For Industry
Set top boxes
Overview
Digital television set top boxes are appliances, not part of a television, that are used to receive standard definition and high definition television broadcasts for a television or recording device.
At a glance
|
Determination |
Minimum Energy Performance Standards |
Energy Rating Label |
|---|---|---|
|
Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Digital Television Set-top Boxes) Determination 2012 |
Yes |
No |
Legislation
In Australia, this product is regulated under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012.
In New Zealand, the relevant legislation is the Energy Efficiency (Energy Using Products) Regulations 2002. Visit the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority website for more information.
What products are covered?
This Determination covers appliances, which are not part of a television, that are designed for the reception of broadcast or network signals for display on a television or use by a recording device.
Products covered by the Determination must be connected to 230 volts or 240 volts mains power, either directly or via a power supply. They must be able to do one of the following.
- Receive and decode free to air terrestrial digital television broadcast signals, with either standard definition or high definition decoding.
- Receive, decode and descramble digital television broadcast signals from a cable source.
- Receive, decode and descramble digital television broadcast signals from a satellite source.
Refer to section 5 of the Determination for more details.
What products are not covered?
This Determination does not cover:
- digital television set top boxes that are integrated with other equipment, for example a digital television set top box that is an integral part of a digital recorder or DVD player
- digital television set top boxes designed to receive television signals via broadband internet services.
Technical requirements
For technical requirements regarding digital set top boxes, including testing requirements and Minimum Energy Performance Standards, review the relevant Determination and standards.
Standards
The following standards are referenced in this Determination and are available for purchase from Standards Australia.
- AS/NZS 62087.1:2010 Power consumption of audio, video and related equipment, Part 1: Methods of measurement.
- AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008 Power consumption of audio, video and related equipment. Part 2.1: Minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) requirements for digital television set-top boxes.
The versions of these standards that apply are the versions that existed on 26 October 2012, when the Determination came into force.
Minimum Energy Performance Standards
The Minimum Energy Performance Standards for digital set top boxes are:
- for free-to-air set top boxes — the requirements to meet the passive standby, active standby and on mode maximum platform allowances, and maximum power level limits in section 4 of AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008.
- for cable and satellite set top boxes — the requirements to meet the active standby maximum platform allowances and maximum power level limits in section 5 of AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008.
For more information, see subsection 6 (1) of the Determination.
High efficiency levels
To be designated as ‘high efficiency’, a digital set top box must meet the requirements mentioned in section 3 of AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008.
Testing your product
The testing requirements for digital set top boxes are:
- taking the maximum power allowance (MPA) according to features included in the applicable basic platform shown in Table 1 of section 2 of AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008, adding the additional features allowance (AFA) as specified in Table 4 of section 5 of AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008 (if applicable) and ensuring that the total of MPA plus AFA is not greater than the maximum power level
- the requirements in Clause 4.2 of AS/NZS 62087.2.1:2008.
When testing set top boxes that are powered by an external power supply that can be disconnected from the set top box, all energy measurements are to include the energy consumption of the external power supply. This can be accomplished by:
- if an external power supply is supplied with the set-top box — testing the set-top box with that external power supply
- if an external power supply is not supplied with the set top box — testing the set-top box with an external power supply of Energy Performance Mark III (within the meaning of that term in AS/NZS 4665.1:2005).
For more information, see subsections 6 (2) and 6 (3) of the Determination.
Labelling requirements
This product does not have any labelling requirements.