Panasonic wants to add life to walls
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Panasonic on Monday announced it was dabbling with technology that makes walls interactive, adding &quot;larger-than-life technology&quot; to home interiors.The company is looking to use screens and cameras to create virtual environments on walls. Users will be able to customize wall space on the fly, said Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic AVC Networks, a division of Panasonic, during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.In a demonstration, facial recognition technology on the wall automatically recognized a human passing by and started a TV program on a flat-screen TV.But for now, Panasonic seems to be focusing more on improving the interactive experience with a TV.During the keynote, Sakamoto announced alliances with Comcast and YouTube that will allow TV users to get better access to multimedia via the Web and cable service.Panasonic&#39;s alliance with YouTube will provide users with one-click access to browse, find, and view YouTube videos on TVs, said YouTube co-founder and chief technology officer Steve Chen. YouTube is working with Panasonic to deliver a better interface, Chen said.Panasonic also announced a tie-up with Picasa for users to view pictures from the Picasa digital imaging site on a television.Access to Internet-based multimedia services will be enabled by Panasonic&#39;s Viera Cast wireless networking features incorporated in Panasonic&#39;s Viera line of high-definition TVs, Sakamoto said.Panasonic and cable company Comcast worked together to develop Tru2way technology, which improves access to Comcast&#39;s cable service. Users will get direct access to live broadcast feeds, video-on-demand, and high-definition sports content. The Tru2way technology will be built into Panasonic TVs or be available as cable boxes, said Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast.A portable digital video recorder, Anyplay P-DVR Model TZ-LC100, jointly developed by Panasonic for Comcast, will be among the first to incorporate Tru2way technology. Combining DVR functionality in a portable DVD player, the system has a folding 8.5-inch LCD screen that can be used to watch recorded movies and programs. When placed on a docking station, the system becomes a DVR and records up to 60 hours of programs that can be viewed on the Panasonic TV. Panasonic officials couldn&#39;t provide pricing information, but said the product will ship in 2009.
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Company will make components as well as devices in 2005.
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The devices, which will be available soon, will offer better picture quality than earlier models.
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A new home heating system from Panasonic is based on a hydrogen fuel cell; it both heats the house and produces hot water.
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Flat-panel TVs look lovely on a wall Â the cords hanging from them, less so. After a few years of false starts, the industry finally seems close to tackling that problem. At least three dueling wireless technologies for high-definition TVs will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which starts Monday. Manufacturers promise that sets incorporating these technologies will be in stores before the next holiday season.
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For people who dislike the appearance of a blank TV screen, aesthetic ways to camouflage that huge L.C.D. or plasma panel are on the market.
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SAN FRANCISCO/LAS VEGAS  - The world's major technology companies are trying to convince consumers they need an expensive, digitally connected home with the latest high-tech gadgets.
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Microsoft's technology-laden home of the future will feature smart appliances connected by Web services and controlled by tablet PCs or cell phones.
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Panasonic is expanding its line of ruggedized notebooks and is aiming to dramatically increase sales of the devices worldwide.
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Makers of gaming consoles want part of the on-demand-video future.
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like the one used in Star Wars - could soon be installed on the high-street. Boffins in Japan claim to have developed technology for image chambers - similar
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Plasma screens just keep getting bigger, with Panasonic on Monday showing the prototype of a new 150-inch plasma display, which the company says is the largest flat-panel display in the world.Measuring 11 feet wide, the Panasonic Life Screen is the size of nine 50-inch plasma screens, said Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic AVC Networks during a Monday keynote at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.It displays images at a resolution of 2,160 by 4,096 pixels, four times the resolution of Panasonic&#39;s current high-definition plasma screens, which display images at a 1,080-by-1,920 pixel resolution, Sakamoto said.The 150-inch panel is designed for digital cinema and promotional installations. Sakamoto did not say when the screen would be delivered. In developing the product, Panasonic was encouraged by the sales of 3,000 units of 103-inch plasma TVs, more than the company expected, Sakamoto said.The executive also showed off a prototype 50-inch plasma high-definition, thin TV. The display is 24.7 millimeters (0.97 inches) thick and weighs around 22 kilograms (48 pounds), half the weight of current high-definition TV models in similar sizes, Sakamoto said. This makes for easier installation and wall-mounting of the screen.No shipping date for the 50-inch screen was announced.Panasonic is making an effort to reduce the power consumption of plasma displays, Sakamoto said, and the new designs include new circuitry and designs that cut energy consumption by up to half.The International Consumer Electronics Show will be held Jan. 7-10.
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A cable giant looks to the future of digital video.
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A new device that costs a couple hundred bucks can turn the home office into a high-definition media center. It's a start anyway, and far less expensive than coughing up for a television setup.
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A round up of some of the  technologies on show at CES that are making the digital living room a reality.
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Exotic materials and cheaper substrates could lead to better photovoltaics.
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The company claims to have developed a new technology that uses plastic instead of glass. From Crave, CNET's gadgets blog.