Why the same TV can use 37% more power without a single new setting
A TV's screen is by far its biggest power draw, and picture mode is what decides how hard that screen works: how bright it runs, how aggressively it processes the image, and how much of the panel's contrast range it tries to push. What Hi-Fi's own lab testing measured this directly on a real 65-inch Sony A95L OLED, cycling through its four main presets, from least to most processed, and logging power draw on SDR content (the large majority of what Australians actually watch): Professional drew 84 W, Cinema 108 W, Standard 114 W, and Vivid 156 W, a 37% jump from Standard to Vivid on the identical television showing the identical content. Standard's measured 114 W sits almost exactly on this site's own 65-inch OLED registry figure (115 W), which is why the table above treats Standard as the baseline and scales Filmmaker/Professional and Vivid off that same ratio rather than guessing at a different TV's numbers.
Run that scaled ratio through the calculator's own default of 4 hours a night on Australia's current state rates and the gap is real money, not a rounding error: Vivid costs $63 (ACT) to $87 (SA) a year against $34 to $47 on Filmmaker/Professional, a gap of roughly $29 (ACT) to $40 (SA) a year for a free setting change, on this same one television. The government's own energy rating label can't warn you about any of this: it's awarded from a single test in one specific picture mode, never the brighter one a household might actually leave the TV on.
What this costs, state by state
A 65-inch OLED at this site's own registry-median wattage (115 W, the calculator's own 65-inch OLED figure), scaled by the SDR power-per-hour ratios an independent reviewer measured across the four picture presets on a real 65-inch OLED, at the calculator's own default 4 hours a night.
| State | Rate | Filmmaker/Professional mode (85 W) | Standard mode (115 W) | Vivid mode (157 W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.4¢ | $40.21 | $54.40 | $74.27 |
| Victoria | 29.8¢ | $36.98 | $50.03 | $68.31 |
| Queensland | 31.2¢ | $38.72 | $52.38 | $71.52 |
| South Australia | 38.1¢ | $47.28 | $63.97 | $87.33 |
| Western Australia | 33.6¢ | $41.70 | $56.41 | $77.02 |
| Tasmania | 28.9¢ | $35.86 | $48.52 | $66.24 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 27.4¢ | $34.00 | $46.00 | $62.81 |
| Northern Territory | 31.7¢ | $39.34 | $53.22 | $72.66 |
Reference rates for 2026–27. Your row is highlighted once you set your location.
What Australia's own TV standard already assumes, and what it doesn't tell you
Australia's mandatory GEMS television standard, AS/NZS 62087.2.2:2011, doesn't leave picture mode to chance: it specifically requires every TV sold here to have a defined ‘Recommended Home Viewing Picture Mode’, sets rules for how a customer selects it, and mandates an on-screen warning when the set is left in its brighter ‘Store’ demo mode instead, the same eye-catching setting a showroom cranks up to stand out under fluorescent lighting. The star rating on the box is earned in that one defined home mode, not in Store, Vivid or Dynamic. CHOICE's own buying advice tells shoppers to expect a delivered TV to already default back to a Standard or Normal setting once it's out of the shop, which matches the government requirement, but nothing stops anyone switching it to a punchier mode afterwards, and once that happens the star rating on the box no longer describes what the TV is actually drawing.
Energy Rating, the Australian Government's own site, backs this up as a direct efficiency tip rather than a theoretical one: it names turning the brightness down and using a power-saving picture mode among its short list of ways to cut a TV's running cost, alongside keeping the screen out of direct sunlight so the brightness doesn't get wound up to compensate. Sony's own Australian support pages go further and name the modes directly, flagging Vivid as one to avoid for long viewing if the goal is a lower bill and pointing to Standard as the energy-conscious everyday setting, exactly the ordering this page's own measured figures bear out. None of this needs a new appliance or a tool hire, only a few taps in a menu most people never open after the day the TV came out of the box.
Common questions
Does TV picture mode actually change the running cost?
Yes. Independent lab testing on a real 65-inch OLED found Vivid mode draws roughly 37% more power than Standard mode on identical content, a gap of about $29 (ACT) to $40 (SA) a year at this site's calculator's own 4-hours-a-night default, for the same television with nothing else changed.
Which TV picture mode uses the least power?
Filmmaker mode, or the closest equivalent your brand offers (Sony calls it Professional), which turns off most of the extra processing and brightness boost other modes add. It measured about 26% less power than Standard mode in the same independent test, on top of whatever it also saves against Vivid.
Does the government energy rating star label already account for picture mode?
Only for one specific mode. Australia's GEMS television standard requires every TV to have a defined 'Recommended Home Viewing Picture Mode' that the star rating is tested in, and mandates a warning if the TV is left in its brighter 'Store' demo setting instead. Switch to Vivid or leave a set in Store mode and the real running cost climbs above what's on the label.
Is a game console left idling as costly as a TV on the wrong picture mode?
It can be, particularly on an Xbox left on its default standby setting. See our companion guide on what your console burns while it just sits there for the standby-side figures.
Sources
Measured SDR power draw by picture preset on a 65-inch Sony A95L OLED (Professional/Cinema/Standard/Vivid): What Hi-Fi (via Yahoo Tech), I spent hours measuring how much power my OLED TV uses in its different picture modes. Australia's GEMS television picture-mode requirements (Recommended Home Viewing Picture Mode, Store mode warning): Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Television) Determination 2012, AS/NZS 62087.2.2:2011 clause 2. Government efficiency tip naming picture mode and brightness directly: Energy Rating, Tips for using your television efficiently. Brand-level picture mode guidance: Sony Australia, How to lower your TV power consumption and save energy. Delivered-TV default setting and in-store demo mode context: CHOICE, How to buy a great smart TV. TV size/wattage registry medians: the same energyrating.gov.au registration database (July 2026 snapshot) as our TV running cost calculator. Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer and each state's regulated reference tariff, current for 2026–27. All fetched July 2026.