P
pedro
Guest
From Appliance Retailer 11/05..
LG has allegedly misrepresented its 42-inch VGA plasma as an HDTV.
LG Electronics is under investigation by the Consumer Electronics
Suppliers Association (CESA) for allegedly breaching the Digital
Television Marketing Code by advertising a plasma with a standard
definition panel as an 'HDTV'.
The 42-inch 42PX4DV plasma has an integrated high definition digital TV
tuner, but will only display an on-screen resolution of 852x480p - far
short of the 576p mandated by CESA in the code as the minimum resolution
for a display device marketed as an HDTV.
Although reluctant to confirm whether LG had breached the code, CESA
executive officer, Bryan Douglas, said he had received a number of
complaints from manufacturers in the industry and that the organisation
was prepared to enforce the code in the event of a breach.
"The code does have enforcement measures, and they have recently been
triggered by some complaints," said Douglas.
The 42PX4DV has been available since July and exhibits the acronym
'HDTV' on its cabinet, despite LG signing the CESA Digital Television
Marketing Code in August 2002, which requires that 'minimum HD display
capability shall be 576p' before a TV can be labelled an HDTV.
The code was entered into voluntarily by many of the major consumer
electronics suppliers including Sony and Philips, and although not
legally enforceable, the CESA Joint Committee can demand participants
amend their advertising or refer them on to the ACCC (Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission).
A number of suppliers contacted by Appliance Retailer expressed dismay
at LG's use of the HDTV logo on a VGA resolution panel, alleging that
consumers were being misled and that the model had the potential to
misrepresent the quality of high definition broadcasting to the public.
Until recently the model was marketed as an HDTV on LG's website, which
also neglected to list the resolution of the panel. LG has since changed
the website and removed the model from the HDTV section, and the company
has expressed its intentions to further amend any misleading information
about the model.
"We certainly don't want to misrepresent the product in consumers'
minds, so we'll review that and I would think make some changes," said
LG category manager, Darren Goble.
LG markets two 42-inch plasmas with the HDTV logo, but the controversy
only relates to the 42PX4DV because the other 42-inch model has an
HD-capable panel.
"There is a full HD model but there's also this other one (the 42PX4DV),
which is an HD tuner in a VGA panel, which I might add is selling very
well because when it is viewed in comparison to other VGA panels it
really has made an improvement to the picture quality," said Goble.
LG has allegedly misrepresented its 42-inch VGA plasma as an HDTV.
LG Electronics is under investigation by the Consumer Electronics
Suppliers Association (CESA) for allegedly breaching the Digital
Television Marketing Code by advertising a plasma with a standard
definition panel as an 'HDTV'.
The 42-inch 42PX4DV plasma has an integrated high definition digital TV
tuner, but will only display an on-screen resolution of 852x480p - far
short of the 576p mandated by CESA in the code as the minimum resolution
for a display device marketed as an HDTV.
Although reluctant to confirm whether LG had breached the code, CESA
executive officer, Bryan Douglas, said he had received a number of
complaints from manufacturers in the industry and that the organisation
was prepared to enforce the code in the event of a breach.
"The code does have enforcement measures, and they have recently been
triggered by some complaints," said Douglas.
The 42PX4DV has been available since July and exhibits the acronym
'HDTV' on its cabinet, despite LG signing the CESA Digital Television
Marketing Code in August 2002, which requires that 'minimum HD display
capability shall be 576p' before a TV can be labelled an HDTV.
The code was entered into voluntarily by many of the major consumer
electronics suppliers including Sony and Philips, and although not
legally enforceable, the CESA Joint Committee can demand participants
amend their advertising or refer them on to the ACCC (Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission).
A number of suppliers contacted by Appliance Retailer expressed dismay
at LG's use of the HDTV logo on a VGA resolution panel, alleging that
consumers were being misled and that the model had the potential to
misrepresent the quality of high definition broadcasting to the public.
Until recently the model was marketed as an HDTV on LG's website, which
also neglected to list the resolution of the panel. LG has since changed
the website and removed the model from the HDTV section, and the company
has expressed its intentions to further amend any misleading information
about the model.
"We certainly don't want to misrepresent the product in consumers'
minds, so we'll review that and I would think make some changes," said
LG category manager, Darren Goble.
LG markets two 42-inch plasmas with the HDTV logo, but the controversy
only relates to the 42PX4DV because the other 42-inch model has an
HD-capable panel.
"There is a full HD model but there's also this other one (the 42PX4DV),
which is an HD tuner in a VGA panel, which I might add is selling very
well because when it is viewed in comparison to other VGA panels it
really has made an improvement to the picture quality," said Goble.
