Does the Phillips implementation somehow reduce energy usage? I'm thinking no...
I'm not sure. When I tried to investigate this set I couldn't find any more information than was published on the Electronic House site, not even on Philips own site.
I've seen ambient lighting on other HDTVs but who knows how it's implemented. They could be reducing light output without saving any energy, in fact depending on how they're reducing the back-light on certain ambient sets it could be using even more energy.
That said, I really think any LCD is environmentally friendly compared to CRT and Plasma. As far as I know it's the most efficient display made today Possibly outside of OLED but I'd need more info and OLED has a long way to go to be called a legit display type.
Another thing is that lead-free solder and other parts is a good step for Philips. But Hitachi has been doing that for years on all of its sets. Just because a company like Philips waves the green flag about a product you still have to be a bit skeptical... but it is a start!
Philips says nothing of using PVCs or Bromine which you have to asssume any electronics contain unless otherwise specified.
This is why it's vital to dispose of electronics correctly. Find out how your local municipality deals with tossing out old TVs, VCRs and especially anything with optical drives like laptops. It may seem like a small thing to toss them into the dump... but they add up.
