Panasonic shakes up 2020 TV range with new budget OLED TV
The HZ980 is Panasonic’s cheapest OLED TV yet
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Panasonichas announced a new addition to its 2020 TV range, the HZ980OLED– and it’s the closest the company has got to a budgetOLED TVso far.
The HZ980 is a distinct offering from theHZ1000 OLED TV, with a less advanced OLED panel, ditching the MasterHDRpanel of the HZ1000, HZ1500 andHZ2000in order to bring down the price of an entry-level OLED. It’s expected to launch in July.
Retailing at £1,699 for its smallest55-inchsize, as well as a65-inchmodel in tow, the HZ980 is a surprisingly competitive entry in the OLED market. For comparison, the newly-reviewedLG CX OLEDstarts at £1,499 for a 48-inch size, and costs £1,799 for a 55-inch size.
The HZ980 will feature the same HCX Pro Intelligent processor as its more premium siblings, meaning that functions like upscaling shouldn’t see a drop in quality – though you will be making do with a simplified version of the HZ1000’s Smooth Motion Drive Pro, called simply Smooth Motion Drive.
It will come withDolby Vision,HDR10+andDolby Atmossupport, as well as Dolby Vision IQ to calibrate HDR output to the level of ambient light in the room. Both Filmmaker Mode and Netflix Calibrated Mode are supported as well.
You’ll also getHDMI 2.1andeARC, as well asGoogleAssistant and Alexa integration.
The hunt for affordable OLED TVs
Competition is ramping up for mid-price OLED TVs, withLG, Panasonic,Sonyand Philips all working hard to offer OLED sets that are affordable without ruining what makes OLED TVs so good – as with the botched processing of theHisense O8B OLED.
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TheSony A9Gand LG CX both feature 48-inch sizes, which docks a couple of hundred pounds off the price compared to a 55-inch model. LG’s BX isn’t expected to launch until September, but it’s likely to be even cheaper than (if not comparable with) the 48-inch CX too.
Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.
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