Cable Box Suppliers Hate The Environment
The manufacturers of cable boxes/DVR's and cable companies hate the environment so much they don't care how much electricity their shittily designed garbage boxes waste. Or, let's be honest, how well they work. You know how many times I've missed Gossip Girl because their stupid crapbag didn't record it? Zero, I always catch it live. Still, it's really slow and it does piss me off.
These set-top boxes are energy hogs mostly because their drives, tuners and other components are generally running full tilt, or nearly so, 24 hours a day, even when not in active use.
Similar devices in some European countries, for example, can automatically go into standby mode when not in use, cutting power drawn by half. They can also go into an optional "deep sleep," which can reduce energy consumption by about 95 percent compared with when the machine is active.Cable companies say customers will not tolerate the time it takes to reboot the system once the system has been shut down or put to sleep.
"The issue of having more efficient equipment is of interest to us," said Justin Venech, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable. But, he added, "when we purchase the equipment, functionality and cost are the primary considerations."
LOL @ "functionality and cost". How about JUST cost? God, even the search function is f***ing pathetic on my cable box. It's so bad I was trying to record Adult Swim and wound up with like 10 hours of gay porn. *poker face* You think my roommate will buy that? It's been an awkward three days.
Atop TV Sets, a Power Drain That Runs Nonstop [newyorktimes]
Thanks to neolardo, who still gets pissed at tonnadello for leaving his computers on overnight.
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