get one of these deals, especially if you’re not one of the apparently large number of people willing to camp out overnight to ensure a good place in line.

That said, here are some of the latest Black Friday leaks we’ve seen. It’s quite possible that these and other stores will add more late-breaking deals and web-only specials as we get closer to the Black Friday period.

Target
Target is closed on Thanksgiving, but it’s holding a two-day sale starting bright and early Friday morning and continuing on Saturday. Among the deals being offered: a 37-inch Olevia LCD TV (237T) for $549, a 22-inch Westinghouse flat-panel LCD computer monitor (LCM22W3) for $167, and a 19-inch TruTech widescreen LCD TV (PLV31199S1) with a built-in DVD player and PC inputs for $199.

Other deals include an Audiovox kitchen LCD TV with integrated DVD player for $199, an Audiovox portable DVD player with a 10-inch flip-down screen for $84, Magellan’s Maestro 3100 auto GPS system for $149, and a Magnavox 5-disc DVD home theater system with USB for $79. Also on sale is a TruTech 7-inch digital photo frame for $49, a Polaroid video camcorder for $69, and Kodak’s 8-megapixel MD853 digital camera for $89.

The store opens at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Kmart
Kmart’s Black Friday deals actually kick off on Thanksgiving Day. The store will be offering a 32-inch Olevia LCD TV (no model number specified) for $420, a 20-inch Sylvania LCD TV for $135, and a 20-inch Sylvania combination LCD TV/DVD/VCR for $250. Kmart is also advertising a 27-inch RCA TV model for $230, which appears to be a standard-def CRT model. Another blast from the past is a JVC VHS-C camcorder for $120.

Other items of note: Magellan’s Maestro 3100 GPS for $130 ($19 less than at Target), a $40 Nextar digital photo frame, an 8-megapixel Polaroid digital camera (A801) for $80, and Microsoft’s Zune MP3 players for $150 (4GB model and $200 (8GB model). The Zune players come with a $20 Kmart gift card.

The store’s hours on Thanksgiving are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Some specials are available only on Thursday.

H.H. Gregg
Befitting its status as a consumer electronics dealer, H.H. Gregg’s Black Friday circular is chock-full of CE specials. We counted 14 TV deals, including some on major brands such as Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba. Most ads don’t specify model numbers. Among the Friday-only specials: a Hitachi 50-inch plasma for $1,000 and a $600 37-inch 720p LCD set from an unspecified brand. There will be a total of 500 company-wide of each sale item, and prices are good only while supplies last (no rain checks).

The chain is closed on Thanksgiving but kicks off Friday morning with a 5:00 a.m. opening. Advertised doorbuster specials include a 19-inch LCD TV for $189, a $45 7-inch digital photo frame, a Jensen portable GPS for $100, a $10 progressive-scan DVD player from GPX, and a $150 DVD camcorder from Samsung. There will be limited quantities of each per store.

Less dramatic savings will be offered on major-brand TVs. For example, a 37-inch Sony Bravia will be priced at $800, while different 46-inch Sony Bravia 1080p LCDs will carry price tags of $1,040 and $1,600. Toshiba is well represented in the circular, with a 52-inch 1080p Regza LCD priced at $2,200, a 42-inch 1080p Regza for $1,250, and a pair of 32-inch Regza models, with different features, for $700 and $800. A 50-inch 720p Toshiba DLP rear-projection HDTV will sell for $900.

Other notable TV deals include:
• 42-inch JVC 720p LCD for $900
• 47-inch 1080p JVC for $1,500
• 52-inch 1080p Mitsubishi LCD TV for $2,400
• 65-inch 1080p Mitsubishi rear-projection DLP for $1,700
• 73-inch 1080p Mitsubishi rear-projection DLP for $2,500
• 50-inch 720p Panasonic plasma for $1,400
• 50-inch 1080p Samsung plasma for $2,400
• 58-inch 1080p Samsung plasma for $3,360
• and a 52-inch Sharp Aquos with 120Hz technology for $2,800.

Several other retailers have announced Black Friday specials. Costco, for example, will have a 26-inch Magnavox LCD/DVD HDTV combo for $500 and a 42-inch Magnavox 1080p LCD HDTV for $1,000. The store is also lopping $300 off the price of Sharp’s 46-inch 1080p Aquos LCD HDTV. OfficeMax will have a dual-core Acer Aspire PC—with 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor—for $600. Also on tap are an $80 8.5-inch digital photo frame from Mustek, an $80 6.2-megapixel Kodak digital camera (C613), a $100 7.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-Shot digital camera with a free printer, and a $100 Mio DigiWalker C220 GPS. The chain will have a 24-inch Soyo widescreen LCD monitor for $250. Even auto supply chain Pep Boys is getting into the act, with a $40 7-inch digital photo frame, Mio’s DigiWalker portable GPS for $80, and the TomTom One GPS for $140.

We’ll keep you updated on more Black Friday deals as they’re announced.

—James K. Willcox