Comcast tru2way goes live in Chicago

Panasonic and Comcast first jointly announced a series of tru2way-enabled products, including Plasma HDTV, HD DVR STBs and portable DRV devices, at the Consumer Electronics Show last January. Comcast today has more than 1,200 HD programming choices and more than 10,000 total content options.

Panasonic’s line of Viera Plasma TV sets, announced in June, include an HDMI cable and a Blue-ray cable connected to the TV. Carriers control the signals that can be manipulated from a single remote control. Through this technology, called Viera Link, consumers can control their cable box from the TV or, conversely, the TV from the cable box. While watching a Blue-ray disk, for example, the video plays instantaneously with the audio – no extra steps and no line of sight needed, meaning all the cords, boxes and components can be stored in one cabinet if desired.

“People like the simplicity of the technology and the simplicity of the look,” Liao said. The user interface for tru2way was developed by Comcast and is uniform across any TV set. Recognizing that not every household owns a Panasonic TV, Liao said it made sense for consumers not to relearn a new UI on every set. When questioned about the potential complications of two sometimes-competitors, the cable and consumer electronic industries, teaming up on a project like this, both Liao and Hess agreed that as long as they are focused on the consumer, they’d come up with an answer.

“It’s all about letting each one of us do what we do best,” Hess said.

Comcast and Panasonic demoed the service today at Glenview, Ill.’s ABT, an electronics and appliances warehouse seemingly immune from the effects of an economic crisis. The store has seen its two biggest weekends of HDTV sales in the two weeks, according to general manager Marc Cook. The electronics giant has been aggressively marketing and cutting prices on its HDTV sets, Cook added. “If anything, we have seen some people not reach for the top – they’ll buy a 46-inch model instead of a 52-inch.”

Continued strength of HDTV sales didn’t surprise Liao.

“In difficult times, people like to cocoon,” he said. “The TV business has proven very resilient to economic problems.”