PANASONIC 65-INCH 65-I 4K UHD UH OLED

Japanese electronics brand Panasonic has expanded its OLED television range for 2019, geared towards recreating the cinema experience at home, with specially tuned soundbars and audiophile quality Blu

Ray players to go with them.

Panasonic has made sound a focus on its new OLED range, with the top-of-the-line GZ2000 ($8299) featuring a Technics-tuned sound system, including upward and frontfiring speakers that work with Dolby Atmos.

The company is also introducing new soundbar/ subwoofer combos to pair with the televisions.

The HTB900 ($1349) and HTB700 ($899) both add support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, as well as 4K and HDR pass-through.

The soundbars are designed to match with the minimalist design of the new OLED televisions.

Of course, significant attention has also been paid to the panels themselves.

With the aim of creating a highly accurate cinematic image, the new panels have been tuned by leading Hollywood colourist and CEO founder of Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, who recently worked on massive hit movies like Avengers: Endgame and A Star Is Born, among many others.

But the Tinsel Town tie-up is nothing new for the brand.

“Panasonic has enjoyed more than 20 years of collaboration with Hollywood professionals,” said Panasonic category manager, home entertainment Josh Marshall.

“With industry experts tuning the company’s OLED TVs, and valuing them so highly that several leading colourists use the screens on a daily basis as their large-format reference monitors, Panasonic’s TV range continues to bring the filmmaker’s creative intent to life.

“Panasonic has once again raised the bar when it comes to delivering the ultimate Hollywood experience to the home.

“We’re proud of our 2019 TV range and confident that Australians will enjoy the enhancements made to offer the most cinematic TV on the market.”

Mr Sonnenfeld is one of the aforementioned leading colourists who use Panasonic’s panels.

The GZ2000 OLED series has been tuned by Panasonic’s R&D engineers, who boosted the average brightness level and enhanced contrast handling to achieve an increased dynamic range for high-impact HDR content.

The company has also improved the calibration process, extending the range and reducing the interval of steps on the RGB and gamma scales.

The new Panasonic OLEDs use the company’s HCX Pro Intelligent processor to analyse, optimise and upscale content and are powered by Panasonic’s My Home Screen 4.0 Smart TV OS, with support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

The GZ2000 is available in 65-inch, as is the lower-spec GZ1000 ($5799), which also has a 55-inch variant ($3599).

The difference between the two models is largely in the sound department, so effectively consumers have a choice between the topof-the-range model with Technics tuned sound, or the cheaper variant paired with one of the new HTB900 or HTB700 soundbars.

Both models are designed to sit seamlessly over the stand for the panel to create a uniform and clean aesthetic.

4K pass-through mean the soundbars can also act as a receiver for one of Panasonic’s new DP-UB9000 or DP-UB820 Blu-Ray players.