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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
squiggleslash @ Oct 15th 2008 11:08AM
It probably saves power (and thus reduced heat) over-all compared to separate boxes. Blu-ray and ATSC have some areas of overlap, it's probably save to say that all the video decoding circuitry can exist on the Blu-ray side, which can also handle the upscaling, reverse-pulldown, and other image manipulation features that would normally be done by the TV itself. To be a TV, it just needs the tuner (not the decoder, the tuner) and stuff to convert the various analog signals into digital.
Add that to the fact the entire box is mounted vertically, allowing air to easily flow over the circuits without the need for fans, and you probably have a much more efficient and clean design than you'd ever have otherwise.
And if you're trying to push Blu-ray, building the players into HDTVs strikes me as a good way to do it. I'm surprised Sony hasn't been doing this.