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–Funai to Launch tru2way-Enabled DVR at CES

Panasonic and Comcast recently announced that tru2way is now “active” in the Chicago and Denver areas: Comcast says that it has activated its first tru2way headends in those regions, and Panasonic says it is now offering its tru2way-enabled Viera HDTV sets in retail at Abt Electronics in Glenview, Illinois, at various Circuit City stores in and around Chicago, and at Ultimate Electronics and Circuit City stores in the Denver area. The companies say they will launch tru2way capability in additional cities in the coming months. “The arrival of the first tru2way HDTV’s at retail, combined with Comcast’s activation of its first tru2way headends, are among the most significant milestones in the cable industry and are a huge win for consumers,” Paul Liao, CTO of Panasonic Corporation of North America, said in a prepared statement. “At the May 2008 Cable Show, we stated with great confidence that the first tru2way HDTV’s would be available for consumer purchase at retail by fall 2008. We are especially delighted to have partnered with Comcast and CableLabs to make good on that promise and bring the benefits of open networks to cable subscribers.” Added Mark Hess, Comcast’s SVP of video product development: “We see tru2way technology as the gateway for our customers to experience the next generation of interactive television, and our work with Panasonic to develop and support the first fully digital cable-ready HDTV’s is an important first step in making that happen. This common platform also will let us develop an exciting array of interactive services and applications that we can deliver on our advanced fiber network to a variety of consumer electronics devices.”

Panasonic’s first tru2way-enabled Viera Plasma HDTV’s–the TH-42PZ80Q and TH-50PZ80Q–are offered with 42-inch and 50-inch screens respectively, and integrate tru2way receiver capability within their chassis. The TH-42PZ80Q has an MSRP of $1,599.95 and the TH-50PZ80Q an MSRP of $2,299.95. In addition to tru2way support, the sets offer 480Hz Sub-field Drive for sharp motion image focus; 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio; Viera Link (allows viewers to operate all Viera Link-equipped components with a single remote); and a built-in SD memory card reader for playing back digital photos.

In related news: According to a report by Cable Digital News’s Jeff Baumgartner, Funai Electric Co. plans to launch a tru2way, dual-tuner HD DVR/set-top box next year. The box, which will be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month and which will be marketed in retail and through the company’s MSO customers, employs a tru2way middleware stack from Vividlogic. It is scheduled for mass production during the third quarter. According to Baumgartner’s report, while Funai is also considering launching a tru2way-enabled HD set-top box without a DVR, it is waiting to see whether the standard receives a positive response from consumers before developing tru2way-enabled integrated digital TV sets.