Panasonic Brings Photos, Videos to Consumers' Living Rooms With Google and YouTube
Monday, January 7th, 2008Panasonic VIERA® Internet-Connected HDTVs with VIERA CAST™ Feature Offer Seamless and Easy Access From The Living Room to Google’s Picasa Web Albums™ and Millions of Originally Created Videos from YouTube™
Las Vegas, NV — Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) is best known, and YouTube today announced plans to bring big screen High Definition TV viewers quick and easy access to millions of originally created videos from YouTube directly from Panasonic’s new VIERA® PZ850 line of Plasma Internet-connected HDTVs. The new VIERA HDTVs, equipped with VIERA CAST™, also include easy and seamless access to Picasa Web Albums, a free online photo-sharing service from Google.
Panasonic’s new VIERA PZ850 series Plasma HDTVs with VIERA CAST will enable consumers, using the new and elegant Panasonic VIERA CAST interface, to easily browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube and view photos from their Picasa Web Albums in the comfort of their living room.
“We are thrilled to introduce Panasonic VIERA PZ850 series Internet-Connected HDTVs with virtual one-click access to YouTube and Picasa Web Albums from Google,” said Toshihiro Sakamoto, President of Panasonic AVC Networks Company. “This is the first time mainstream consumers will be able to easily enjoy YouTube videos from the living room with the enhanced quality of a fully integrated widescreen TV experience. YouTube is already a huge worldwide sensation, and Panasonic VIERA Internet-connected HDTVs will greatly expand users’ entertainment options.”
The first generation of Panasonic VIERA PZ850 series Internet-connected HDTVs will be available to consumers in spring 2008.
“We’re dedicated to providing users around the world with a great YouTube experience no matter where they are,” said Steve Chen, co-founder and CTO of YouTube. “Working with an industry leader like Panasonic will deliver the same great YouTube experience that users have come to expect on their computers; browsing, finding and watching millions of YouTube videos from the comfort of their living room.”
“One of the most powerful things about the Internet is the access it enables, and the family TV is a fun and useful way to access your photos,” said Mike Horowitz, product manager for Picasa Web Albums at Google. “Consumers can put their favorite photos on the web and enjoy them with friends and family on a large screen from the comfort of their couches. Having Picasa Web Albums integrated into new Panasonic VIERA Internet-connected HDTVs with VIERA CAST functionality helps us achieve our goal of putting consumers’ photos within easy reach wherever and whenever they want.”
“Panasonic’s cooperation with YouTube and Google’s Picasa Web Albums exemplifies our commitment to leading the natural evolution of the Internet and extending it to the High Definition television,” said Merwan Mereby, Vice President, New Business Development, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, the consumer electronics sales division of Panasonic Corporation of North America.
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