CES 2008: Toshiba shows power of cell processor in HDTVs

Rich Fiscus
10 Jan 2008 22:39

Although the cell processor is most famous for powering the PS3 game console, one of Sony's partner in the chip's development is now showing off what it can do in other electronic devices. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Toshiba showed off a new HDTV that takes advantage of the cell processor's advanced video processing capabilities.
Although the video processing circuitry in a HDTV is something most consumers know nothing about, and usually don't even consider when making a purchase, it's often the difference between a picture that looks good and one that's merely really big. From scaling between different resolutions to deinterlacing, the video processor is what makes it possible to support the wide variety of video standards in use today in a single TV.
The cell processor signals a quantum leap over the processors used in current generation HDTVs. At CES Toshiba demonstrated some of the chip's capabilities, including decoding multiple TV signals in real time. Although the 48 simultaneous video streams were in standard definition, Toshiba says it could do the same thing with up to six HD signals.
Source: PC World