Panasonic’s flagship OLED TV has finally gone on sale in the U.K., priced at £3,299.99 for the smaller 55-inch version, and £4,299.99 for the 65-inch model.
Perhaps the most interesting feature on the Panasonic GZ200 is its “professional edition” OLED panel. The panel has in fact bee customized by Panasonic’s own engineers, and incorporates improved power management and cooling technologies that help to deliver increased brightness of close to 1,000 nits, the highest ever seen on an OLED TV.
The TV also stands out for its inclusion of some of the latest new video and audio technologies, with support for all of the main High Dynamic Range formats, including Dolby Vision (for the first time), HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG. The inclusion of Dolby Vision was first mentioned when the TV was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show n Las Vegas in January, and came as a mild surprise as Panasonic happens to be a founding member of the HDR10+ Alliance, which was set up to prevent Dolby from cornering the market. However, it seems Panasonic has decided it makes more sense to support both formats.
The Panasonic GZ200 also comes with Dolby Atmos object-based audio, which is delivered via a 3.0.2-channel audio system with up-firing speakers. Users can also attache an optional subwoofer directly to the TV to enhance the effect if they wish. The TV is powered by the company's latest 'HCX Pro' video processor.
One disappointment might be Panasonic’s insistence on continuing with the MyHomeScreen operating system, which is really just a custom version of FireFoxOS. It provides access to apps including Amazon, Netflix and YouTube, but lacks many other second-tier services.
The GZ2000 also lacks HDMI 2.1 ports and features, which are available on rival OLED TVs from LG Electronics. Panasonic’s OLED TVs are notably cheaper, at least.
Panasonic’s OLED TVs, including the GZ2000, also come with the added bonus of being “Netflix Recommended”. This designation, announced last month, means that Panasonic’s OLEDs offer a premium experience when viewing Netflix. The certification is only handed out after Netflix performs rigorous testing of the TVs for their performance and ease of use, and checks that they have all the features necessary for the optimal Netflix experience.
