Yes, it is really happenings this time. After years of exhibiting prototypes, Panasonic is ready to launch its first OLED TV named 65CZ950. The 65” OLED TV will offer 4K, HDR (high dynamic range), and advanced picture processing.

A 65” Panasonic 4K HDR OLED TV
LG has just released the first 4K HDR OLED TVs but Panasonic will be right behind them. Panasonic’s 65-inch curved OLED TV will be available next month as the company’s new flagship TV with “stunning picture quality tuned and approved by a leading Hollywood colourist”.

OLED is a new display technology that relies on small organic light diodes that can reproduce pure black and beautiful colors; in Panasonic’s TV close (90%) to the DCI P3 color gamut. The first large-size OLED TVs were launched by Samsung and LG a few years ago, but Samsung later pulled out of the market. OLED is notoriously hard and costly to manufacture, but offers amazing picture quality.


Panasonic is not afraid to compare its first OLED TV to its now-discontinued plasma TVs, saying that it for the first time can deliver “Absolute Black”.

- “In fact, OLED screens can achieve even deeper blacks than Panasonic’s legendary plasma TVs, while also avoiding the picture noise associated with plasma technology,” says Panasonic.

The TV has been designed with inspiration from high-end furniture. Panasonic thinks that it has created its “most attractive TV ever”. The super-thin TV is mounted on an aluminium pedestal and the backcover “is upholstered with Alcantara” to make it look appealing from all angles.


4K and high dynamic range
OLED can deliver amazing picture quality, but combining it with 4K resolution and HDR will set new standards, believes Panasonic.  The TV complies with CEA’s new  “HDR Compatible Display” initiative.

HDR is an end-to-end picture quality improvement that starts in the camera and makes it all the way to the display. HDR can bring picture to life with deeper blacks, brighter whites and more details in each end. Just like LG, Panasonic calls OLED a perfect partner for HDR.


It is not clear who is supplying the panel at this point but Panasonic says it uses “custom-built panels”.

Panasonic 65CZ950 is equipped with a 4K Studio Master Processor that takes care of picture processing. Panasonic says that its Hollywood studio and renowned colorist Mike Sowa, who has worked on movies such as Oblivion and Insurgent, have been involved in optimizing the picture quality. The TV has also been certified by THX, making it the first 4K OLED TV to be so.

- “My world of visual storytelling is based around color accuracy and the need for a display that compliments the creative vision.  Panasonic has engineered their newest 4K Pro OLED TV to a standard that I would only expect in professional displays," says Mike Sowa.


Panasonic’s 65” OLED TX-65CZ950 will launch this October. Pricing details have not been announced. More information at panasonic.co.uk.

FlatpanelsHD will chase more details and hands-on impressions at the IFA show floors.



 
 Specifications 
 
OLED (organic light emitting diode) display
 
 4K resolution (3840x2160 pixels)
 
 
 
 HDR (high dynamic range) support, approved by CEA 
 
 
 
 At least 90% DCI gamut support
 
 
 
 Curved panel
 
 
 
 4K Studio Master Processor
 
 
 
 10-bit (per channel) panel and processing
 
 
 
Accurate Colour Drive: A 3D Lookup Table. This system provides a volumetric approach to colour space control whereby a change in any one input colour causes cross-colour changes in all of the table’s output colours. The result is a much more accurate rendition of colour tones at different brightness levels than you get with normal TVs, which don’t generally employ any lookup table technology. The table also references the cyan, magenta and yellow colours across a total of 8000 registry points (versus a typical 100), resulting in the sort of professional-grade colour accuracy used by directors and cinematographers when they’re editing their films. The CZ950 additionally offers a picture preset, True Cinema, containing the picture quality settings tuned and approved by Hollywood colourist Mike Sowa.
 
 
 Black Gradation Drive for OLED: OLED’s ability to deliver a new level of black level response - which Panasonic calls Absolute Black - has actually been a challenge for OLED TV makers, since the shift from complete blackness to just above black is a very difficult gradation step to render. However, Panasonic’s experience with plasma technology has enabled it to solve the issue on the TX-65CZ950, resulting in unprecedentedly beautiful and precise detailing even in the very darkest picture areas.
 
HDR Compatible: The 4K Studio Master Processor in the TX-65CZ950 is enabled to support the playback of native High Dynamic Range (HDR) content as per the standards recently announced by the CEA. HDR uses a combination of specially created content and super-bright, colour-rich screens to deliver images containing a much wider luminance range than any traditional TV. This means you can enjoy pictures with more contrast, richer colours, and greatly enhanced shadow and colour detail.