Если вы не являетесь счастливым обладателем смарт-телевизора Samsung или LG, то приготовьтесь платить больше за потребление электроэнергии

Американский независимый технопортал NRDC, объединивший специалистов по выявлению энергоэффективности потребительских устройств и оценивающих их влияние на экологическую ситуацию в глобальном масштабе, опубликовал результаты тестирования наиболее распространённых в США смарт-телевизоров различных производителей.

За исключением Samsung и LG, показавших лучшие результаты в плане энергосбережения, все остальные участники подверглись острой критике за наплевательское отношение к этому важнейшему показателю.

Напомним, что лидер ТВ-индустрии Samsung, как и его ближайший конкурент LG, используют собственные смарт-платформы TIZEN и WebOS, в то время как большинство более мелких игроков зависят от софта, поставляемого компанией Google (Android TV), Fire TV от Amazon или платформ Roku TV и Smartcast OS.

Как оказалось, в режиме ожидания (он же известен как режим "стэндбай"), когда аппарат выключен, но не отключён от электророзетки, большинство телеприёмников (за исключением вышеупомянутых Samsung и LG) остаются весьма прожорливыми, поскольку продолжают "жить своей жизнью" (подобно Android-смартфонам), постоянно собирая и отправляя информацию на серверы компаний-производителей и поставщиков приложений через подключённый интернет-канал.

В качестве подтверждения эксперты NRDC, исследовавшие 10 моделей телеприёмников, также ссылаются и на обширные исследования своих коллег из Северо-западного альянса энергоэффективности (NEEA), который протестировал около 40 различных моделей телевизоров как в рабочем режиме, так и в режиме ожидания. Ввиду того, что Samsung и LG удалось разработать высокоэффективные смарт-платформы, которые в состоянии "сна" потребляют не больше, чем обычный ТВ без смарт-функций, они были исключены из дальнейшей программы тестирования ввиду полного соответствия экологическим нормам.

Напомним, что количество используемых в Северной Америке телевизоров марки Samsung и LG составляет около половины от всего парка таких устройств. Поэтому всё дальнейшее внимание экспертов сосредоточилось на нерадивых поставщиках "второго эшелона", куда попала даже корпорация Sony, использующая платформу Android от Google, и в очередной раз отличившуюся крайне низкими показателями в плане энергосбережения.

Поскольку Google с помощью своей Android OS хочет следить за её пользователями круглосуточно, компания под предлогом наличия функции "интеллектуального пробуждения" (то есть включения телевизора по голосовой команде) фактически не выключает телеприёмник, а лишь "гасит экран". То есть телевизор продолжает активно пожирать энергию, чтобы всего-навсего обеспечить функцию голосового включения на следующее утро. При этом всю ночь продолжается "интеллектуальное сканирование" помещения, где расположен телеприёмник на предмет улавливания той самой "голосовой команды". На практике это означает, что клиента прослушивают постоянно (включая его "разговоры в постели", если ТВ установлен в спальне) через микрофон в пульте ДУ или через микрофон, непосредственно встроенный в телевизор. Некоторые "особо продвинутые" модели вообще требуют "интеллектуального подключения" через смартфон или смарт-колонку. В таком случае прожорливость телевизора увеличивается ещё больше. По такой схеме действуют многие нерадивые производители ТВ (особенно китайские), которые снижают цены на свою продукцию за счёт возможности последующей продажи собранных данных о пользователе сторонним компаниям (а в тоталитарных странах параллельно идёт слив информации спецслужбам). При этом владельцы таких телевизоров будут приплачивать немалые суммы (до 75%!) энергокомпаниям.

В глобальном масштабе подобные действия вполне можно рассматривать как стихийное бедствие, поскольку почти миллиард "неэкологичных" смарт-ТВ, эксплуатирующихся в мире, требуют дополнительного сжигания нефтегазовых ресурсов в астрономических объёмах, констатируют эксперты NRDC. Это ведёт в повышенным выбросам углекислого газа в атмосферу планеты. Так что поговорка "скупой платит дважды" здесь вполне уместна.

Авторы исследования призывают компании, выпускающие "отсталые" смарт-ТВ, как можно скорее исправить недостатки на программном или аппаратном уровне, однако это вряд ли произойдёт в обозримом будущем. "Корпорация добра" Google хочет знать о вас всё, и за это придётся платить. 

Полный оригинальный текст о результатах исследования, проведённого специалистами NRDC и NEEA, мы публикуем ниже:     

If you are not the proud owner of a Samsung or LG smart TV, then get ready to pay more for your electricity consumption

The American independent technology portal NRDC, which brings together experts in identifying the energy efficiency of consumer devices and assessing their impact on the environmental situation on a global scale, has published the results of testing the most common smart TVs from various manufacturers in the United States.

With the exception of Samsung and LG, which showed the best results in terms of energy saving, all other participants were sharply criticized for disregarding this most important indicator.

We publish the full original text on the results of the research conducted by the NRDC and NEEA specialists below:

Your Smart TV May Have Insomnia and Guzzle Power When “Off”

While the energy efficiency of America’s smart televisions has improved greatly since flat panel models were first introduced, some of the energy savings are at risk due to new “smart wake” features that can waste a lot of power when the TV is in standby mode. These features provide the user with the convenience of waking their TV through a voice command to a nearby smart speaker, or to seamlessly shift from watching content on a tablet or phone to the TV, without using a remote control. Our extensive laboratory testing on the standby power of 10 different models found that in many cases, enabling these features caused a TV’s overall annual electricity consumption to skyrocket by as much as 75%.

All that extra standby power adds up. NRDC estimates it will cost purchasers of 2021 TVs who enable smart wake features an additional $750 million on their utility bills over these TVs’ seven-year lifetime, barring future manufacturer design improvements. The extra electricity consumption also will lead to more than 3 million tons of additional carbon dioxide emissions.  

Spoiler alert, Samsung and LG TVs have found a way to support smart wake on their internet-connected televisions WITHOUT a noticeable increase in standby power levels. Other models we tested, however, were like vampires continuously guzzling electricity while waiting to be fully awakened.

What are “smart wake” features?

The vast majority of new TVs offer the user the ability to be connected wirelessly to a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo (which many simply call Alexa). The user can then wake or control the TV simply with voice commands by saying things like, “Alexa turn on the TV” or “OK Google, turn on the Knicks game.”  Another option is “wake by cast,” which allows a user who is viewing a movie or show  on a tablet or phone to click on the little casting icon, and their TV will quickly wake and display the same content. Lastly, users can download an app to turn their phone into a virtual remote control that can wake and control their TV. These three features are forms of “smart wake” that avoid the hassle of having to locate and use a remote control.

How did we test the TVs?

NRDC partnered with Pacific Crest Laboratories (PCL) for the first in-depth study of the standby power of different TVs when these features were enabled. Most of the ten TVs we tested required the user to go into the menu and turn on/enable the smart wake features. Each manufacturer had its own terminology for the settings and in some cases, the user needed to select the Quick Start feature for things to operate properly. We tested a range of TV brands, both major and small, as well as a variety of operating systems (e.g., Roku, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, etc.) that these TVs are controlled by.

Prior to testing we connected the TV to a live internet signal and downloaded the latest software update. After displaying video content, we turned off the TV and measured its standby power. We then configured the TV so the smart wake features were enabled, including selecting wake on cast and linking the smart speaker to the TV via a wireless connection.

Subsequently, we confirmed whether the smart wake features worked and measured the TV’s standby power for 40 minutes. Given that TVs may not fully power down for several minutes, we waited 20 minutes before starting our measurements and then recorded the average standby power over the next 20 minutes.

What impact did smart wake have on TV standby power?

The average standby power level of TVs tested without any smart wake features enabled was 0.6 watts. Once we turned on the smart wake features, standby power levels jumped dramatically. This table shows the brands tested, along with their operating system (OS). Some of the operating systems like Android TV are used by multiple manufacturers, whereas LG and Samsung have their own proprietary operating systems, WebOS and TIZEN, respectively.

Two things to note: a) Samsung and LG TVs supported smart wake features without a noticeable increase in standby power; and b) for all the other TVs tested we saw standby power levels from roughly 5 to 20 watts. We conferred with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), which has tested roughly 40 TVs in both on and standby modes and done lots of great work in this space, and reported an average standby power level of 12.5 watts for models that showed elevated standby power levels with smart wake. (We used this value in our modelling discussed above.)

In follow-up conversations with Vizio, we learned that their TVs support wake by phone (using the phone as a remote control) when their TV is in the default Eco Mode setting and were able to achieve standby power level of less than 1 watt. The 14.4-watt level in the table was based on testing with the Vizio TV’s Quick Start setting selected as that was required to get their wake by cast and wake by voice features to work properly.

National Impacts

NRDC and PCL developed a model to quantify the national impact of smart wake features. We excluded Samsung and LG TVs, which together represent just under half of U.S. market share, as they did not show elevated smart wake standby levels. We assumed an incremental standby power level of 11.9 watts, and that half of all users would configure their TVs to use one or more of the smart wake features. (Note: this article shows half of smart speaker owners connect them to TVs. While we don’t know exactly what percentage use wake by cast or wake by phone, we believe it’s significant and likely to grow as the manufacturers make these features easier to use and consumers become more aware of them.)  

On a per TV basis, we assumed an average TV draws around 60 watts of electricity in active use and 0.6 watts in standby. Assuming a duty cycle of 5 hours on and 19 hours off per day, this translates to an annual energy use of 108 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. If that same TV had smart wake enabled and drew 12.5 watts in standby, its annual energy use jumped to 191 kWh/yr.—an increase of 76.3 percent. Over the TV’s typical 7-year lifetime, it will consume an extra $75 of electricity, and twice that in areas with higher utility rates, like California and Hawaii.

We then quantified the national impacts by assuming that half of the 40 million TVs sold in the U.S. each year have inefficient smart wake designs, and half of those have smart wake enabled. The incremental energy used by these 10 million TVs over their lifetime adds up to:

* 5,777-gigawatt hours (GWh) of additional electricity use, which is equivalent to the annual output of two large (500 megawatt) coal-burning power plants

$750 million in higher consumer utility bills

* Over 3 million tons of CO2 emissions

* To put all this extra energy use into perspective, it’s roughly equivalent to one year’s worth of electricity consumption by all the households in Portland, OR and Tampa combined!

All of these impacts are just for the U.S. market and become a lot larger when international sales are considered.

Where to from here?

The good news from this study is that two TV manufacturers already demonstrated that a TV can support all these smart wake features with no energy or performance penalty. We hope our study serves as a call to action for other manufacturers to work with their operating system vendors to provide a good user experience with these smart wake features enabled while achieving  similar low standby power levels.

Our policy level recommendations include:

* The test method used by manufacturers and regulators to measure the energy use of TVs must be updated to ensure the TV is connected to the internet during testing and with smart wake features enabled, and that the increased standby power use this may cause is captured and reported. 

* The Environmental Protection Agency should update its test method and eligibility criteria for ENERGY STAR® to ensure TVs that qualify for the label have low standby power levels, including when smart wake features are enabled.

* The Federal Trade Commission should update the testing and reporting instructions for its yellow ENERGY GUIDE label, which compares the energy use and operating costs of similar sized TVs.

As a result of our research and conversations with some of the manufacturers and companies that develop the operating systems, we believe these entities now understand this issue and appear committed to trying to make the necessary changes.

Let’s hope that in the not too distant future the other TV manufacturers make the necessary software fixes so they catch up to Samsung and LG and we can prevent this unnecessary energy waste and the pollution that comes with it. That’s something worth tuning into!

Android-рабство: новые жертвы

Google угрожает отзывом лицензии на Android, если производители телевизоров также будут сотрудничать с Amazon

Холдинг Alphabet/Google может отзывать лицензии на программное обеспечение у производителей Android TV, если они также производят устройства, работающие под управлением определённых ответвлений от её ОС, включая популярный Amazon Fire TV. Таким образом, лицензионные условия Google для Android предусматривают, что эти производители телевизоров больше не смогут запускать Play Store и приложения Google на всех своих устройствах, включая смартфоны и планшеты.
Политики соглашения Android Compatibility Commitment указывают, что на устройствах, которые предусматривают доступ к Play Store, должна быть установлена ​​версия Android, совместимая с одобренной Google версией Android. Это означает, что если производители телевизоров хотят иметь Play Store на своих устройствах, они не могут делать телевизоры с другими операционными системами, такими как, например, конкурирующее Amazon Fire TV. Таким образом, эти требования в соглашении позволили Google запретить некоторым своим партнёрам работать с Amazon, являющейся конкурентом в сфере умного дома.
Нарушение строгих условий лицензирования Google может иметь катастрофические последствия для производителей телевизоров, которые также выпускают смартфоны на базе Android. Это связано с тем, что условия Android Compatibility Commitment также предусматривают, что, если производитель телевизоров решит использовать Fire TV на своих устройствах, он не сможет установить Play Store или приложения Google на смартфоны. Это, вероятно, сделает такие смартфоны значительно менее популярными среди пользователей.
Google прямо не ответила на вопрос журналистов о том, действительно ли её политики запрещают производителям телевизоров предлагать продукты на базе Android TV и Amazon Fire TV. Компания заявила, что осуществляет проверку безопасности и тестирование на совместимость устройств на базе Android TV, которые предлагают сервисы Google и доступ к Play Store. Это якобы делается для защиты конфиденциальности и безопасности пользовательских данных.
Google также утверждает, что пытается обеспечить согласованное и безопасное использование программного обеспечения с проверенными версиями Android, и что приложения могут работать не так, как ожидают пользователи на устройстве Android, которое ещё не проходило процесс тестирования совместимости компании.
К счастью, такие производители как Samsung и LG используют в своих телевизорах собственные операционные системы (TIZEN и WebOS соответственно), что поможет им защититься от атаки со стороны Google. Правда, тот факт, что оба вендора производят смартфоны и планшеты на базе Android, может косвенным образом задеть даже эти брэнды, так как Google в какой-то момент надумает запретить им доступ к сервисам от Amazon посредством блокировки своего магазина приложений. В то же время, такие производители как Sony и многочисленные  "китайцы" (включая ныне принадлежащие компаниям из КНР брэнды Philips и Sharp) целиком полагаются на Android OS, что в дальнейшем может обернуться для них катастрофическими последствиями из-за наложенных ограничений.
Всё происходящее в очередной раз доказывает правоту позиции эксперта информационного блога Samsung World Николая Изнова, неоднократно призывавшего Samsung полностью отказаться от использования Android как от морально устаревшей и весьма ненадёжной платформы, тормозящей прогресс в мире смарт-девайсов.
Каждый уважающий себя крупный производитель должен иметь собственную операционную платформу с собственными сервисами, которые не зависят от прихотей Google или кого-либо ещё.

Android slaves: new victims

Google blocks its Android TV partners from also using Amazon’s Fire TV

Amazon has sold millions of Fire TV streaming devices in recent years, but its efforts to expand the Fire TV platform to smart TVs and cable set-top boxes have been slow-going. That's not by accident, according to industry insiders: They say Google has long prevented consumer electronics manufacturers from doing business with Amazon.
Any company that licenses Google's Android TV operating system for some of its smart TVs or even uses Android as a mobile operating system has to agree to terms that prevent it from also building devices using forked versions of Android like Amazon's Fire TV operating system, according to multiple sources. If a company were to break those terms, it could lose access to the Play Store and Google's apps for all of its devices. "They cannot do Android TV and Fire TV simultaneously," said a senior employee of a major TV manufacturer, who spoke with Protocol on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized by his employer to discuss the subject.
With these terms, Google has effectively built a huge firewall against competition in the living room: The search giant announced last year that it had struck deals with six out of 10 smart TV manufacturers and 140 cable TV operators across the globe. "It basically blocked Amazon," the senior employee said.
Regulators in multiple markets have in the past taken issue with Google using these kinds of deal terms to protect its mobile Android business, but their application in the smart TV space hasn't been previously reported. Google declined to comment on the subject. Amazon's Fire TV VP and GM Marc Whitten declined to talk about Google's policies during a recent interview, but went on to lay out Amazon's own approach toward engaging with manufacturing partners.
"We don't expect them to only use our services or our software," he said. "We think that partners should be able to pick the solutions that work for them, which may actually vary between lines of TVs, or different categories of devices and territories. I think that diversity of options is a really good thing."

Anti-fragmentation policies locking out competitors

At the center of Google's efforts to block Amazon's smart TV ambitions is the Android Compatibility Commitment — a confidential set of policies formerly known as the Anti-Fragmentation Agreement — that manufacturers of Android devices have to agree to in order to get access to Google's Play Store. Google has been developing Android as an open-source operating system, while at the same time keeping much tighter control of what device manufacturers can do if they want access to the Play Store as well as the company's suite of apps. For Android TV, Google's apps include a highly customized launcher, or home screen, optimized for big-screen environments, as well as a TV version of its Play Store.
Google policies are meant to set a baseline for compatible Android devices and guarantee that apps developed for one Android device also work on another. The company also gives developers some latitude, allowing them to build their own versions of Android based on the operating system's open source code, as long as they follow Google's compatibility requirements.
However, the Android Compatibility Commitment blocks manufacturers from building devices based on forked versions of Android, such as Fire TV OS, that are not compatible with the Google-sanctioned version of Android. This even applies across device categories, according to two sources: Manufacturers that have signed on to the Android Compatibility Commitment for their mobile phone business are effectively not allowed to build Fire TV devices.
"You cannot manufacture any of those noncompliant devices," the senior employee told Protocol. This type of contract was unlike any other partnership agreements in the industry, he said. "It's completely unique."

TV manufacturers lose an option

Google's use of the Android Compatibility Commitment in the smart TV space has been an open secret in the consumer electronics industry for some time, according to the senior employee of a TV manufacturer. "In this field, everybody knows that," he said.
But even with that knowledge, manufacturers have to deal with a number of uncertainties. Two sources suggested that Google may have in the past, in limited instances, granted certain exceptions to the Android Compatibility Commitment. Third-party manufacturers have for instance been able to build devices running both operating systems, as long as the brands those devices are sold under aren't owned by the same company.
This gets further complicated by the realities of the consumer electronics industry, in which manufacturers often license brands for a subset of territories or device categories. If you buy a TV from a certain brand in Europe, it may be made by a different manufacturer and run a different operating system than a TV from the same brand bought in North America, for instance.
What's more, manufacturers often build devices under multiple brands, including those used by major retailers. And while a consumer electronics company may use Android TV, Fire TV OS or Roku's platform for its U.S. customers, it may decide to use a different operating system in Europe or Latin America. Limiting those choices makes it a lot harder for manufacturers to compete with giants like Samsung or LG, which have developed their own smart TV operating systems. Said the senior employee: "We lose an option."

An EU fine and a probe in India

Google's use of its Anti-Fragmentation Agreement first made headlines in 2016, when the European Union zeroed in on the policy as part of its antitrust investigation of Google's Android operating system. Back then, European regulators alleged that the company was "preventing manufacturers from selling smart mobile devices running on competing operating systems based on the Android open source code."
That investigation resulted in a €4.34 billion (around $4.9 billion) fine against the company. Google has appealed that fine, along with two other antitrust rulings, but it did make some significant concessions as a result. "Going forward, Android partners wishing to distribute Google apps may also build noncompatible, or forked, smartphones and tablets for the European Economic Area," wrote Google Android SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer at the time.
It's worth noting that Lockheimer specifically didn't mention smart TV devices, as the European Union's investigation solely focused on phones. Furthermore, any changes were limited to the European Union, with some doubting their effectiveness altogether. "Google has dragged its feet in complying with the Commission decisions," said European antitrust expert Damien Geradin, who co-authored a Harvard Business School report on Google's use of anti-fragmentation agreements in 2016. "Compliance is not in their DNA, and they are trying to buy time."
More recently, Google's Android licensing requirements have also attracted scrutiny in India, where Android controls 80% of the mobile market. The country's Competition Commission noted last April that by requiring device manufacturers to sign these requirements, "Google has reduced the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android."
"They hate forks officially due to the risk of fragmentation, but in reality because it creates competition outside their walled garden," Geradin said. "If they can make the life of companies that intend to produce forks very difficult, they will do so." Regulators should be "much harder with Google when it comes to remedies," he argued.

Amazon and Google's contentious history

Amazon and Google have long competed with each other in the living room, and executives have been fairly open about the rivalry. "What keeps us awake at night is Amazon," said Shalini Govil-Pai, who leads Google's Android TV efforts, when asked about the company's biggest rival during an interview last fall.
Amazon's Whitten gave a more diplomatic answer during an interview at CES but also admitted, "The most places where we're directly competing is probably Google." A source who had been briefed on Amazon's Fire TV efforts last year was more explicit: "Their view was that Google was their only competition."
That competition boiled over in 2015 when Amazon stopped selling Google's Chromecast streaming adapter, which was followed by Google blocking Amazon from accessing YouTube on its Echo Show and Fire TV devices in late 2017. The two companies ultimately ended that dispute last year.
However, it may be shortsighted to only cast Google's use of the Android Compatibility Commitment as a way to keep Amazon at bay. The policy also has the potential of blocking others, including TV manufacturers looking for ways to develop their own operating systems, from building devices based on forked versions of Android. And ultimately, it touches on issues of competition, or lack thereof, in the TV space that have a ripple effect across the ecosystem.
Among app developers, there is a general sense of unease about having less competition among smart TV platforms. Most developers have business relationships with both Google and Amazon, making it harder for them to speak out publicly. In a conversation with Protocol, a developer of a popular streaming app suggested that healthy competition in the space was essential to negotiate fair business terms with smart TV platform operators.
"What's important for us is seeing that there is competition in the market," that developer said. "If there are monopolies in this space, then the interests of users and the interests of content providers are at risk."
Everything that happens once again proves the correctness of the position of the expert of the Samsung World information blog Nikolay Iznov, who repeatedly called on Samsung to completely abandon the use of Android as a morally obsolete and very unreliable platform that slows down the progress in the world of smart devices.
Every self-respecting large manufacturer should have its own operating platform with its own services that are not dependent on the whims of Google or anyone else.