>> Really? There aren't higher-speed CPU or DSP chips you can use?
> 
> Probably an overkill (in terms of size, power and cost) if you only want 
> it to do a specific task very well.  You don't want a dual core x86 CPU 
> (with associated heatsink and fans) inside your HD camcorder just to 
> compress MPEG4 video in real time, or inside your TV to calculate in 
> between frames :-)

x86 is inefficient anyway. ;-) The only reason to use it is backwards 
compatbility - which isn't a consideration when designing a new product.

I'd be surprised if there aren't already off-the-shelf parts you can buy 
for MPEG4 decoding. Surely there are for MPEG1...

>> I wouldn't notice power consumption, brightness and thickness I 
>> haven't seen any noticable difference,
> 
> Brightness and power consumption are linked, usually brightness is kept 
> roughly constant now and power consumption is reduced.  You must have 
> seen the new LCD TVs that are only 10 or 15 mm thick?  5 years ago that 
> would have been impossible.

Presumably that's why until a few years ago nobody sold LCD TVs in the 
first place then?

>> I'd be surprised if a company would pay somebody full-time just to 
>> make stuff that they only use to make sure their real products work.
> 
> Err why would you be surprised?  It's a necessary activity to be able to 
> test your own products!

Sure. But how often do you need to design new test equipment?

>> Out of curiosity, what's the job?
> 
> The electrical version of what I do.  You would like the FPGA/VHDL 
> stuff, but it would also involve analogue stuff (EMC issues mainly), 
> talking to customers and travelling abroad, so you definitely wouldn't 
> like it :-)

Ah, OK. So even if I had the qualifications I wouldn't be applying for 
this. ;-)

Sometimes it seems like there isn't a job in existence where you can 
avoid having customers shout at you...

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