Anthony Charlton – Locog/European Pressphoto AgencyA December handout picture of the Olympic Park in London.LAS VEGAS — Panasonic and NBC announced on Monday that the network will broadcast the London Olympic Games in 3D. Of course, viewers need a 3D television to enjoy the show, but Panasonic undoubtedly hopes sports fanatics will feel compelled to buy new sets.
The announcement came after a day of news conferences at the International Consumer Electronics Show here from all the major manufacturers of televisions, who took turns at trying to outgun each other. The main areas of battle? Who had the biggest television screens, and which televisions had the best “smart” technology.
Sharp’s 80-inch television is so big that the company displayed it on top of a Smart car, which was only slightly bigger.
Samsung Electronics said its newest televisions will have face recognition technology so that the television will bring up viewers’ favorite apps. Its televisions will also respond to hand signals and voice commands. Sharp said its televisions will respond to voice commands, too.
Samsung also said Angry Birds will be available on its smart televisions this year. Before long, given the size of televisions, viewers should be able to kill life-size pigs on Angry Birds.
Panasonic announced a partnership with MySpace that would allow users to watch television and simultaneously chat with one another or share content in real time, provided they have new Panasonic Viera televisions.
That announcement had some extra pizazz because Justin Timberlake, an investor in MySpace, came out to promote the new venture.
“This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions, the television,” Mr. Timberlake said.