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Response To California's Large-Screen TV Regulation

An anonymous reader writes "It's great that unelected bureaucrats in California are clamoring to save energy, but when they target your big-screen TVs for elimination, consumers and manufacturers are apt to declare war. CEDIA and the CEA are up in arms over this. Audioholics has an interesting response that involves setting the TVs in 'SCAM' mode to meet the energy criteria technically without having to add additional cost or increase costs to consumers. 'In this mode, the display brightness/contrast settings would be set a few clicks to the right of zero, audio would be disabled and backlighting would be set to minimum. The power consumption should be measured in this mode much like an A/V receiver power consumption is measured with one channel driven at full rated power and the other channels at 1/8th power.' This is an example of an impending train wreck of unintended consequences, and many are grabbing the popcorn and pulling up chairs to watch."

9 of 619 comments (clear)

  1. Hooray! by czarangelus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's about time the government focuses on real issues, like how big your television screen is. I mean, if California was facing one of the worst financial crises in history or something, it would be totally absurd theater meant to detract from the fact that our legislative body has failed us deplorably. But since California is in fine shape, with no farmers in the Central Valley going without water, without widespread corruption, brutality, and incarceration - well, there's no reason not to focus on such an important and substantial issue.

    Hey Sacramento - if I want a bigger television, I'll drive out of state to get it and you won't get any tax money out of it. Suckas!

    --
    When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
  2. Re:California Uber Alles by czarangelus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually that's not funny. After all, the pigs already use infrared sensors to search homes without a warrant looking to bust up harmless pot farms. Maybe they'll add cool televisions to their targets when they invade our privies.

    --
    When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
  3. Re:California Uber Alles by jimicus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe they'll add cool televisions to their targets when they invade our privies.

    Why are they invading your toilets?

  4. Trying to save the planet by nightfire-unique · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Trying to save the planet by reducing energy usage is like trying to save a river by not drinking.

    We are not going back.

    Reasonable reduction, recycling programs, and common sense are certainly part of the picture, but the answer to the energy problem will be a technological one. We need to start rolling out more sensible power generation facilities.

    If we pretend we can get by on coal and making TVs dimmer, we will pollute the atmosphere to the point it can't support us.

    --
    A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
  5. Re:Hilarious by dargaud · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For a same screen size an LCD will consume less than a CRT, but most people who change their TV go for a much bigger screen that negates any benefit.

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    Non-Linux Penguins ?
  6. Re:California Uber Alles by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's no longer permitted in the US.

    (Apart from being a good ruling for civil liberties and privacy, Kyllo's also interesting for its strange 5-4 split: the majority, pro-civil-liberties, opinion is by Scalia, joined by Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer.)

  7. Re:Simple solution by jbird1785 · · Score: 5, Informative

    "If you want people to use less electricity charge" We all saw how well this worked when gas prices hit $4. People are not willing to drive less or even willing to drive sanely.

    "Motorists drove 112 billion fewer miles during the 13-month period between November 1, 2007 and November 30, 2008 compared with the year-prior period, the U.S. Department of Transportation said"
    http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/22/news/economy/gas_use/?postversion=2009012215

  8. Re:Tax by DJRumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    California's problems are self created. They spend more than they take in, it's just that simple. Removing themselves from the union would just add additional costs for subsidies that they currently get at the federal level.

    Their problems stem mostly from social services run amok and loss of tax income revenue. They have a huge illegal problem (some estimates as high as 10 percent of their workforce) according to a recent non-partisan study, where folks earn money, and then simply send it back to Mexico. Same on the health care front. They end up offering social services not only to tax payers, but to the large illegal population. They also spend millions on wasteful social services they simply can't afford. I found it odd that everyone was screaming when they put those services on the chopping block in order to get a budget that would pass muster. They simply don't realize that you can't spend what you don't have. They've been in that sort of spend cycle for years, and it finally came to a breaking point.

    Public schools are a biggie. They actually tried to deny illegal children the right to attend public schools but a federal judge blocked that. The illegal population can collect welfare, as well as take advantage of health services all on the taxpayer dollar. Many of these are also avoiding taxes simply because they are paid cash for day labor. I'm generally about as left as you can go, but I have to stop short on giving a free ride to illegals. Unfortunately most border states suffer from the same issues.

    Add on top of all that their tax system, which relies almost heavily on income taxes (over half of their budget money comes from this). Every time the economy tanks, so does their revenue.

    They have a lot of problems that have to be addressed both in their taxation, and spending. Succeeding from the union won't fix them.

  9. Re:Tax by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Frankly I don't understand this. Cuoldn't California just lay people off, and cut their costs for 2010?

    Well silly, don't you know that most politicians steal from Peter to buy Paul's vote? If they had to cut, you know, spending and stuff, then they would not be able to live off the public dole for their entire lives.

    The only way to get this situation fixed, is the stop voting for people promising things like free healthcare, welfare and benefits for people who are perfectly capable of otherwise having a job and earning money.

    And stop taxing people into leaving California for other less regressive tax states, like Texas.

    In this budget crisis, it is interesting to see the states in the biggest mess financially are the ones with the highest taxes.

    But the liberal progressives scream bloody murder every time their pet government project is cut. They just don't get it.

    And the wimpy conservatives are unable to counter the "grandma on dog food" crap that the liberal progressives love to spew.

    Next time you hear "Think of the Children" crap, whether it is from an (R) [porn/crime] or (D) [starving/homeless], tell them to STFU and address the real problems, and not politically expedient anecdotal cases.

    --
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