Panasonic has revealed the JZ2000, the successor to last year’s HZ2000, in all of its lovely inky black OLED glory during CES 2021. Despite no one having hands on with the TV, with CES 2021 being an entirely digital event due to the ongoing global pandemic, it certainly looks like what Panasonic has promised with the JZ2000 should make it one of best TVs of 2021.
With the HZ2000 and GZ2000, Panasonic have prided themselves on producing OLEDs with zero compromises in terms of their display and sound quality. However, the upgrades provided by the JZ2000 set an entirely new bar from which all TVs should be measured.
Display
Unlike other manufacturers, who use mass-produced panels made by LG, Panasonic continues to use its own proprietary ‘Master HDR OLED Professional Edition’ panels. These panels, customized by Panasonic R&D engineers, allow for greater brightness levels and less risk of burn in compared to other OLEDs.
With the JZ2000, Panasonic is introducing its new HCX PRO AI image processor. This new processor, when the TV is in ‘Auto-AI mode’, will analyze the content on screen and tune the image and sound to suit the content. It does this by drawing upon Panasonic’s own database and will tune sports content, for example, to display more lifelike grass colors, make the players more pronounced, and make the audio sound more stadium-like. Those of the more purist persuasion, however, will be relieved to know when the processor detects movie content then it will instead dial in the most accurate color settings from the database.
In terms of supported HDR formats, the JZ2000 has, perhaps, the most featureful list of any TV, including:
- HDR10 / HDR10+ / HDR10+ Adaptive
- Dolby Vision / Dolby Vision IQ
- HLG
Connectivity
While Panasonic is keeping the detailed specifications of the JZ2000 close to its chest, it has confirmed that the TV will arrive with full HDMI 2.1 support. This means that the TV will be able to properly support all the features of next-generation video game consoles, such as:
- ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode)
- VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)
- HFR (High Frame Rate)
- HDMI Signal Power Link
All of these features, combined with reduced input lag which Panasonic states is ‘amongst the very lowest figures in the industry for an OLED TV’, culminate in the JZ2000’s ‘Game Mode Extreme.’ So, both movie lovers and gamers alike should have zero complaints with the JZ2000.
Sound
One of the many fantastic features offered by Panasonic’s OLEDs is their inclusion of speakers that are actually worth a damn. Tuned by Panasonic’s own hi-fi audio brand, Technics, the forward and upfiring Dolby Atmos capable speakers found on last year’s HZ2000 are now complemented by a set of side firing ones as well.
Dubbed by Panasonic as ‘360° Soundscape Pro’, the fidelity offered by this set of in-built speakers should do more than enough to satisfy most people, especially those with limited space. However, there is still support for the best soundbars on the market.
There’s no word on price, just yet, for the JZ2000 but it will be available this year in both 55” and 65” variants.
