1080p to 2160p upscaling TV

[Porfie]

This is very interesting from our old pals (sarcasm) Toshiba. A TV that can take 1080p to 2160p. Whats your take on this? To me it seems like more of a gimmick from Toshiba, but I could be wrong.

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

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.

[jhoffs_cb7]

i think it sounds like a waste of money because the companys pissed about losing hd dvd?

[Leopold BUTTERS]

Originally Posted by jhoffs_cb7

i think it sounds like a waste of money because the companys pissed about losing hd dvd?

sooo....do their upscalers scale DVDs to 4K?

[Johnny Vinyl]

NEVER scorn a wounded giant!

We may all relish in our collective Blu-ray victory, but don't diminish the power this company has in terms of development and know-how. Toshiba will bounce back from their loss to Blu-ray. Is this it? I don't know, but you can bet your life that this company will be continuing to make wonderful products and introduce new technologies.

[jhoffs_cb7]

2160p will never pick up in the market right now
theres toooooo many people just getting used to the ideal that tv can be clear

so 1080p is a reach for alot of people and i just dont see it happing right now
wrong time just like hd dvd

[Marquoz]

So are we going to start saying "My Blu-ray looks fine upconverted, I don't need XXX." ?

[partridge]

I saw a demo of their current upscaling tv where they are basically saying "don't worry about blu-ray, just use our upscaling tv's to watch your existing DVD's"

It was nothing special and looked no better than my PS3 upscaling DVD's.

I really don't know why Toshiba are throwing money at alternatives to blu-ray; just accept what happened and make a blu-ray player. They are going to lose even more money in the long run if they continue to ignore the reality.

[SellmeyourDVD]

Originally Posted by Marquoz

So are we going to start saying "My Blu-ray looks fine upconverted, I don't need XXX." ?

that will be the day.....

[Y3k Bug]

It's technically interesting, but I can't imagine there being much of a market for it.

You'd think they'd just suck it up and make a blu-ray player already.

[ckent22]

Toshiba is so eager to do what Sony did and back the next big thing, but they ignore the famous saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

They will lose money this way if they continue to try to do this. Blu - ray is still a luxury item compared to DVD, and it just won't happen anytime soon. Blu - ray is still too expensive for most people.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Porfie

... Such TVs are currently sold only to enterprise customers and cost about $50,000 (which will get you a model in the 50“ range.) ....

It's not even a consumer technology. 4K screens have existed a while. They are used by animation studios like Pixar, for example. Movies are made to project at 4K in large theater screeens. blu-ray is still the "dumbed down" version for home use.

Toshiba is shunning the blu-ray consumer market and looking to studios. Even with all the millionaires in the world, this technology does not represent a consumer mass market index. At least, not for the time being.

Nice try Toshiba. NEXT!

[DrinkMore]

They keep this crap up, they are going to be hurting even more later. I will NEVER purchase any Toshiba product for as long as I live. Never have, never will. Pure crap.

[Sonny]

Give it a rest Toshi....480p upconverted to 1080p = & don't even get me started on 480p upconverted to 2160p that's just = And I would of bought one of those TV's....

[Djnx]

People should realize that Blu-ray already won and that Toshiba has a long history of contributions to the industry and excellent products for end users.

[Tempest]

Well one thing is for sure.. I would much rather upconvert 1080p than 480p.. so even if it does catch on and sell TV's.. You will want a Blu Ray Player to go with it.. NOT a DVD upconverter.

Once Blu Ray Players drop in price and match DVD player's prices, DVD Players will die completely.. the world will be left with only Blu Ray Players to buy..

[ehaser]

If my next purchase were an upconverting Blu-Ray player, and a 2160P TV or projector I wouldn't call it a bad thing. It's the next logical step to me.

[Kryptron]

Currently at only $1000.00 per inch . Why not just get an amazing projector.

[kingofgrills]

I used to be a huge Toshiba user in the past, with purchases including my very first DVD player, VCRs, a few TVs, and a DVD recorder. However, I can't see myself buying another product from them anytime soon.

Any company that steadfastly ignores industry trends and development out of pure spite doesn't deserve my attention or money at all. Every other company is trying to deliver great products within the standards set forth by the industry. I'd rather work with any one of those companies right now than Toshiba.

If Toshiba ever got their act together, I'd consider their stuff. Right now, they're dead to me.

[RustyK94]

Is it possible for the human eye to even register a 2160p picture

[lobosrul]

Originally Posted by RustyK94

Is it possible for the human eye to even register a 2160p picture

Yeah. The human eye can detect something like the equivalent of 6000 lines. Thats with your ENTIRE field of vision.