Panasonic: HDMI control interface

Everyone at HDBeat knows that HDMI can carry video, sound and controls, but up until now it has only carried two of the three. Panasonic announced Viera Link, which is a control interface that runs via HDMI to eliminate the need for multiple remotes. The TV will accept the IR signals from the remote and relay them via HDMI to the rest of the HDMI connected devices.

Out of the gate it will only work with other Panasonic equipment, but Panasonic welcomes other manufactures to work with them so everyone can get along. Viera Link is built on the HDMI CEC specification so that shouldn't be too difficult to do. Japan should see the new TVs next month, with the rest of the world to follow.