Panasonic has joined LG and Samsung in a top end TV processor battle with an all-new HCX PRO Intelligent Processor which they claim is a step up from their 2018 processor used in their OLED models missing from the range is any TV’s above 65″.
There was mention at their Sydney press event about upscaling which both Samsung and LG are pushing hard because of the power of their processors. Panasonic appears to be using their new processor to manage colour, blacks and contrast.
The Company is also pushing the Technic brand for their audio tuning despite the brand having not been sold in Australia for more than 20 years.
Also revealed was an upward-firing speakers running up the back of the GZ2000U, it resemble something like an extraction vent.
As a side show Panasonic demonstrated a Transparent OLED TV which uses Smart Glass allowing owners to see through the panel when it is switch off.
At this stage there are no plans to launch this TV in Australia.
At the top end of the Panasonic range is the $8,299 65″ GZ2000U, there is also $3,599 55″ OLED TV model.
Surprisingly Panasonic is keeping out of the above 65″ market despite the Company claiming that are the “Best TV manufacture for Hollywood Movies”.
According to retailers the above 65″ TV market is proving “extremly popular” according to JB Hi Fi executives.
Panasonic is calling their new top end 65″ TV as ‘the world’s most cinematic TV’ an OLED TV with colour tuning straight out of Hollywood.
TH-65GZ1500
The three OLED televisions released by Panasonic Australia, all share the same panel and processor, but vary in model sizes and the level of audio quality on offer.
There are also a number of upgrades to last year’s 4K HDR TVs, with a new range of ‘GX’ TV’s that include a GX850, GX800, GX740 and GX 600 series.
The cheapest 4K UHD TV is a 43″ GX600A which is selling for $999. Aldi is selling a similar TV for $395.
At the top end of the 4K Premium LED UHD range is the 75GX880A which has a retail price of $4,999.
This year Panasonic Australia has 4 OLED TV models which are built around an LG OLED panel; however, Panasonic is claiming a difference between the LG OLED TV’s and their own offering and it’s down to what their processor delivers.
The Japanese Company claims that their new models deliver deeper black levels and improved contrast for a richer, more colour-accurate image and in a demonstration, there was a difference but not a big difference from their 2018 OLED TV.
hree of its four OLED models actually use an identical panel, but vary the speakers built into this year’s TV range.
TH-65GZ2000
Panasonic differentiates their processor from those of LG and Samsung pointing to their ‘Dynamic LUT’ (or look-up table) system that is on board the new processor.
This technology monitors the brightness of each scene in a film to deliver the best colour accuracy. At today’s event it was all about their links to Hollywood which is the same marketing spin that Sony is claiming, the big difference is that Sony own a lot of the animation and movie studio’s producing content as well as manufacturing the 4K and of late 8K cameras used in movie production.
All their OLED sets this year (and some LCD) include voice commands through Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa however their sound bars appear to have no Google capability built in similar to the Polk soundbars. Instead owners have to have a separate Google Assistant speaker.
On board their TV’s is Dolby Atmos audio, support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ video formats.
Panasonic is also bundling in Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) broadcasts (which are coded in both SDR and HDR) and the very different HLG photo format (for showing Lumix camera stills on Panasonic 4K TVs).
