The possibilities of a HDTV powered by Cell
What would a TV be like if it used the Cell Processor as the base for its technology? Toshiba asked themselves this question and built a prototype television utilizing the Cell and we have to say -- it's almost sensory overload. First off, real-time upscaling of regular ol' TV to high-definition is done flawlessly. No need to pay a premium for HD channels, we guess. The TV will do you one better -- in addition to upscaling the picture, you can actually zoom in on the picture being shown in real-time and the picture will auto-focus and re-upscale itself. Impressive? You bet. Useful? If you're analyzing a sports game, perhaps.
How about this: instead of channel surfing one channel at a time, the Cell allows your television to display multiple channels simultaneously. It's like picture-in-picture, but 48 of them. Or 24, depending how you interpret our math. Clicking on one of these thumbnails brings up the video in the bottom half of the screen while the top half continues to stream the other channels; push whatever the button is again and it moves to full-screen. These small thumbnails are in standard definition -- if they were in HD, the TV would only be able to stream six of them at once. Other features haven't been decided on yet, but with that at the very outset you can bet this will be the ultimate TV set to own in the coming years. Color us impressed.
