Toshiba is set to take HD LCD TVs to a new level in 2009 by launching a new range that will incorporate the same powerful Cell processor found in the Sony’s PlayStation 3 game consoleThey are also set to incorporate new storage capability and their new HD DVD up scaling technology. The incorporation of a Cell Processor could well let user play games designed for the PS3.
A prototype of the Cell TV was revealed at the CEATEC trade show in Japan this week. According to EE Times Toshiba’s Cell TV simultaneously displayed 48 video streams stored in a hard-disk drive unit. The Company also said that the new TV will be able to display and play back video content — coming from various sources — not only in high resolution but also in an easy-to-view manner, said Yoshihiro Nishida, senior specialist at Toshiba.
Extremely powerful the Cell processor which was developed by IBM in partnership with Sony will also allow a user to decode eight live broadcast streams simultaneously. It also has eight TV tuners.
EE Times said “Channel changes get much faster on Cell TV, because live video streams are already decoded simultaneously,” said Nishida, “just like in the good old days of analog TV.”
Today, one of the drawbacks of digital TV is that it takes at least one or two seconds to accomplish a channel change, he explained. ChannelNews has been told that there is no reason why a consumer could not play games using the DVD players incorporated into the Cell TV while harnessing the power of the Cell processor. We have also been told that the processor could be used to manage applications in a home network environment.
