Toshiba promises breakthrough on LCD power consumption

SCIENTISTS AT TOSHIBA have developed a way of backlighting LCD TVs that mean 30% less power is consumed, according to the Nikkei Business Daily.

The report said that a redesigned cold cathode fluorescent lamp won't be commercially available for three to four years, but will eventually displace the large number of CCFL backlight lamps currently used in the technology.

The advantage of the new type of lamp is that they will also stay lit for twice as long as the current technology. The old lamps gobble up nearly 90% of power used in LCD TVs.

Toshiba hopes to tweak CCFL lamps to power on a mere 70 volts or so. You can read the full report, here (subscription required). µ