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!