CES 2009

Panasonic has announced a major initiative to bring true, full 1080p resolution on Blu-ray to the home theater. At their press conference they announced that they will be conducting demonstrations of 3D at their booth at the show. This demo will use active shutter glasses. No polarized lenses or glasses using funky colored filters. The company will work toward the adoption of an industry standard for the future of home 3D, and hopes to have such a standard in 2009 with consumer 3D products meeting that standard available by 2010. By February 1 of this year they plan to install a 3D disc authoring authority center at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs.

In other Panasonic news, the company has expanded its range of THX-certified flat panel sets. It also announced three new Blu-ray players: the DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80, and DMP-BD70V. All of them offer enhancements on the networking functions of their predecessors, including the addition of Panasonic's Viera Cast functionality. Each player can access Amazon Video on Demand titles, and a range of other Internet sites (without the need for a computer). The DMP-BD70 is a VHS-Blu-ray player—a first on the market. No release dates or prices were given.