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Sony TVs will be watching you

All in the name of energy
Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 11:44

SONY ANNOUNCED yesterday that it will be bringing out a new shiny range of six low-power LCD televisions, with a bid to boost sales.

The new offspring of the company have been named V5 and not only feature the recently developed fluorescent backlight, but also a sneaky little sensor which means that these TVs watch you.

Sony hasn’t gone mad here, this latest feature means that the screen display watches the viewer using infrared sensors and turns off when no one is watching it.

The V5 series will include two models which Sony claims consume close to 40 per cent less energy in comparison to previous models.

We can expect to see these TVs popping up on the market soon, yet they will be visiting Japan and the US before we get a sniff, at present you can expect to pay around $2,322. μ

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Comments
I have an ominous feeling

that TVs watching us to save energy is just the beginning of what they will eventually be watching (and listening) for.

posted by : mont, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
a better power saving feature

would be if they turned themselves off whenever they detected Big Brother was on

posted by : Simon, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
bathroom breaks?

So when you hit the toilet for a few minutes you'll have to turn the tv back on?

posted by : kames t. jirk, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Hmmm...

Following on from the bathroom break comment above, what if you nip into the kitchen (or whatever room/area is next to where the TV is) for a moment but still want to be able to *hear* the programme you were just watching, even if you can no longer *see* it?

posted by : Chris, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
MaBell IS Listening.

lISTENING TO You IS old. YOU HOME TELEPHONE BEEN DOING IT FOR HUNDRED YEARS. Listening & Swipe. GoodBye Family. Sure Its Bit Illegal, Thats Point. Drashek

posted by : sEars, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
It is probably customizable

I am sure you can customize the settings or turn it off, at least until the environmental liberal nut jobs pass laws making something like this mandatory.We shouldn't give the kooks any ideas.

posted by : Regulas, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
The Fix

Don't buy Sony. Given the way they did their thing with root kits on CDs I'll never trust these miscreants (not my preferred description) again.

Too many other good brands, or go play with the kids maybe, or the spouse, or maybe even visit a library.

posted by : Doug Glass, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Pets

What if the dog decides to sleep in the room where the TV is, TV stays on all night. How does that save power.

posted by : The Dude Abides, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
So pathetic

It really is pathetic that there needs to be a sensor to turn off the TV automatically because people are too stupid and lazy to do it manually. If you're not watching it, TURN IT OFF.

posted by : BB, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Marketing is paying attention

I am certain the marketing division of the big four stations are quite interested in knowing if we actually stay in the room for those commercials or not. Remember folks, they think we are violating the broadcasting contract when we don't watch their stupid commercials.

I wonder if this tech could answer that for them.

Knowing Sony, they probably built this tech so they could charge for the results.

posted by : Axiomatic, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Re: Hmmm...

In response to the bathroom breaks and "hearing" the TV while in another room, the article actually reads "the screen display watches [...] and turns off". I'm guessing this means that the backlight display turns off, while the audio still works.

posted by : Halamantariel, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
In Soviet Russia...

...TV watches you. (Too easy.)

posted by : Andrew Garrard, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
at present you can expect to pay around $2,322.

...or not.

posted by : Integr8d, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Sony never again

I trust Sony that the TV will not come with rootkit and DRM, will it? Seriously, I would not buy Sony even if it would reduce my electricity bill to 1 Euro per month.

posted by : Pony, 20 January 2009 Complain about this comment
Will save energy when you die :)

The set will monitor the heat of the viewer's body. But if you die on the coach it will turn off the set when you start to get cold. Thus saving energy.

posted by : Todorov, 21 January 2009 Complain about this comment
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