Toshiba to release Cell processor powered television

Toshiba is finally putting a Cell processor in a television and will show it off on October 5, 2009. Announced back in CES 2009, Japan gets this super-TV first. What purpose could having a Cell processor have in a television? Toshiba says they will use the processor to upscale standard definition video to higher quality. Think of your television having a built in upscaler like a lot of DVD players.

Before you start thinking that Toshiba has grand designs to put together a PS3/TV combo, Toshiba has already claimed that they will not be doing that. Not at all. Toshiba actually developed the Cell with IBM and Sony. Expect Toshiba to eventually build combination Blu-ray/televisions and probably give access to IPTV directly from the television without the need for a set top box. The Cell is a very powerful processor and putting it in a television opens up what a simple TV can do.

Read: [ComputerWorld]