Tech Blog

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Both Sony and Panasonic were holding dealer shows in the Toronto area over the last couple of days, and prominent in both of them were 3D technologies and Internet-connected platforms that were initially unveiled at CES in January. Now they’re ready for primetime, and Canadians interested in a Sony or Panasonic HDTV will have them included.

First up is Sony’s Qriocity, a web-connected streaming service that Sony’s BRAVIA TVs will have included in 2011, with backwards compatibility for models that came out in 2010. Anything prior to that unfortunately won’t be able to use the service. However, Sony is saying that newer Blu-ray players will be able to bridge that gap for those customers.

Qriocity is basically an on-demand streaming platform for watching movies, though it will soon also include music as well. If the same formula from the U.S. is applied here, it would cost $10/month to access over six million songs from all four major record labels. That’s still considerably less than what iTunes offers, but it’s a start. Part of the idea is that you can stream the music to a number of Sony devices that can include a PlayStation 3, PSP, audio system, as well as a number of other devices.

If you already have a PlayStation Network user account, you can just use that to log in and start browsing for movies you want to watch, since that is all you can do until the curtain is raised on the music service. Naturally, because it’s a streaming service, you would be renting the movies, rather than owning them via download. This should put Qriocity in direct competition with the likes of iTunes on Apple TV, Netflix and other services that are popping up doing the same thing.

Meanwhile, Panasonic is doing something similar with its Viera Connect service, except it is positioning that as more of an app-based platform where you can play games and access content through various providers. One example is the NHL, which offers live streaming of games using its GameCenter Live service. It’s pretty late in the season to jump on that bandwagon, but the NHL is asking for a single payment of $79 for the rest of the season. What I’m not sure about is whether that includes playoff games or not.

A full season of GameCenter Live is $169 from the start of the season. Is that worth it if you can also access games on a Boxee Box or iPad, for example? Panasonic didn’t unveil its own tablet at the show, so I have nothing to report on that, unfortunately.

Viera Connect is already wide open for developers to create apps and services that will work on the platform, but the build I saw at the show was still pretty barebones on what’s available. There should be an increase in content availability as Viera Connect continues to roll out. Skype compatibility will be part of the mix for sure, and it’s safe to assume that there might be other camera-related apps as well.

Should be interesting to see how consumers take to these connected TVs. It’s a bigger story than 3D, but that’s just my opinion.