Eco-friendly Sony HDTV turns off when you leave the room

What is an eco-friendly television, exactly?

After all, aren't TVs power-hungry electronics that brighten a room and raise an electricity bill?

Sony says its KDL-VE5 series is "eco-friendly," and backs it up by incorporating something quite simple into the set: a "presence sensor" that automatically turns it off when you leave the room.

Our gadgety cousins at CNET got their hands on one of the models and attest that the feature works "pretty well" in testing. (Otherwise, the Sony HDTV uses as much power as a typical set. In comparison, expensive LED-backlit sets use far less.)

If you take into consideration how much your kids turn on the TV and leave the room, it's quite a handy feature.

Here's hoping more sets use such technology -- and people "get it" enough to realize that their new TV isn't broken when it shuts off on them. [via Crave]