Live from Panasonic's press conference

10:37AM PT - Panasonic's press conference is about to begin, and we're here. Expect big news on the mondo-sized Lifewall plasma, LCD talk, and Blu-ray drives. Stay tuned, we'll be live blogging from inside.

10:58AM PT - We're in and the crowd is taking its seats. Beatles are playing, always a crowd fave.

11:06AM PT - And we're off! Follow us after the break.

11:06AM PT - Panasonic Chairman Yoshi Yamada takes the stage. Panasonic is starting the year off right with the CES keynote.

11:08AM PT - Now talking about a successful year, and great stuff to look forward to with their Olympic sponsorship and many more industry affiliations. Panasonic is touting their leadership role in plasma TVs.

11:10AM PT - Half of American houses have DTV, and Panasonic is going to be there. All of this is part of their "Living in High Definition" program, to show how HD can make everybody's lives better. The end-user feedback Panasonic is getting from this program is really beneficial, and they'll be expanding the program to 100 households.

11:13AM PT - 2008 will see Panasonic going green. Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba are joined together in recycling efforts. This cooperation is the most effective way to address sustainability.

11:16AM PT - Now showing off some clips form the "Living in High Definition" program. It's reality meets tech, folks! Lots of excited people (who wouldn't love getting a load of free gear?) and smiles all around. Technology can bring the family together. Families that tech together, stay together!?

11:18AM PT - Panasonic CE President Shiro Kitajima now takes the stage to talk more about what Panasonic has learned from "Living in High Definition."

11:20AM PT - The Viera lineup is getting enhancements for 2008, hitting all the consumer faves - image quality, ease of use and great support. 37 and 46-inch models.

11:22AM PT - Now Kitajima is showing off the Viera link, demonstrating the oh so easy-to-use integrated SD card slot. Now he's playing back SD-based AVCHD video content as well.

11:26AM PT - Expect to see this feature in all 2008 Blu-ray players as well! Including the BD-Live player they're showing of this year at the booth.

11:27AM PT - Now the assistant is taking center stage to demo some more Viera features. Expect 16 models across the line in 2008, four of which carry THX certification. They're really pushing the Viera TC-36LZ800.

11:29AM PT - DMP-BD30 Blu-ray player and a new 32GB SDHC are now getting to show off.

11:30AM PT - SC-BT100 HTIB system now. iPod integration, of course. People love the ease of these things, no doubt!

11:31AM PT - KX-TH1211 Link to cell phone. Apartment dwellers that hve black holes of reception about the casa now can leave the cell phone by the window and carry this handset around the home.

11:32AM PT - Strada GP50U GPS and DVD-LS86 portable DVD player are getting billing now. But, wait, there's still more: the HDC-SD9 AVCHD recorder (the world's smallest HD recorder) , and it's got a sibling HDC-HS9 that packs a hard drive. If HD isn't your think, they've got other camcorders for you.

11:36AM PT - Joseph Taylor, CEO now takes the stage. Talking about the transition from analog to digital, again playing on the family-centric theme. Look for more news at the keynote tomorrow -- good times ahead!

11:39AM PT - That's it, folks; we're out!

[Elisha Adeagbo @ Jan 6th 2008 1:26PM]

Here we go!

[TheWakeUpCall @ Jan 6th 2008 1:43PM]

Thanks for that.

[David85 @ Jan 6th 2008 1:45PM]

How about an 8mm thick plasma?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jan 6th 2008 1:48PM]

8mm thick with a snow cown machine built in! now thats what I'm talking about

[Ronan @ Jan 6th 2008 1:53PM]

cone is spelt c-o-n-e you know that right?

[Senor_Tom @ Jan 6th 2008 1:54PM]

I loled at that Ronan. :D

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jan 6th 2008 2:25PM]

I know. I'm using a touch sensitive keyboard so when I write fast, I end up getting more mistakes than a regular keyboard.

[Senor_Tom @ Jan 6th 2008 2:42PM]

yeah cos WN and NE are easy letters to type in the wrong order. Look at your keyboard and u can see its just a silly spelling error.

[Ethyriel @ Jan 6th 2008 3:08PM]

In his defense, just because he's a Cubs fan, I've found that you're more likely to make stupid mental mistakes than when you're using a tried and true board. Take this from someone who gets new keyboards a half dozen times a year in search of the holy grail of input. I think it's because the typos raise your frustration level, you end up desperate for normalcy, and the next thing you know you're hitting strange key combinations across the keyboard. I imagine that would be even more pronounced if you don't have tactile feedback, like from a touch sensitive board.

[Andrew @ Jan 6th 2008 1:48PM]

Awesome graphic to go with the pic. I waited for a second 'cuz I thought something didn't load. Lol.

[Dragod @ Jan 6th 2008 1:48PM]

How about a $400 32-inch 1080p LCD?

...I can dream can't I?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Jan 6th 2008 1:51PM]

I just sneezed...

[Ronan @ Jan 6th 2008 1:54PM]

I must say you have superb anecdotes

[Dadbeh @ Jan 6th 2008 1:55PM]

will it be more about plasma ot LCD?
What about Both?

[Dragod @ Jan 6th 2008 1:58PM]

Engadget should have set up some sort of live feed :P

Microsoft is the only one streaming, that I know of.

[RyanTV @ Jan 6th 2008 1:59PM]

Well isn't this a lively Liveblog
I can't seem to hit F5 fast enough for the updates. :|

[Senor_Tom @ Jan 6th 2008 2:04PM]

drink loads of red bull or similar and once you start the tapping you wont stop. And your eyes will be so wide you will be able to see behind yourself.

[Randomness @ Jan 6th 2008 2:08PM]

Shipping on that LifeWall is going to suck 0.0

[Tony C @ Jan 6th 2008 2:11PM]

Hah! If you can afford to actually BUY the LifeWall, you don't give a rat's ass about shipping cost! ;o)

[Dragod @ Jan 6th 2008 2:11PM]

No where near the cost to power the damn thing, though.

[Alex Cormier @ Jan 6th 2008 2:12PM]

Awkward turtles!

[Ronan @ Jan 6th 2008 2:32PM]

emmmmmmmmmmmmm.... humerous panda's....se i can play too

[Todd in Sonoma @ Jan 6th 2008 2:12PM]

I'm only here for the comments. In a way, it's like I'm at CES myself. People are all around me chatting away. Some are very articulate, some have bad grammar, but the excitement is contagious.

[Todd in Sonoma @ Jan 6th 2008 2:18PM]

Panasonic is going green? What a bunch of crap. I'm sure every corporation is going green this year. I'll be glad when "green" as a buzzword is gone from our collective lexicon.

[Todd in Sonoma @ Jan 6th 2008 2:20PM]

Families living in high def together is a public health crisis. What families need to do is turn off the TV and get some exercise together.

[Dragod @ Jan 6th 2008 2:29PM]

I think they mean that families can enjoy the times like when they all decide to watch a movie in the living room together, or say two siblings enjoying their HD gaming.

[boe @ Jan 6th 2008 4:19PM]

Any 80" screens? Large screens have been out for a while - how about something in the 80" range for those of us who don't want or have the space for a projector.