According to independent researchers some Samsung TVs consume less power during official tests than during real-world usage. The issues appear to have similarities with the recent VolksWagen scandal where the diesel cars of the German car manufacturer generated less pollution during tests.
A report from ComplianTV states that during their tests the Samsung TVs lowered brightness resulting in lower energy consumption. According to them this only appears to happen during tests. The researchers haven't been able to determine whether Samsung uses software to detect if the TV is tested.
Samsung benefits from lower power consumption during ComplianTV's test because the organization tests for compliance of TVs with energy label and 'ecodesign' requirements. TVs with a better energy label (which are more energy efficient) could potentially have a benefit, although it's unclear how big the influence of energy labels is on consumer decisions. ComplianTV consistently found that the Samsung TVs consumed less energy when tested than during real-world usage.
Also test organisations in Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States found anomalies and suspect that TV manufacturers have methods to determine whether a TV is tested and then lower power consumption.
Samsung strongly denies their TVs have software to fool official tests. The Korean electronics giant says the reduction of brightness is, "in response to numerous types of real-world content including fast-moving action movies and sports and slower moving footage such as weather reports."
It wouldn't be the first time Samsung was caught cheating. The company was previously also found to be cheating phone benchmarks.
