Toshiba's new TV has a 218GFlop PS3 processor inside

Full disclosure, in conjunction with new FTC regulations regarding blogging about products. Toshiba, its affiliates and subsidiaries in no way influenced this posting with an offer to give me a

CELL REGZA 55X1

LCD television set in exchange for my views on this most awesome and excellent innovation to home theater viewing. Of course, if they were to give me one, post facto, I wouldn't have to report it nor would I be required to revise this review--either up, nor down. I think you know what I'm saying, Toshiba.



But onto the facts:

First, there is a seriously awesome CPU in this TV set.

It is the Cell Processor, a new version of the one co-developed with Sony and IBM and which currently powers the PS3 for Sony and IBM's server line. Here (in Japanese) are all the details about it.

It has 218GFlops...in a TV!! Wow. Why all that power? So that it can use the 3TB (!!) of DVR storage in its external dongle to present up to 40 split-screens showing scene selections to jump right into a recording. Or up to eight simultaneous projections of video. Wow! It's like that screen in Back to the Future 2 where Marty's kid comes in and asks the TV for "Channel 34, 126, 22, 44, the music channel and the news". Oh, and one or more of those channels could be YouTube, in HD using an Opera browser co-developed with Toshiba.

I'm telling you, man, this TV just Rocks! Available in December in Japan, and not soon enough in the USA. You have got to get yourself one of these.


Okay, I'm waiting, Toshiba.