d21lewis said:
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I realize that's an ironic statement, but I sort of feel that Netflix on most any (exception WiiU lol) console is wasteful in comparison to using a smart app or smart box (Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire, etc).
The X360 and PS3 (slim models a bit less so, but still considerable) along with the X1 and PS4 burn a fairly considerable amount of juice even when running streaming video. We're talking 70-180 watts constant to do something that one of those little boxes can do with a couple of watts.
I think the Gen8 consoles are fairly close with this, but I'd honestly like to see (particularly in systems that are sold as heavy multimedia setups like the X1) an arm-based OS so that you can run non-gaming functions at 10-15 watts while the APU idles.
I realize that not many people think about power consumption, but I'm a dad with multiple game consoles and TVs in the house, and I'm always happy to see the kids gaming or having fun, but I also made sure to teach people how to use hard-switch power strips when they're not using a setup (power supplies are notorious power leeches even when systems are 'off'), and to use the Amazon FireTVs for streaming, which works quite well. Over a couple of setups with multiple users and a good number of hours/day, this adds up to a decent amount of money over time. (it helps that I got the FireTVs as a promotional gift, haha). In fact, the Sony and MS consoles are SO inefficient at running non-gaming tasks that it feels a bit like running a 4-barrel 1250 carbed 6.7L V8 at 5,000 rpm in idle just to listen to the car stereo.
