Oddly enough the Sony PR event was the best of the day. They definitely had the best TVs (although not the largest) to show off; announcing a 55" and 65" 4K display at "more affordable pricing" and showing of a [smallish] 56" 4K OLED TV prototype. With so much focus on 4K, it was also great to see that they are priming the content engine with a 4K download service launching somtime this summer. Having seen 4K up close it's really hard for me not to see it as a very compelling next step in consumer displays. We'll definitely have more pictures of the 4K displays from Sony and other OEMs as the show progresses.

Click through for the photos from the event.

NETGEAR had a little something for the connected home enthusiast at their PR event today. Adding Sling to the NeoTV MAX was neat, but unless you have a Sling box it wasn't nearly as interesting as the NeoTV PRIME. While I have to question the name (don't we have enough PRIME devices out there?), their implementation of Google TV did look interesting - especially as that product matures with Google Play, a full implementation of Chrome and OTT services like Amazon Video and Netflix.

For those dabbling in home automation, the VUEZONE looked pretty slick because of its zero touch installation. The battery operated, wireless camera can be had with night vision and a weather guard so much easier than figuring out a more traditional security camera install. It will be interesting to see how easy it is to pull the video off the devices (it's "cloud" backed) but still very cool.

If you need a wireless extender, NETGEAR had something for you as well with a slim DLNA audio/AirPlay repeater announced as well.

Click through for the photos from the press event.

Panasonic isn't known for putting on flashy press conferences, so expectations around the entertainment quality of the demos and product announcements were set appropriately low. Unfortunately even with a low bar there were several disappointments with the TVs announced today, first they aren't getting any bigger (still maxing out at 65") and details were very sparse on any of the 32 displays announced - although it looks like the lost-in-the-middle GT was sacrificed and a new range topping ZT introduced. I'm hoping that its "Beyond the Reference" picture quality will more than make up for the lack of details and advancement in real estate.

Click through to check out the photos from the event and shudder with the knowledge that most of the time spent talking about TVs was dedicated to Youtube and Home Shopping Network integration - bleh.

We heard lots of buzz surrounding the Hopper whole home DVR service from Dish since CES, but DirecTV doesn't want to be left out of the party. While pricing and availability is still being worked out, it's nice to see some pretty significant benefits to the system over traditional and older DirecTV systems. Read on for Ben's opinions of his review. 

Capable of serving up to eight rooms in your house (but only four at once), the Genie system works with a variety of setups, including being built into some newer Samsung TVs. Only available as part of DirecTV service, the Genie can be had for free by some new DirecTV customers who are willing to sign a term agreement and select the right package, and available to existing customers as an upgrade for $300 depending on the circumstances. If DirecTV didn't already have you at five tuners, 1TB and up to eight rooms, then click through for a full rundown on the latest the original direct satellite broadcast TV provider has to offer.

Engadget

In the battle for the living room, I'm not at all surprised by this report from NPD. Who doesn't have a set top box, gaming console, dvd player or other device that is capable of providing additional services similar to what their televisions can offer? My TV doesn't have any, but I definitely would be among those who never use it.

While about 60 percent of Smart TV owners are using their sets to access Over-the-Top (OTT) video services, very few are taking advantage of available apps like Twitter and Facebook, or using their TVs to browse the Web, according to NPD.

PCMag