Panasonic's Smart VIERA TVs Incorporated with Rovi TotalGuide

Panasonic's (News - Alert) 2012 Smart TVs and Blu-ray recorders, which are being marketed in sixteen European countries, will now incorporate Rovi Corporation’s TotalGuide solution. A custom design deployment of TotalGuide, which offers vivid TV listings and images, will be featured on Panasonic's VIERA Connect platform. Users will be able to search and find Broadcast TV programs by leveraging the sophisticated search and suggestions offered by Rovi Guide application.

In a release, Fabien Roth, director, TV Group for Panasonic Marketing Europe said, “We continue to expand our range of applications available to enhance the consumer experience on VIERA Connect. Through our collaboration with Rovi, we are able to offer an advanced guide application that makes navigation easy and intuitive - enabling viewers to further enjoy our excellent range of Smart VIERA TVs.”

Customers of Panasonic can enhance their entertainment discovery experience with Rovi TotalGuide’s evocative TV program information on actors, TV shows and movies. Customers will also be able to easily navigate from one content part to another with the improved descriptions offered by the application. Panasonic will be able to offer influential search and refined recommendations to its clientele through TotalGuide, allowing them to come across new and attractive broadcast content.

Matt Milne, executive vice president for Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Rovi Corporation said, “Panasonic and Rovi share a common vision of continuing to forward the 'connected' entertainment experience for consumers. In today's dynamic market, our TotalGuide solution provides a flexible, customizable technology framework for CE manufacturers looking to quickly deploy differentiated products and services for entertainment discovery and access to all the many digital content options available.”

Various Panasonic Smart VIERA Connect-enabled Smart TVs, which will be sold in throughout Europe, will now include the Rovi Guide. Specific Panasonic VIERA Connect-enabled Blu-ray recorders which will be sold in Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland, will also include the Rovi Guide.

Linear broadcast television content along with online content like pay per view or PPV, video on demand or VoD, photos and music services can be accessed with Rovi TotalGuide, which includes several custom designed units.