Toshiba Unveils Line for 'Near HD'
Claiming that "99 percent" of all TV programming is still aired in standard definition in parts of Europe and elsewhere (albeit certainly not the case in the United States and Canada), Toshiba has rolled out a new product series that it says upgrades SD content to near-HD quality.
The technology for its series of new products (marketed as "REGZA ZV") deploys a cell processor algorithm "to provide greater image detail," Toshiba said in a statement. It said by using advanced image-enhancing technologies, SD content is scanned and up-converted to "near-HD" images.
Besides a lot of SD content lingering on television, Toshiba said, "The majority of home-movie watching is through DVD, most of which is quite significantly compressed. With [our] 'Resolution [plus] Technology' we are able to offer consumers the ability to instantly upgrade whatever it is they might choose to watch—broadcast, standard DVD or otherwise—to near high-definition quality."
Specifically, Toshiba said its upgrade technology is able to enhance images by increasing picture definition and improving picture edges using correlation with adjacent images. "A powerful processor is able to review adjacent areas of an image—determining waveforms of a similar nature—and combine pixel information to enhance edge detail and improve the perceived depth and texture within the final picture—creating a … more defined image," Toshiba said.
