Panasonic has introduced its 2015 line-up of Life+Screen 4K ultra-HD and HD smart TVs, along with two new Blu-ray players, at CES 2015.Panasonic’s 2015 line-up includes nine models across four 4K ultra-HD series, in the form of the CX850 flagship high-end series, the CX800 high-end 4K series, and the CX650 and CX600 mid-range series.
Panasonic states its next-generation 4K ultra-HD TV models are equipped with high-picture-quality functions to make the most of 4K images, with newly developed display panels offering improved brightness and a wider colour gamut, while Local Dimming technology achieves deeper black expression and smooth, detailed gradation.
Meanwhile, via a collaboration with Mozilla, the 2015 Life+Screen smart TVs are powered by Firefox OS, with Panasonic stating its TV’s graphical user interface has advanced significantly from last year, making “it even easier for users to access quickly the content they want”.
Panasonic’s 2015 Life+Screen TVs will also include Xumo Guide, a built-in service enabling “quick and easy discovery of content from multiple sources”, while all 2015 Panasonic 4K TVs feature Voice Assistant, enabling the user to change channels and search for content by speaking into the TV’s touchpad remote or TV remote app on their smartphone.
Panasonic’s flagship CX850 series will be available in two models, the TC-65CX850U and TC-55CX850U, with pricing and availability to be announced at a later date.
“With a newly developed panel and the picture-enhancing technology of Panasonic’s Studio Master Drive, the CX850 series maximises the beauty of 4K images to achieve images faithful to the original, with vibrant colours, robust blacks and bright contrast,” Panasonic states of the CX850 series.
Panasonic states the CX850’s expanded colour rendering range of DCI 98 per cent colour space displays richer, more vivid colours, while Studio Master Drive uses colour correction technology for more accurate colour reproduction.
A maximum level of black rendering is achieved by the CX850’s Local Dimming Pro, which adjusts the backlight to match each and every image for deeper, higher-purity blacks, while Studio Master Drive’s gradation correction reproduces the tones in the low-light areas of the image.
Super Bright Panel displays bright, vivid images, and Dynamic Range Remaster produces enhanced image reproduction and rendering capabilities in the high-luminance range, while Quad-core Pro upconverts lower-resolution images to allow almost all images to be viewed in 4K picture quality.
– DMP-BDT270 and DMP-BD93 Blu-ray players
Meanwhile, Panasonic has also taken the wraps off its DMP-BDT270 and DMP-BD93 Blu-ray players
The DMP-BDT270 Smart Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player features a 4K upscaling function, which upconverts full-HD content to high-definition 4K images, with other functions including a web browser mode and a DLNA function for connecting to a home network.
Both the DMP-BDT270 and DMP-BD93 support Miracast for mirroring the content of a smartphone or tablet directly onto a TV screen, while the HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) feature allows for operation of both the TV and the Blu-ray player with a single remote control.
Pricing and availability for the DMP-BDT270 and DMP-BD93 will be announced at a later date.
Panasonic’s 2015 TV line-up specs:
– CX850 Series (two screen sizes)
TC-65CX850U, TC-55CX850U
4K ultra-HD
Firefox OS
DCI 98 per cent colour space (55″ is 90 per cent)
Local Dimming Pro
Studio Master Drive
Super Bright Panel
Image Motion 240 Hz
THX 4K certification (pending)
Dynamic Range Remaster
Quad-core Pro Chip
my Home Screen 2.0
Voice Assistant Pro
Xumo Guide
4K streaming
Control4 certification (Pending)
– CX800 Series (three screen sizes)
TC-65CX800U, TC-60CX800U, TC-55CX800U
4K ultra-HD
Firefox OS
my Home Screen 2.0
Local Dimming
Black Gradation Drive
Quad-core Pro Chip
Xumo Guide
DCI 90 per cent colour space (65″ is 98 per cent)
Super Bright Panel
3D
Image Motion 240 Hz
Voice Assistant
New touchpad remote control with microphone
– CX650 Series (three screen sizes)
TC-65CX650U, TC-60CX650U, TC-55CX650U
4K ultra-HD
Firefox OS
my Home Screen 2.0
Xumo Guide
DCI 90 per cent colour space (65″ only is 98 per cent)
Super Bright Panel
Image Motion 240 Hz
Quad-core Pro Chip
Voice Assistant
Internet apps
Web browser
Swipe & Share
Wireless LAN
– CX600 Series
TC-50CX600U
4K ultra-HD
my Home Screen 2.0
Xumo Guide
DCI 90 per cent colour space
Super Bright Panel
Image Motion 120 Hz
Quad-core Pro Chip
Voice Assistant
Internet apps
Web browser
Swipe & Share
Wireless LAN
