There’s a reason why I call it the biggest show on earth. And no, I’m not talking about the Barnum & Bailey Circus.

I’m talking about the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas I was privileged to attend last week. With more than 2,700 exhibitors and 140,000 attendees, it’s the largest consumer electronics show in the world, covering 1.7 million net square feet.

The exhibition space is truly daunting. With six fold-out maps of the exhibition space, it’s obvious that there’s no way you could possibly see and experience everything made available to you, a true letdown for any techie.

There was a lot of excitement about the show this year. According to Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, $171 billion will be spent on consumer electronics this year, an increase of 6% -- better than any other industry’s projection so far.

Many products showcased, big and small, were meant to work in tandem with Apple’s newest iPods. Interestingly enough, Apple Inc. (AAPL:Nasdaq) didn’t have a booth at the CES.

The Year of the Television

Another large trend at the CES this year was television. This was their year, what with the countdown toward America going 100% HD in 14 months. The switchover from analog to digital television in February 2009 will deliver movie-quality picture and sound as well as high-quality channels to every living room in America. And the televisions and other consumer electronic accessories showcased at the show in Vegas this year will capitalize on that switchover.

This switch is also why major players like Google Inc. (GOOG:Nasdaq) have bid on the wireless spectrum once used to broadcast analog channels.

Aside from all of the amazing strides I saw in the gaming, audio and video industries at the CES, one particular experience, garnered early in the show, sticks out in my mind -- Panasonic's keynote address. I was excited to attend it the morning before the official opening of the Consumer Electronics Show.

The “Digital Hearth”

Panasonic is the leading brand of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (MC:NYSE), a company I once held in the Diligent Investor model portfolio. I’ve always been amazed by the company’s ingenuity when it comes to flat-panel and plasma televisions, a still booming industry.

The keynote address given by Panasonic’s president, Toshihiro Sakamoto, was one of the highlights of the show. The company prides itself on what it calls the “digital hearth”: providing a place in the home where family and friends come together, building off of the natural human need to be connected with people.

While only members of the press were able to officially attend this speech -- and granted, we’re all professionals -- the buzz in the room was deafening, and the applause following each new product debut was astounding. Imagine all of us in suits, rapidly taking down notes, with our mouths wide open and practically drooling!

It’s one of the most memorable moments to date: being able to see the newest products from a leading consumer electronic manufacturer before anyone else!

A Market Leader in Viewing Pleasure

Panasonic unveiled its next generation of plasma displays. Taking the push toward green technology seriously, the company has unveiled a new 42-inch panel television that consumes half the energy a television of its size normally would while still showing the brightest picture. It also unveiled a less than 1-inch thick, 50-inch plasma screen… and the world’s largest plasma, at 150 inches, if measured cross corner!

Before now, the company still held the record for largest plasma screen television, at 103 inches! Now that’s a market leader!

Panasonic’s “double efficiency” technology, which uses new phosphors and cell design, reduces power loss and has twice the luminance and same brightness as other state-of-the-art televisions but half of the power consumption of other similar electronics, a socially responsible step that all manufacturers are striving toward.

These televisions will be extremely successful in the switchover from analog to high-definition television.

Panasonic also showcased its Viera line of plasma Internet-connected HD televisions, working in tandem with Google and YouTube to bring video and photo viewing into a prominent position in the living room. It’s another example of Panasonic’s idea of television as a home’s “digital hearth.” The first of its Viera Internet-ready televisions will be available in spring 2008.

The Wave of the Future

Panasonic also showed what I consider the surefire wave of the future: its aptly named “Life Wall.”

The Life Wall pretty much turns one entire wall of your house into a high-definition television, which you can personalize for each user. Essentially, the Life Wall can be tailored to look just like any wall, as you design what the windows look like, the fireplace, even the bookshelves.

But it’s more than a television and way more than a wall. It uses facial recognition technology to realize who is in the room, identify a user and then change to his or her chosen preferences. When watching a movie on the Life Wall it will move with you as you move, giving you the best seat in the house for whatever you’re watching!

Best of all, motion-sensing technology allows you to operate the wall without a remote control. Using hand gestures, you can choose a movie you want to watch, open your new e-mails or watch a television show you’ve recorded while you were out.

It truly is amazing technology, but I believe Panasonic and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (MC:NYSE) have the ability to make it not only a reality, but, more important, a pervasive technology.

Currently, MC is priced near $20 per share -- undervalued, in my opinion -- and thus offers a fantastic opportunity to ride the wave of next-generation consumer electronic technology, since MC and its Panasonic brand is a proven leader in high-quality plasma televisions and will profit from the HD switchover here and abroad… and beyond.

Over the next week or so, my colleagues and I will be putting together a video showcasing all of the amazing technologies and companies we learned about in Las Vegas.

I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as it’s available for viewing.