Panasonic Sets Partnership with HSN For Direct Purchases Via Viera TV

LAS VEGAS -- Despite rumors last fall that Panasonic was exiting the plasma TV business, the company came to CES fielding 16 new plasma models ranging in size from 42-65 inches, said Vic Carlson, vice president-marketing, at Panasonic’s CES news conference Monday. But the company is also launching 16 new LED-lit LCD TVs, from 32-65 inches, following a lineup ratio consistently skewed in favor of plasma in previous years, a company spokesman said. The LED models are 15 percent more efficient than previous models and meet consumption requirements of Energy Star 6.0, Carlson said. An Ultra HD model could be announced “later,” a spokesman told us. Panasonic Corp. President Kazuhiro Tsuga is scheduled to give the opening CES keynote Tuesday morning before the show opens.

Building on its Smart Viera platform, Panasonic has added features to enhance personalization, facilitate access to content and improve ergonomics, said Shiro Kitajima, president of Panasonic Consumer Marketing Co. of North America. A My Home Screen feature on the ZT60 VT60 and ST60 series TVs allows each user to create a personal home page where they have access to their favorite content. Select models have built-in cameras that can use facial recognition to identify users and bring up their home pages automatically, Carlson said.

The updated Swipe & Share 2.0 feature enables users to share content from Android and iOS-based tablets and smartphones via the Panasonic Viera Connect platform, Carlson said. Users can send personal photos and videos to their TVs and transfer them back with a finger swipe, he demonstrated. Viera ZT60, VT60, ST60, and S60 series TVs can be used with a stylus accessory called Touch Pen that allows users to personalize photos and videos with captions and other editing marks, which can then be saved and sent via the share feature to a smartphone or tablet, Carlson said. Higher-end ZT and VT models offer text-to-speech functions and voice commands to help those with impaired vision access text-based content more easily, Kitajima said.

Panasonic also announced partnerships with YouTube and HSN for services on the Panasonic Viera Connect platform. A new YouTube app for Viera TVs effectively turns users’ mobile devices into a YouTube remote, according to Francisco Varela, head of YouTube’s global platform partnership. Viewers no longer have to plug in personal identification numbers to access YouTube, he said. Users can control playback and volume of YouTube videos via the app, he said. Apps are also coming from Disney Publishing, Showtime and other partners down the road, Carlson said.

Viera users will also be able to make purchases directly from their TV remote on HSN, executives said. HSN’s Shop by Remote service will launch on Panasonic’s Smart Viera platform this spring, the spokesman said. Consumers will be able to shop for and purchase items both from live broadcasts and via the online experience which includes specials of the day, prior items for sale and all of the HSN categories, according to HSN CEO Mindy Grossman.

Panasonic also bowed new lines of wireless speakers, a speaker for tablets and Wi-Fi-based cameras and camcorders with live view streaming from a smartphone.