Toshiba: No Blu-ray yet, but "Cell"-powered TV is coming

Apparently not over its ill-fated backing of the failed HD DVD high-def disc format, Toshiba will offer a 2009 TV lineup that includes several LCD/DVD combos, but none with integrated Blu-ray drives (like those launched by JVC and Sharp).

Instead, Toshiba expanded its LV-series of TV/DVD combos, including a larger, 26-inch model (Click on the image above for a closer look) that will be priced at $550, and introduced several new LCD TV lines, including its first 240Hz and LED models. The company also offered a glimpse of the future with a prototype 4K (4000x2000 pixels) display with four times the resolution of the best current HDTVs.

New lines include the AV600 series of smaller 720p sets with 19- and 22-inch screens, and 26- to 37-inch sets in the AV502 series. Models in another new line, RV525, are the lowest-priced 1080p sets offered by the company.

Bearing Toshiba's step-up Regza brand will be a new XV645 series of 120Hz models, which include the company's renamed SRT upscaling technology, which is now called Resolution+, and AutoView, which automatically adjusts picture settings based on both the incoming signal and ambient room light. These sets also have what Toshiba calls a Deep Lagoon cabinet design with invisible speakers.

Toshiba is jumping into the 240Hz pool this year with a Regza ZV650 series of LCDs with "ClearScan 240," which combines 120Hz technology and a scanning backlight to achieve a 240Hz effect. Toshiba's first LED backlight models, which can be locally dimmed, are two Regza SV670 sets, available in 46- and 55-inch screen sizes.(Click on image at right for a closer look.)

On the horizon are Internet-enabled TVs that will use the Yahoo Internet Widget engine for quick access to online content from several partners.

Further out in the company’s planning: the first TVs that will use the Cell processor originally developed by Toshiba, IBM, and Sony for use in the PlayStation 3 videogame console. One demo we saw used a 56-inch so-called 4K x 2K panel (actually 3840x2160 pixels) to demonstrate the prowess of the Resolution+ processing when driven by a more powerful processor. Another prototype used Cell processing to enable high-speed control of a 55-inch LCD’s LED backlight with local dimming. There was no word on when the first Cell-based TVs will arrive, or at what price.

—James K. Willcox