Less than a decade since the boob tube made the jump from standard to high definition, next generation technology is already rolling out to consumers. Ultra high definition television or UHDTV refers to displays ranging from 4 to 16 times the number of pixels compared to those currently being offered by 1080p HDTV. Of course that amount of detail will require a lot more processing power, especially when up-scaling from lower resolution sources. The higher the resolution, the more the quality of the converted (i.e. up-scaled) image matters. Often poor up-scaling results in pixellization and other unwanted artifacts that can make the viewing experience less pleasant. Ever tried watching standard channels on a high def unit? Ugly, isn’t it?
Just over a year since unveiling the 55-inch Toshiba Regza RZ1 3D television, Toshiba is now touting the capabilities of the CEVO 4K, the video processing engine that promises to deliver high picture quality from low-resolution sources such as Blu-ray or HDTV. Using a combination of algorithms the technology is able to restore and blow up picture detail while projecting them at up to 120 frames per second. As of writing no information has been provided as to when commercial units will become available, stay tuned to this site for when that happens.
Full press release follows.
Seeing is believing: Toshiba’s state of the art TV technology delivers “true image”
“True image” is what Toshiba promises to bring to Filipino homes through television as it showcased the capabilities of the CEVO 4K, the second generation 4K video processing engine pioneered by Toshiba.
Toshiba Philippines President Tomoyasu Yamamoto mentioned that the superior technology that Toshiba developed is a product of the company’s commitment to manufacture each television unit with the highest engineering and technological capability. “Toshiba strives to inspire everyone with our dedication to TV technology,” he said. “We pursue the real high picture quality for our users. Through the years we have established and perfected hardware in semiconductor technology. We combined it with software grounded on Toshiba’s skill and thought to provide outstanding reality to the images in every Toshiba TV.”
Cevo 4K is Toshiba’s core technology for television which upgrades TV image quality and restores precision, enabling superior picture for contents like Blu-ray, HD TV and 4K video. It is an enhancement of the 4K video format first introduced by Toshiba in 2011. The big deal about 4K is resolution that’s four times the pixels of full HD. To the regular viewer, this means onscreen images appear closest to the way they look in real life.
According to Yuuji Motomura, an engineer who heads product planning for Toshiba’s TV division, their unique philosophy is about bringing out the natural look and feel of real life. “Televisions are being made to create a wow feeling, the bigger the screen, the more excitement,” he said. The problem though is that with bigger screens, even images shot in full HD can look pixelized. “It is not enough that the TV screen is big – it also has to be equipped with the technology that maintains the high picture quality to enhance the viewing experience.”
Most content currently available for the general public, such as commercial TV broadcast by global media outfits and movies distributed internationally, are shot in full HD and 4K has begun to catch on. In the Philippines, local TV networks still broadcast in standard definition but are expected to go into full HD in the next couple of years. These developments signal a shift, if not a mass migration, to more advanced TV models that will give justice to the hi-tech formats that they are produced in. “If the programs you are watching are in Blu-ray or HD, the CEVO 4K technology improves the images and makes it possible to watch them in near 4K level picture quality. That’s the wonder of the technology,” Motomura said. “If you see very detailed pictures or images you somehow get excited. The ultimate excitement is delivered when the picture is so good and the screen is so wide.”
Motomura gave media guests a preview of the power of the CEVO 4K through Toshiba’s Ultra HD 84-inch LED. A movie clip from an animation film available in Blu-ray was shown. It was demonstrated how CEVO 4K gave a near 4K level picture quality to the movie. It can improve precision up to 90% of the original content, which provides a sense of reality that is unmatched in terms of viewing experience.
New in Toshiba’s CEVO 4k
- Fine Texture Restoration is an algorithm that extracts three components of an input image: texture, edge and flat portions. The texture of the image is optimized in the process to achieve the near 4K level precision.
- Brilliance Restoration divides and restores brilliance by reproducing brightness that approximates real sight.
- Scene Adaptive Resolution dynamically analyzes and determines the appropriate precision of each part of an image. This restores both the natural depth and precision to the image, bringing out the reality and atmosphere of a scene.
- Dynamic Gamma automatically analyzes the image and corrects luminance and colors.
- Digital Noise Reduction detects and reduces linking noises on a flat portion around edges, common in animated movies, and corrects them for cleaner images.
- Dejudder addresses the juddering effect on active scenes, often found in Blu-ray content. The result is smoother and cleaner images.
- Clear Frame enables a double speed circuit that generates up to 120 frames per second. This reduces image lag and greatly improves the resolution in action scenes.
Toshiba’s CEVO 4K gets the nod of technophiles
One of the most in-demand advertising directors in Manila, Paul Soriano, has experienced first- hand the power of Toshiba’s core technology. Paul has shot over a hundred TV advertisements since he got his first commercial break in 2007. In his line of work, he does not compromise on visual quality. “It isn’t easy to show true images on a television screen that best match real life color and consistency,” he observes. “Toshiba’s CEVO 4K technology is top notch in terms of precision. The sense of detail and sharpness is excellent and the way it captures natural light and skin tones. If you’re the type who likes to watch videos in Blu Ray and TV programs that are broadcast in HD, it’s definitely something you’d want your TV to be equipped with. It will be a waste not to enjoy the full benefits of HD broadcast if your TV set is not optimum. Most certainly, it makes for pleasurable viewing. ”
Abe Olandres of YugaTech fame, one of the most widely read technology websites in the country, is impressed with the capability of the CEVO 4K to enhance image quality. “Where Toshiba has taken TV technology is quite remarkable, you can tell they are very serious about perfecting the technology. I can see how the CEVO 4K models will appeal to a set of consumers who expect a lot from their TV sets and enjoy the reality feel when watching. Those who have a strong appreciation of video technology will definitely want to get a hold of this.”
To know more at Toshiba power tv, log on to www.toshiba.ph.