PANASONIC IS BANKING big on OLED.EX, the new higher-brightness OLED panel technology from supplier LG Display. All of the Japanese company's 2022 OLED sets sport the new glass, including the 42in models it hopes will fly off the shelves. Rival QD OLED technology, as championed by Samsung and Sony, isn't getting a look in.
On the evidence of the models previewed at the brand's 2022 showcase (the sets should be arriving at retailers by the time you read this), its confidence in OLED.EX is well placed. The TVs, from range-topper down, look impressive.
Custom engineering
After Panasonic's plans to develop its own OLED panels, first announced in 2012, were quickly scrapped, it became an early pioneer of customising OLED technology. Back in 2017, it introduced a 3D LUT to combat crushed blacks; this enabled a smoother transition from pure black to near-black, restoring detail previously lost in dark image areas. Then, in 2019, it innovated with the first heat management system, creating extra headroom for picture brightness.
Panasonic marketing guru Paul Williams says that work has continued apace. 'You need more than great panels to build a great TV,' he says. 'You also need the module and SoC [System on a Chip] to work in perfect harmony. All three are equally important. Our factory is now using a very sophisticated camera that allows us to carry out pixel-by-pixel uniformity compensation to make sure we're getting the most out of our panels.'
To ensure colour accuracy, the sets continue to be tuned by long-time collaborator and award-winning Hollywood colourist, Stefan Sonnenfeld.
'Our goal,' says Williams, 'is simple: to bring enhanced OLED performance even to our core OLED models.'
Expanded lineup
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Summer 2022 من Home Cinema Choice.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Summer 2022 من Home Cinema Choice.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
AV Avenger
You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May
Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney
Forty years on from the movie's cinema release, Anton van Beek ponders what might have been if things had gone a little diff erently during the making of Return of the Jedi…
Feedback
Got an axe to grind? Need to comment on current tech? Want to share your knowledge with our readers? Team HCC is here to help
M&K Sound V12
TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Steve Withers
Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded
This well-specified Dolby Atmos soundbar may have a mid-range price tag, but you'll soon want to spend more, cautions Steve May
Short and sweet
Marantz's compact AV receiver returns with a new look and boosted features – Jamie Biesemans slips it into his AV rig
Discreet delivery
A slim, stylish Scandinavian on-wall system impresses Mark Craven with its handling of the sweet stuff
One project, two rooms
Dan Sait reports on a custom install where a JVC PJ/ Atmos system is joined by a stylish media den
THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD
Three of his movies have taken over $2billon at the global box office, he's pioneered SFX and 3D technologies, and he's been to the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean. That's James Cameron by the way, not Anton van Beek
System selector!
Given three similar budgets, Mark Craven, Steve May and John Archer assemble three different AV setups focused on movies, streaming and gaming
