Fireworks kicked off the 2013 International CES keynote -- in Ultra HD, on a 4K organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen. The keynote speech, given by Panasonic's incoming president, Kazuhiro Tsuga, highlighted the company's focus on four key areas: residential, mobility, non-residential and personal.
"As you hear about our corporate vision... I think you will understand that our future is built around more than a single category," said Tsuga. "We are focusing around four key areas."
Bright Future
To show off the Ultra HD set, Tsuga brought Joe Taylor, CEO of Panasonic North America, onto the stage.
"Two of the TV technologies that we're most excited about is 4K and OLED," said Taylor.
The consumer electronics manufacturer is able to provide both technologies in one television set. While Panasonic will probably have a larger set available at some point, the 56-inch set showed stunning images of fireworks and other content. What was also stunning was the slim appearance and 27-pound weight of the panel. The 4K OLED TV is half the weight of a comparable 4K TV, using a competing display technology.
While some manufacturers are moving away from OLED, Panasonic has put a significant investment into the technology to bring it to 4K. A price and release date was not mentioned for the 4K OLED TV. However, Panasonic believes it can use the two technologies to produce larger screens -- and at a lower price.
Keynote News
Panasonic held the news of its 4K OLED TV for the keynote, which took place a day after the company's 2013 International CES press conference. That said, Panasonic was not the first to unveil a 4K OLED TV. On Monday, Sony showed its own 4K OLED television during its press conference. Sony's unit was just a prototype. At this time, however, it's unclear who will be the first to bring 4K OLED TV to consumers. It's not as much of a grudge match as you'd expect, however. Panasonic and Sony previously made a pact to share resources, announcing a partnership on OLED TV production back in June.
Also announced at the keynote was a 4K Panasonic Toughbook tablet, which includes a 20-inch screen and the Windows 8 operating system.
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