CES '16: Panasonic Brings Its OLED TV To The U.S.
Among the microwaves, audio systems, and smart home products at Panasonic's CES press conference today was the U.S. debut of the company's first OLED TV, the TX-65CZ950, which it first showed at the IFA show in Berlin last fall.
That means LG is no longer the only manufacturer of OLED TVs, though with its own announcements at CES, it's still out front with more models and cheaper price points. While Panasonic didn't announce a U.S. price for the CZ950, it will sell for 10,000 euros. It will boast certification from the Ultra HD Alliance (UHDA), of which Panasonic is a founding member.
The TV is HDR-compatible, and is the "most color-accurate" set that the company has ever produced, according to Julie Bauer, president of Panasonic Consumer Electronics and CMO of Panasonic North America. Panasonic worked with Technicolor colorist Mike Sowa, who's worked on Hollywood films such as Insurgent, to ensure correct color.
Panasonic also announced the DX900, a 65-inch set that the company claims is the first 65-inch LCD features the UHD Premium logo, even though LG announced similar UHDA-certified sets an hour earlier.
Both the CZ950 and the DX900 are smart TVs that will run on the Firefox OS, though--as with LG's press conference--there was no mention of smart TV features at CES, perhaps reflecting TV manufacturers acknowledging that most viewers access OTT content via connected devices rather than through the TV itself..
While the DX900 will be available in Europe in autumn 2016, Panasonic has no U.S. availability date for either model.
On the professional video camera side, Panasonic introduced two new 4K units, the WXF991 and VX981, both of which will be available in teh U.S. in March. Both feature a "Dolly Zoom" function, which keeps the subject size constant as the background zooms in.
The Panasonic CZ950 at CES in Las Vegas
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