The developers at VieraConnect are continuing to add new and exciting apps to the 2010 and 2011 Viera TV models. Their latest: Karaoke!

http://panasonic.net/avc/viera/global/connect_apps/detail/130 

Great to see this level of dedication to IPTV technology, Panasonic truly is the frontrunner in this field.

Yesterday marked our 1 year anniversary as a LivinginHD Family, and every day I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity. We've been given so many great things (including non-product experiences), our Viera TV is the proud center piece in our living room. Every time I go away for a few days and am forced to watch a hotel TV, or anyone else's TV, and then come back home, I am just blown away with how perfectly sharp and clear the picture is. When we're discussing watching a movie or TV show with friends, it invariably turns to "Let's go to Bas and Ada's since they have the best TV". Watching the 3D shows on DirecTV has been an absolutely amazing experience as well, the newest 3D channel has had some great documentaries which really show off the future of 3D TV.

My picture-taking abilities are still sub-standard, I just simply haven't taken the time to go out and experiment enough. Of course, I do tend to not want to go out during cold weather at all. I'm sure I'll be giving the cameras and 3D camcorder some more love over the next few months.

And, of course, being part of this community has been great, so many talented people, always great to see people try new things, and share their experiences, whether good or bad, with everyone else. I hope the trend will swing back to honest discussions about Panasonic's products and services, and helping people with questions on everything related to living in HD!

A few weeks ago, several LiHD Families were asked to participate in an interview which was going to be recorded, and used by Panasonic in their promo clips at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in early January. We were fortunate enough to be one of these families, so one fine afternoon, an entire production crew showed up at our house, as well as the always awesome Greg the Answerman. Setting up the cameras, lighting, and sound was quite an undertaking, but the result was worth it (sorry about the crappy quality, obviously not a Lumix, it's my cell phone).

The crew was fantastic, and we had tons of fun giving our opinion on the 3D technology we'd been testing, as well as our feedback on IP TV (VieraCast) and the Eco Ideas which shows Panasonic's commitment to the environment.

Well, imagine our surprise when we were called a few weeks later (around the holidays) and invited to actually be at CES and get up on the Panasonic stage for a live interview. Didn't have to think very hard about that one!

So off we flew on January 7, arriving in Las Vegas in the evening, where we met several of the Panasonic people, as well as the other LiHD Family who was invited to be at CES, the Poli family. I would post a picture of the dinner we had but it'll only make me hungry, so you'll have to believe me it was a blast.

Saturday January 8 was the day we were supposed to be at CES, and for those of you not familiar with it, it is the premier Consumer Electronics event of the year, where the latest gadgets are announced and shown, setting the stage for the remainder of the year. It definitely was an overwhelming experience, so much to see and do, and so little time.

The Panasonic pavillion was enormous, with as its center piece, the 3D stage, a large collection of 3D screens, ranging from 46" to 152" 3D plasma TVs.

On this stage, the interviews were to take place, the Poli family in the morning, and us in the afternoon.

Panasonic had several distinct pavillions where they were showing their various technologies, including the 3D stage, the IP TV (VieraConnect) stage, the Eco Ideas stage, etc. And there they were showing clips which included pieces of the interviews with the various LiHD families! So cool to see everyone on these screens, a little odd to see myself on so many at the same time though....

The Poli family was great on stage! I won't spoil tool much, I'm hoping they will give an account of their experience as well, but keep your eye on Kevin, the next Steven Spielberg!

While poking around the Panasonic pavillion, we saw some great new technology that Panasonic is working on, including the successor to VieraCast, called VieraConnect, which will add some great new features to IP-enabled PCs, such as streaming video games, integration with the Viera Tablet, and Health & Fitness features such as the BodyMedia Fit Armband. It's all very exciting, and I can't wait to see these new products hit the market.

Then it was our time to do the interview in front of a decent-sized audience, talk about pressure! It was great though, the interviewer was the fabulous Diane Mizota (actress, mom, former host of G4 TV) and we had a blast, as I hope is evident from this clip.

Apparently, they won't allow me to embed a YouTube clip, so here's the URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3MnnrX7DMM

The next day, we had to ourselves, and I've already uploaded some pictures of Las vegas, which for me was my first visit there, Ada had been there before.

Once again, thank you very much to Panasonic, for listening to our input, and taking all their customers' feedback seriously, and of course for providing us with these great opportunities!

3D content is now available on Verizon FIOS, through regular On Demand but now also on HBO On Demand! So if you're subscribed to HBO on Fios, you can now watch 3D movies for free! Currently, 3 movies are available (in my area anyway), Clash of the Titans (not that great), Coraline, and Monsters vs. Aliens.

Glad to see Fios catching up on 3D content! The only caveat is that it is delivered in Side by Side format, so not Full HD. You'll have to change your TV's 3D settings to Side by Side manually.

We had the pleasure of attending a Panasonic Digital Photography class with Rick Gerrity this past weekend. Since we've had the GF1 since June, it intimidated the heck out of me, since I'd always had a simple point and shoot camera. Attending this class, however, has made me a lot more comfortable, and knowledgeable, about photography in general, and about this, and our other camera. I highly recommend these classes, I know I'll be signing up for others in the next few months. Having a small class size was fantastic, gave us alot of opportunity to ask questions and make sure we got the most out of the limited time we had.

Thanks Rick!

On the traditional Dutch St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6), Ada surprised me with an XBox 360 Kinect system! So, that meant that I could finally bring my PS3 up to the Panasonic Viera VT25 and I was able to download a 3D demo from the PSN Store. It looks, quite simply, amazing on that TV. The surround sound blew me away as well. While my receiver isn't 3D capable, which meant I have to connect the PS3 to the TV via HDMI, and to the receiver with an optical cable, this setup works quite well, and offers me all the audio capablities I'll need with the PS3. The 3D effects were really excellent, I may have to download some full games, am definitely reading up on them.

Now, the XBox Kinect is a blast and a half, I'll have to try and take some 3D footage of some willing (or unsuspecting) volunteers/victims. It definitely offers a work-out! The Kinect Adventures game that came with it offers quite a different variety of games, which make you jump up, sideways, forward, bend down, and wave your arms and feet in many possible directions. My friends gave me a copy of Dance Central, which we tried at their house last week, and I know that is definitely going to make me sweat, in a good way! I'm looking forward to more applications that use the full-body motion sensor, it's a very innovative idea, which has been made affordable enough to have fun with it.

Panasonic Australia has started their new promotion which includes the Avatar 3D BluRay as well as an entire 3D home theater package with the purchase of a Viera 3D TV.

http://blogs.panasonic.com.au/consumer/2010/11/01/viera-full-hd-3d-neo-plasma-tv-avatar-giveaway/

Let's hope consumers in the US who have purchased a 3D capable Viera TV in the past year will be eligible to get this BluRay as well.