OT: Samsung TV Indicator Light

[Pavel314]

We have a big Samsung plasma TV which is fed by a Blue Ray, a cable box and wireless internet. Quite a setup. The thing that puzzles me is that there is a red light in the lower right corner which is on when the TV is off. When you turn the TV on, it goes off.

It seems that the entire function of this light is to tell you that although the TV is off, it's connected to a power source and could go on at the touch of a button. The only positive value of this thing is that if I try to turn the TV on with the remote and nothing happens, I'll know that the TV is powered and that the batteries in the remote are bad.

Seems strange; am I missing something? I'd hate to think that the penguins in the rain forests are dying because of this strange indicator light.

Paul

[hrhofmann]

Check the owners manual?

[mm]

No, that's right. Are you sure deep down you didn't know it was right, but wanted to tell us about your tv etc.?

It tells you it's plugged in to a live outlet. When it's on, you probably already know that. Although I put my tv on channel 55 when it's annoying me. It's very quiet there.

[Ed Pawlowski]

That's it. The red in the light comes from the eyeballs of the penguin in the rain forest. If you remove the light, you can save about 1¢ a year on the electric bill.

Secondary use is a beacon for when you sneak in the darkened house when drunk.

[Robert Neville]

No, you aren't missing anything. The electrical consumption of a single LED won't affect anything but your sanity. A number of years ago, the consumer electronics manufacturers decided that having a light on when the power was off made perfect sense and solved a problem that no one had. It drives me up the bloody wall and usually entails a quick trip to the garage to dig out a roll of black electrical tape to cover the offending light.

[Ken]

There are no longer penguins in the rain forests. Aliens have removed them and taken them to their planet. Don't tell anyone, but they are being taught to make crop circles.

[Bill Gill]

Mine is the same. I was kind of bothered by it too. I have gotten used to it, but I still think that a light that shows when something is on is preferable to a light that shows it is off. I have no idea when they decided to reverse the function of the power light.

Bill Gill

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Bill Gill" wrote

That big assed screen with moving pictures tells you it is on. The red indicator lets you know it has power. A good thing in some circumstances. My LG set turns blue when it is turned on.

[Robert Neville]

Vizio is using a muted orange logo that turns white when the power is on on some oftheir TVs. That's the least objectionable as the logo and the color don't look like they are powered when it's orange.

[Vinny From NYC]

Indeed. You must spend a *lot* of time in front of the TV to justify such extravagance. But it's nice to see how proud you are of it.

It seems to me that you are correct.

Well, it could also help you to find the TV in the middle of the night when it is very dark and you need a TV "fix". Just head toward the red light.

People who watch TV a lot are missing... well, a lot.

Don't worry about the penguins. Worry about your mental abilities. And remember: there's someone out there who has a better TV than you, so consider the next upgrade.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Vinny From NYC" wrote

Do you want to expand that a bit? No one should ever watch any TV? I'd sure miss a lot and would not know as much as I do. Of course, I'm selective and most of my viewing is History Channel, Discovery, Smithsonian, NatGeo, etc.

I agree you won't learn anything from watching typical network fare and the alleged sitcoms and drama.

[aemeijers]

Some sets, you hit the power button an extra click, and the light goes out. Dunno if that signifies a true 'off' condition versus 'standby' or what. I kinda like all the little glowing lights on all the hardware, since I can't see stars from this neighborhood due to street and pole barn lights. I also use them as navigation beacons when walking around the house in the dark at night. Turning on a real light starts the 'actually wake up' subroutine in my head, and I find it almost impossible to get back to sleep once that happens.

[FatterDumber& Happier Moe]

I shows ya were to aim the remote control, and it's kind of handy when the computer hooked to the TV goes to sleep and the TV goes blank and ya wake up in the middle of the night and .... whatever.

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

I like to sleep in a dark room. One of those little LEDs can be be much too bright when it is the only light in that room. I'd use the tape or disconnect power (complicated by the &%$# TV forgetting it's supposed to be ON). Smaller devices (cell phone on charger, electric blanket control, etc...) go in a drawer.

[Mark Lloyd]

Unless you're in a dark room, as you shold be to sleep. At least the case is black, so you won't be able to see the tape over the light.

[Ned Flanders]

Personally I prefer this to a indicator that comes on with the TV. When I am watching the TV I do not like to have some LED or logo with ring of light around it distracting me from the picture. I would cover the LED on my JVC in the bedroom but I am hoping that one day my wife will figure out what it means and actually notice she has turned off the PVR and not the TV before falling asleep.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"Ned Flanders" wrote

On the Samsung, the LED goes out when the TV comes on. No distraction. On my LG, the light turns from red to blue, but it is far enough and dim enough that it is no distraction either.

OTOH, I was at a friends house that had a brand (can't remember for sue but I think Toshiba) that the logo lit up on the bottom frame and it was a distraction. After while you sort of got used to it, but I did not like it at all.