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.