CES 2009: Cell TV to take Toshiba beyond HD

Bravestime · 01-07-2009, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Las Vegas (NV) - As 1080p and Blu-ray have become mainstream in the high-definition landscape, and as we are trying to figure out how Internet content streaming will impact the future of Blu-ray, Toshiba presented its vision for entertainment enthusiasts who are looking for more than just HDTV - Quad HDTV. The company is expected to be first to be providing a device that will be able of hitting 4K resolutions.

HD DVD has been officially dead for almost a year now and Blu-ray has taken over the HD media role for now. Strangely enough, Blu-ray is a non-topic so far at CES 2009 - and is trumped by presentations about Wireless HD as well as Internet content streaming. Toshiba is still not offering Blu-ray players and today said that it won’t introduce such players in 2009 either. Instead, the company is relying on enhanced feature sets in three new Regza TV families, which will include LED backlighting (edge lighting as well as full matrix lighting), 240 Hz effect technology as well as Resolution+ 1080p upscaling, which, according to the company, will deliver a near-HD viewing experience.

Resolution+ scales beyond 1080p but is limited by the processing capabilities in today’s TVs. To break this barrier, Toshiba said that it has developed Cell TV, an Apple TV-like set-top box with integrated Cell processor, which can take 1080p (1920x1080 pixel) pictures to 2160p (3840x2160), commonly referred to as Quad-HDTV, or simply 4K. Described as “not your ordinary TV”, Toshiba will position the device as the “top-end of the top-end” of TV viewing. The device will have Wireless HD connectivity and will be able to record up to six HD channels simultaneously.

Cell TV will be released later this year, but no matter whether this device will be on retail shelves for a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, consumers will still have to buy a Quad-HDTV to take advantage of the upscaling feature. Such TVs are currently sold only to enterprise customers and cost about $50,000 (which will get you a model in the 50“ range.)

If Cell TV is in fact capable of delivering the picture quality Toshiba promises, the company may have come up with a new technology that allows consumers to look beyond Blu-ray.

Link: http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/cont...-40883-97.html

HD Goofnut · 01-07-2009, 02:12 PM

This is excellent news, but too bad there's a $50,000 price tag. I wonder if they'll ever make it below $2000 or $3000 in the forseeable future.

jadedeath · 01-07-2009, 02:26 PM

So super upconverted DVD will look like even worse crap on these televisions?

Logan

DonnyDC · 01-07-2009, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadedeath

So super upconverted DVD will look like even worse crap on these televisions?

Logan

Kind of ironic with all this srt vs. blu ray talk.. turns out srt might get its best work upscaling 1080p content to quad HD.

hatt · 01-07-2009, 02:30 PM

Quote:

If Cell TV is in fact capable of delivering the picture quality Toshiba promises, the company may have come up with a new technology that allows consumers to look beyond Blu-ray.

Lee Stewart · 01-07-2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

This is excellent news, but too bad there's a $50,000 price tag. I wonder if they'll ever make it below $2000 or $3000 in the forseeable future.

For SHD displays?

I doubt it.

crazyal · 01-07-2009, 02:51 PM

Funny how when it comes to SRT and SD it's a bad thing to some of the members here but when it turns out SRT could work hand in hand with BD it's no longer bad.

Lee Stewart · 01-07-2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadedeath

So super upconverted DVD will look like even worse crap on these televisions?

Logan

You are talking about converting 360,000 pixels to 8 MEGA pixels - yes - that's 8 million pixels.

WTF do you expect?

ack_bak · 01-07-2009, 02:59 PM

I think this is the most interesting news to come out of Toshiba's press conference. Definitely interested in learning more. The Cell is an amazing processor and this could really open up the door for Toshiba and allowing them to gain an advantage over other CE's.

But even as Toshiba themselves mentioned. HDTV's over $2500 are not going to sell in volume. So price will be a major factor here.

Stew4HD · 01-07-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_bak

I think this is the most interesting news to come out of Toshiba's press conference. Definitely interested in learning more. The Cell is an amazing processor and this could really open up the door for Toshiba and allowing them to gain an advantage over other CE's.

But even as Toshiba themselves mentioned. HDTV's over $2500 are not going to sell in volume. So price will be a major factor here.

well said

I'd love to see this in a PJ!!!

ack_bak · 01-07-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stew4HD

I'd love to see this in a PJ!!!

My thoughts exactly brother! You will need a big screen to really see all those pixels

Bravestime · 01-07-2009, 03:09 PM

Yeah, the cell could really benefit HD viewing, but the price is going to be the brick wall for many years. $50,000 is no where near the ballpark. This technology may serve us in later HDTVs though.

DonnyDC · 01-07-2009, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyal

Funny how when it comes to SRT and SD it's a bad thing to some of the members here but when it turns out SRT could work hand in hand with BD it's no longer bad.

Yes because theres one big difference. We've already seen SRT work with DVD content and it still looks like crap. The verdict is still out on what it can do with less compressed HD content.

Bravestime · 01-07-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_bak

My thoughts exactly brother! You will need a big screen to really see all those pixels

I agree. Have to sit pretty close to see a credible advantage to this screen.

jadedeath · 01-07-2009, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyal

Funny how when it comes to SRT and SD it's a bad thing to some of the members here but when it turns out SRT could work hand in hand with BD it's no longer bad.

You mean by the fact that Toshiba wants to fight Blu-Ray with every DVD resource that it has, but if the SRT could help Blu-Ray upconvert to the next step {thereby working together instead of fighting} it makes perfect sense.

It once again proves that Toshiba is wasting their time trying to milk DVD for all it's worth if 4k televisions are coming out that will make DVD look even worse than regular 1080 televisions.

Logan

01-07-2009, 02:12 PM	#2
HD Goofnut Official HDF BD Reviewer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mississippi, U.S.A. Your resident Dune, Star Wars, and war film expert Posts: 9,556	This is excellent news, but too bad there's a $50,000 price tag. I wonder if they'll ever make it below $2000 or $3000 in the forseeable future. __________________ BenQ MP512ST, Panasonic TC-L55ET5 55" 360Hz LED/3D, Sharp LC-46SB57UN 46" 120 Hz LCD, Sanyo DP46848 46" 60Hz LCD, HP 21.5" 60Hz LCD Onkyo TX-NR709 7.1/Onkyo SKS-HT540 ASUS BD Drive, LG BH200, Sony Optiarc Blu-ray Burner, Sony BDP-590, Vizio VBR220 My Motion Picture Collection Latest BD Review: *Jack Reacher*

01-07-2009, 02:51 PM	#7
crazyal Smarter than the ave bear Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,330	Funny how when it comes to SRT and SD it's a bad thing to some of the members here but when it turns out SRT could work hand in hand with BD it's no longer bad. __________________ Please don't feed the Unicorns

01-07-2009, 03:09 PM	#12
Bravestime Supporter of HiDef Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Aiken, SC Age: 56 Posts: 4,510	Yeah, the cell could really benefit HD viewing, but the price is going to be the brick wall for many years. $50,000 is no where near the ballpark. This technology may serve us in later HDTVs though. __________________ Life is Short, Watch a Movie

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01-07-2009, 02:26 PM	#3
jadedeath High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 319	So super upconverted DVD will look like even worse crap on these televisions? Logan

01-07-2009, 02:59 PM	#9
ack_bak Hidef Junkie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2,560	I think this is the most interesting news to come out of Toshiba's press conference. Definitely interested in learning more. The Cell is an amazing processor and this could really open up the door for Toshiba and allowing them to gain an advantage over other CE's. But even as Toshiba themselves mentioned. HDTV's over $2500 are not going to sell in volume. So price will be a major factor here.