Matsushita is joining the companies who are trying to find the “missing link” that will connect the Internet with your living room TV. On Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced what it is calling the industry’s first IP-enabled plasma display, which is capable of displaying online video through one-click access to YouTube.
Matsushita’s Panasonic Viera HD PZ850 will come in four models with screens ranging in size from 46 to 65 inches; it will be available in the spring.
The PZ850 not only includes “quick and easy access” to YouTube, the Web site where a few zillion user-supplied videos reside, but also “seamless access” to Picasa Web Albums for photos. Both YouTube and Picasa are owned by Google.
YouTube on Widescreen
Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic AVC Networks, said in a statement that this is the first time mainstream consumers “will be able to easily enjoy YouTube from the living room with the enhanced quality of a fully integrated widescreen TV experience.”
The Internet-connected and YouTube-optimized Panasonic models are by no means the only televisions at CES designed to become the living room’s missing link. Sony has launched an add-on module for its Bravia LCD line that it calls the “Internet Video Link.” And the company has announced content partnerships with CBS and others.
Sharp has a new service called Aquos Net, so that owners of its Aquos LCD TVs can receive customized Web-based content through content deals Sharp has lined up.
Of course, users also can watch Internet-based video content that has been downloaded to iPods or other portable media players that have video-out capabilities. JVC is shooting for that market with a CES-announced, flat-screen TV that sports an iPod dock.
Industry Is ‘Eager’
TVs that are connected to the Internet and portable devices are a hot area, said James McQuivey, an analyst…