The British have become quite fond of flat plasma displays it seems and it's no wonder. Once you see the size and picture quality possible with a good DVD player and a 42 or 50 inch plasma display, it's hard to go back to a cathode ray tube. Due to the steadily dropping prices of these screens, coupled with the even greater need for 1080i and even 1080p displays needed for Blu-ray and we can easily imagine that these flat panels are going to be found in more and more British homes.
So, what's the problem? According to this report over at The Observer UK, plasma displays can use *up to* four times as much power as the old "boob tube" cathode ray television. Plus, they post an interesting stat within the article, that indicates a plasma was being sold every 15 seconds from Curry's and Dixon's during the buildup for the World Cup!
A scientist has warned that if just half of all British households were to purchase a plasma, then turn them on all at once, this could theoretically cause a need for the construction of two nuclear power plants!
| Dr Joseph Reger, chief technology officer at Fujitsu Siemens Computers in Munich, Germany, said: 'If all the [plasma] TVs were on at the same time, you would need something that produces 2.5 gigawatts. That can be done today with around two nuclear power stations.' But Reger added: 'It is safe to assume that there will be extras because people rarely just buy a TV. They desire a better picture and all of a sudden you have the urge for the latest and greatest DVD player. Then you need more file space on your personal video recorder. You want to download movies and it all adds up.'
Once all the elements of the 'digital home' are factored in, Reger calculates, the additional power requirement at peak hours may be six gigawatts. |
Talk about the tail wagging the dog! Without the optical drive industry behind it with DVD movies and now even high definition blue laser movies, we have to wonder how many people would really "need" such large, 16x9, power hogging displays?
Possibly, continued improvements along the way can also be implemented in these displays to reduce the amount of power required or even better yet, newer more efficient technologies that can do the same job. Certainly, it is something to give us cause to think seriously whether we would like to see more nuclear power stations on this planet! Especially if it is warranted due to entertainment centers. But, some parts of the world have no other good way to produce electricity, so we have a problem.
Even though this scenario depends upon all the sets to be turned on at one time, we must realize that the World Cup could trigger such an event, don't you think? What about tragic current events etc., couldn't these cause people to have their sets on at once as well?
Source: The Observer
