Hasta La Gadget!

LAS VEGAS — The future of television isn’t just 3-D. It’s getting content from the web, too, says Toshiba, who introduced its internet-connected Cell TV on Wednesday.

Powered by LED (KIRA2) backlighting, the 55- or 65-inch Cell TV features multiple eight-core 3.2-GHz processors. What does that mean? It’s 10 times faster than standard desktop computers and will have 143 times the processing power of today’s televisions, claims Toshiba.

“The possibilities of what we can do are really endless,” said Scott Ramirez, vice president of marketing for Toshiba’s TV group, during a press conference.

Indeed, Toshiba is promising the Cell TV will deliver exciting new features. The Cell TV includes a converter to make everything that’s normally 2-D on your screen — football games, videogames, Blu-ray movies and so on — pop out in 3-D when viewed through active shutter glasses. That’s where the processing power comes into play — frame-rate conversions and rendering.

The Cell TV gets even more intense. It also features a video camera, microphone and software for video conferencing over an internet connection. (Hello, George Jetson.) To get on the web, there’s an ethernet port and 802.11N Wi-Fi connectivity. Also, the Cell TV will have a software menu called Net TV Channels to download streaming content from Netflix, Vudu and other web-based video services. On top of that, the TV uses a technology called Net Super Resolution+ to reduce compression artifacts seen in web video content.

A number of manufacturers are claiming 2010 will be the year of the 3-D TV, but Toshiba is the first we’ve seen announce a full-blown internet TV. The Cell TV underscores a trend we highlighted prior to CES — it’s not just a device; it’s also a platform that can be increasingly expanded with the power of the internet and downloaded applications. Other gadgets that operate with a similar idea include the Xbox 360, the iPhone and the PlayStation 3, which each also have online stores that enable consumers to add to the capabilities of the respective devices.

Sounds insane, right? Interestingly, Toshiba has not announced a price, though the company did say the Cell TV would debut “later this year.” (Don’t expect this to be anywhere near affordable to the average consumer.) We’ll post more details as we receive them.

See Also:

• 3-D TVs Grab Curious Eyes at CES 2009
• Wired Explains: How 3-D Television Works
• Philips’ 3-D HDTV Might Destroy Space-Time Continuum, Wallets

Photo: Toshiba

Need any more proof this is the year of 3D? USA Today is reporting ESPN 3D will start broadcasting this summer with a World Cup soccer match, with additional content coming from the Summer X Games (we won’t have to wait for the flick to hit theaters this time) NBA games, and college basketball & football. DirecTV still hasn’t confirmed its rumored plans for 3D, but CableLabs CEO Paul Liao is quoted calling the level of engagement 3D sports presents viewers as “unprecedented.” More details on exactly how 3D in the home will happen are sure to come throughout the week — we’ve already been blown away by 3D sports, it looks like everyone else will have their chance in just a few months.

ESPN 3D launches in June with World Cup soccer — our football to follow later originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony and Panasonic are both hellbent on convincing us their forthcoming super-duper 3D television sets are the future, but before we all start selling off the children and re-mortgaging our homes, how about a little taster of what it might be like? Channel 4, the British answer to a question nobody ever asked, is about to offer up a selection of 3D programming this month, which it dubs as a return to “good old fashioned fun.” The menu includes a documentary about the Queen’s coronation (in other words, ancient history), a magic show, and even a couple of goodies like Flesh for Frankenstein and Friday the 13th, Part III. If we find can remember to get down to the local Sainsbury’s and grab ourselves a free pair of those rad-looking three-dee glasses, you might even be treated to our eyes-on impressions. Watch this three-dimensional space!

[Thanks, Mitch T]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

UK Channel 4 set to throw some 3D programming our way originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Financial Times has it on good word what the major unveil in Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer’s keynote tomorrow at IFA 2009 will, so much so that it’s quoting him with phrases he hasn’t even said yet. According to the report, the company is making a huge push into the third dimension, with 3D BRAVIA HDTVs hitting the retail channels by the end of 2010. Also on the menu is 3D-compatible PlayStation 3 titles (which we’ve kind of heard before), VAIO laptops, and Blu-ray movies, but it’s unclear from the article if they shares the same 2010 timeline. Polarized glasses will be required for use, but hey, just consider it a fashion statement. We’re now very anxious to see how close Sir Stringer sticks to this purported script for tomorrow’s big event.

Filed under: Displays, Gaming

Sony to debut 3D BRAVIA TVs by end of 2010, also eyeing 3D VAIOs, Blu-ray films, and PS3 games? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sky has already successfully tested its 3D broadcasting capabilities, and hinted that the 2012 London Olympics could be comin’ at ya like never before, but it now looks like the broadcaster could be set to roll out the service even sooner than many expected. According to Sky’s Chief Engineer Chris Johns, Sky now has the “capability for homes to see 3D by year-end,” although he unsurprisingly didn’t offer any firm timeline for an actual rollout, or even a confirmation of the exact type of 3D system that’d be used, saying simply that they’re continuing to test different systems and that he envisions it to be “glasses-based in some form.” He also added that Sky is focused on building a content library “over the coming year,” so that would seem to suggest that an actual launch would come very near the end of the year, if not later.

[Via Register Hardware, thanks SK]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Sky suggests UK homes could see 3D TV by the end of the year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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