OPINION: It’s been a busy few months within the TV world. Samsung launched its TVs, adopted by LG, Sony, Hisense, TCL, and now Panasonic. All have revealed their hand for what’s to come back within the following months.
There have been rumours – or on the very least some musings within the trade – that Panasonic would pull out of the TV trade sooner slightly than later.
It left the North American market a number of years in the past and it seems to have exited the Australian market (which many manufacturers appear lukewarm to today).
When you needed to learn the tea leaves in a sure means, they could reveal a Panasonic that’s shedding curiosity in a fiercely aggressive market the place revenue margins are shrinking, particularly in the direction of the funds finish of the market.
However this and the 2023 line-up confirmed a Panasonic that appeared prepared to robust it out. Extra OLED screens than earlier than, a variety of LCD LED choices, and its first Mini LED display. That doesn’t sound like an organization shedding curiosity. In reality, the 2024 vary is Panasonic being very aggressive.
And but, within the press launch it spoke about revolution with its newest line-up and having seen the TVs and walked by means of a collection of demonstrations, I can’t assist however really feel that new concepts are slightly low on the bottom.
Panasonic isn’t the one one to talk of revolution in 2024. Sony mentioned one thing comparable with its Bravia announcement and Samsung has raved about AI in its TVs, although there’s been AI in its TVs for years now.
The purpose I’m attempting to make is that true innovation has change into skinny on the bottom. On the plenary occasion in Dusseldorf, Panasonic talked up its Excessive True Recreation modes and one other partnership with Diablo for the upcoming enlargement. All this echoed final 12 months’s bulletins with out transferring the needle ahead a lot.
There was one other partnership introduced with a mastering home – Platige – who create in-game cinematics for the likes of Name of Obligation together with Company3, who use Panasonic TVs for mastering movies together with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Nonetheless, Disney mandates that any firm working with it makes use of LG OLEDs throughout its productions, and though LG doesn’t discuss this, it arguably places the Korean firm in an even bigger sphere of affect throughout the movie trade and the house market.
The Hearth TV tie-up was already introduced however the addition of the TiVo interface was a pleasant shock. The UK gained’t get Panasonic Google TVs, however from what I do know and have seen of the TiVo working system, it’s an excellent various.
It’ll be unhappy to see My House Display disappear, however in right this moment’s good age, Panasonic wanted to stage up and regardless of my misgivings about Hearth TV, it has achieved that.
I used to be proven an audio demo of the Z90A OLED that didn’t sound pretty much as good because the MZ1500. Whereas it was extra refined in some methods it lacked the weightiness and power of the MZ1500’s sound system.
The OLED and Mini LED image high quality all a step up from the 2023 fashions, with smoother gradation and decreased banding; in addition to Panasonic supporting Dolby Imaginative and prescient IQ with Precision Element, a function that solely LG TVs had up till now however presents much more element and finesse within the picture.
Nonetheless, these all felt like incremental enhancements slightly than one large leap ahead; evolution slightly than revolution.
Once I first began going to those occasions, I at all times felt as if Panasonic was the corporate bringing new concepts to the market – increased brightness OLED panels, genuinely good sound techniques for a TV, Dolby Imaginative and prescient IQ and Filmmaker mode image accuracy. It was the TV model that was bringing new expertise to the market, and most of the time, it was the primary to take action.
Now everybody has caught up, and the innovation Panasonic was bringing appears to have slowed. Maybe that’s one thing that may very well be utilized to the trade as an entire however a lot of what I noticed felt like a repeat of issues I’ve already seen from Panasonic. Had been they higher? Sure, however there was a way of familiarity hanging over the occasion.
The place does that go away Panasonic within the mixture of issues? I’m not fully positive. I feel the standard of its TVs deserves an even bigger reward; and maybe the adoption of Hearth TV, Google TV, and TiVo could make the TVs extra accessible. I hope that’s the case as a result of the TV world wants a Panasonic that’s taking probabilities and pushing the TV market ahead.