Want to know all the Panasonic TVs coming your way in 2019? Look no further, as TechRadar has your exhaustive, definitive, all-round perfect round-up of this year's Panasonic TVs – now that several OLED and LCD televisions have been announced for release in the coming months.
Back in January, Panasonic showed up to the CES 2019 expo with a new range of 4K Blu-ray players and audio gadgets, but in terms of televisions, the company is focusing attention on the GZ2000 – what Panasonic is calling 'the world's most cinematic TV' – an OLED TV with color tuning straight out of Hollywood.
We’ve since got more details on an additional three OLED televisions, which 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’ sets replacing the FX750, FX740, FX700, and FX600 – and a couple of Full HD models too as seen below.
Keep in mind that Panasonic no longer ships to the United States, though we'll be seeing these sets come to the UK, EU, Canada, and Australia.
For more info on what makes a Panasonic TV panel tick, and the 2019 Panasonic TVs coming slated for release this year, read on below.
Panasonic 2019 TV technology
The future of Panasonic looks… organic. While the Japanese manufacturer only released two OLED models last year, it’s doubled down with a total four sets packed with ‘organic LED’ panels, which use an organic film able to emit its own light, rather than using a backlight on a regular LCD display.
Like Sony or LG, Panasonic is increasingly looking to OLED panels for its premium TVs, making use of the technology’s deeper black levels and improved contrast for a richer, more color-accurate image.
Three of its four OLED models actually use an identical panel, but vary the speakers built into the TV – with some ditching a slim form factor in order to offer a higher-grade audio performance. (The upward-firing speakers running up the back of the GZ2000 resemble something of a chimney.)
Each of the new OLED TVs feature an upgraded HCX PRO Intelligent Processor, building on the HCX chip used in 2018's OLEDs. With every OLED panel technically being produced by the same manufacturer – LG – the way the images are processed has become an important way for manufacturers to distinguish their premium sets from the competition.
Panasonic says that the HCX chip offers good quality thanks to its 'Dynamic LUT' (or look-up table) system. This monitors the brightness of each scene in a film to deliver the best color accuracy.
Panasonic is also making much of its links to Hollywood production studios, with the flagship GZ2000 model featuring color correction from colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld.
Manufacturers are increasingly pressured to support all the various HDR formats out there, and Panasonic is pushing out the boat. All the OLED sets this year (and some LCD) include voice commands through Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, 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).
Compare that to last year's OLEDs from Panasonic – FZ950 and FZ800 – neither of which supported Dolby Vision, even as Panasonic brings the enhanced HDR format to more of its 4K Blu-ray players.