On the eve of a keynote address at CES in Las Vegas Tuesday by President Kazuhiro Tsuga, Panasonic was named an International CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree for its VIERA Full HD 3D TC-L55WT60.
The news came on a day when the Japanese electronics company also previewed new smart TVs and Blu-ray full HD 3D players to be available in February – the DMP-BDT330, DMP-BDT230.
The Panasonic VIERA TC-L55WT60 IPS LED panel allows for a 178 degree wide-viewing angle which produces a clearer, crisper, viewing experience of 3D and 2D content from virtually any angle. It also utilizes 4,200 BLS technology, more than double the backlight scanning motion of last year’s WT50 model, all in a stunning Full HD 3D display. In addition of offering real-time 2D-to-3D conversion, Internet connectivity, and Panasonic’s first-ever built-in camera for Skype video calling, it features three HDMI ports, allowing for 3D video and audio features.
All but one of the 2013 Blu-ray Disc Players include built-in Wi-Fi. The two new 3D-capable Blu-ray models include Miracast – a display mirroring feature which enables users to transfer their own photos and videos captured on smartphone and tablet devices to their HDTV screen with the swipe of a finger. The 3D-capable Blu-ray models also feature a Web Browser with pointer cursor for easy maneuvering, while all models in the 2013 lineup also feature external HDD Playback and personalized menu options on the Blu-ray lineup.
The 2013 Smart VIERA Plasma TVs offer connectivity enhancement that transforms the TV into a hub for streaming and sharing photo and video content seamlessly with smartphone and tablet devices. Through Panasonic’s proprietary VIERA ConnectTM platform, users can transfer personal photos and videos from their Android or iOS devices directly to the large screen with a simple swipe of the finger and transfer them back to their smart devices the same way. Swipe & Share also enables sharing of user-generated photos and videos that are on the large screen with other Android or iOS devices. (2013 VIERA® ZT60, VT60, and ST60 Series)
— By Scott Hettrick