The 2022 Panasonic LZ2000 Master OLED Pro TVs are unveiled

Panasonic today announced the launch of its flagship OLED TV for 2022, the Panasonic LZ2000 which comprises the following models:

• Panasonic TX-77LZ2000 - specifications
• Panasonic TX-65LZ2000 - specifications
• Panasonic TX-55LZ2000 - specifications

All three sizes use the very latest 2022 generation Master OLED Pro configuration, which has been custom engineered by Panasonic to deliver even more brightness through improvements in picture processing. The result is another bump in mid-level brightness, delivering more pop from HDR and improved accuracy in reproducing details in brighter areas. The new LZ2000 OLED represents Panasonic's technical accuracy made possible by Japanese know-how and engineering, combined with the color-tuning skills of Stefan Sonnenfeld. The LZ2000 supports a very wide range of HDR formats, including Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Vision, Filmmaker Mode, HDR10+ Adaptive, and HLG Photo, the still image format which brings still photography into the HDR world.

The LZ2000 uses advanced sensors to detect the ambient room light color temperature and adjusts the picture in a nuanced way to deliver a more natural experience when, for example, watching at nighttime. This new feature builds on Panasonic's Auto AI mode, introduced last year, which uses Artificial Intelligence to identify in real-time the content being played, in order to be able to automatically optimise both picture and sound quality for that type of content. The concept is to deliver the optimum picture and sound quality to all users, regardless of the type of content they are viewing, without the user needing to change the settings every time. The new sensor works together with the HCX Pro AI processor to adjust each tone individually in the most realistic way based on the ambient light, thus delivering a more comfortable evening viewing experience.

Auto AI mode now also auto-detects what type of content you are watching even more smoothly, and automatically adjusts to the ideal picture and sound quality accordingly. For example, if you’re watching high-quality film content, the AI creates an experience that transports you to the cinema. But if you're watching the Qatar World Cup, the LZ2000 will detect that and take you virtually to the stadium itself.

The Panasonic LZ2000 introduces directional sound in addition to Panasonic's 360° Soundscape all-in-one TV audio package capable of delivering Dolby Atmos immersive audio experiences. The multiple built-in upward-firing, side-firing, and front-firing speaker units produce a spatial soundstage with Dolby Atmos content. Panasonic was the first TV brand to introduce built-in upward-firing and side-firing speakers and this year Panasonic has completely overhauled the front-firing speakers, replacing them with array speakers (multiple speakers arranged in a row) which run the entire length of the TV behind the front speaker grill.

These array speakers offer a number of benefits, including a wider sound stage and also more precise, clear audio – in addition, they also allow directional sound. Using a very intuitive and simple-to-use GUI, the LZ2000 makes it possible to adjust the relative loudness of the audio in different parts of the room. It comes with three modes: “Pinpoint" mode which allows the sound to be directed to one specific point; "Area" mode, which allows you to shift the sound to a group of people in a specific area of the room; and a "Spot" mode which boosts the volume in one particular spot while others can still hear the sound.

Directional sound unlocks new usability benefits. Parents with young children sleeping behind a wall on one side of the room can direct the sound away from them so that the children can sleep peacefully whilst still allowing the parents to enjoy great sound. Another practical application is being able to boost the volume for a viewer who is hard of hearing but not for other viewers.

Panasonic LZ2000 delivers even more improvements for the growing number of gamers who choose Panasonic TVs as their gaming monitor of choice. A brand new feature called Game Control Board collects all relevant game settings and information in one place and presents them as an overlay over the game – so that you never need to leave the game to access them. Furthermore, it can be programmed for access by just one click on the remote control by assigning it to the customizable "my App" button. The Game Control Board overlay provides access to the following key features and data in real-time:

• Information – this option displays all the information coming from the source game, such as frame rate, HDR metadata, and chroma sub-sampling data.
• Dark Visibility Enhancer – allows the gamer to granularly adjust the near black portion of dark scenes, making it easier to see the route forward or detect enemies hiding in the shadows.
• HDR Tonemap – this shows the current HDR tone-mapping settings, which include Off (game console is managing the tone-mapping); On (TV is managing the tone-mapping); or Dynamic (TV analyses incoming frames in real time and produces dynamic tone-mapping on a scene-by-scene basis, even when source is static HDR).
• Input Lag and VRR – display and adjust Input Lag and VRR settings.
• Viewing Mode – allows the gamer in real time to change the viewing mode and see the effect live in order to select the appearance he or she prefers.

Other new features include SPD Auto Game Mode, the automatic detection of compatible HDMI 2.1 4K HFR/VRR-supporting NVIDIA GPUs (e.g. RTX30--) allowing the LZ2000 to automatically optimize both the input lag and VRR settings to deliver perfect gameplay performance. Panasonic has also further reduced the input lag for 60Hz games, which are supported by the majority of games consoles through the new 60Hz Refresh Mode.

Out of the box, the LZ2000 will support key HDMI 2.1 features such as High Frame Rate (HFR) and also Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) at 120Hz in full 4K resolution. This makes the LZ2000 the ideal match for the latest gaming consoles. Thanks to VRR support, the LZ2000 can solve many of the potential console-side problems such as judder and tearing if the rendered resolution and LOD (level of detail) is too high, or there are too many effects or objects rendered at the same time. With VRR ON, the TV and the console synchronize the frame pacing to provide a smoother experience.

The LZ2000 features the latest iteration of Panasonic's highly evaluated smart TV OS, My Home Screen 7.0 which supports all major video streaming services and includes some improvements in terms of accessibility and also to the myScenery function.

With the LZ2000, consumers will be able to access all related accessibility settings through a quick menu, which also triggers voice guidance automatically. The new accessibility menu also provides a variety of useful features. Voice control, audio descriptions, audio dialogue enhancement and hard-of-hearing subtitles can be configured easily.

In addition to these important accessibility improvements, the LZ2000 also helps you relax. The myScenery feature, which allows you to choose a selection of restful images and videos, has added more still imagery and also a set of relaxing nature sounds from the Joy Foundation, inc. which have been collected from all over the globe, including from Hawaii, Madagascar, and also Nepal.

The LZ2000 also supports major voice services built-in, allowing users to operate some key TV functions using just their voice.