Panasonic to Field HDR10+-Supporting OLED TVs

Panasonic's Moskowitz

In what was termed as a “global” introduction – but one which does not, at present, include a presence on U.S. consumer electronics retail shelves, Panasonic announced at CES 2018 its first televisions that support HDR10+ dynamic metadata technology – an open, royalty-free industry platform created by Panasonic, Samsung and 20th Century Fox.

According to Michael Moskowitz, president of Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co. and Panasonic Canada, who made the announcement at a CES 2018 press conference Monday, which also marked the start of the company’s centennial year, the introductions include four models within a total of two ranges. A 77-inch model already out is being joined by the FZ950 and FZ800 ranges (each in 65- and 55-inch screen sizes).

The new sets incorporate OLED panels in addition to the newest-generation Panasonic HCX video processor, and due to their HDR10+ capability, they can stream several hundred hours of Amazon Prime Video’s HDR10+ catalog. Furthermore, each set in the 950 range includes a ‘Tuned by Technics’ Dynamic Blade ultra-thin speaker system integrated into the sets’ pedestals.

A new set on display at the Panasonic press event

The UB820 UHD Blu-ray player

The company also announced two Ultra HD Blu-ray players slated for 2019 introduction which also support HDR10+, and which a Panasonic spokesman told Dealerscope will have conventional distribution. They are the UB420 and UB820, and they support Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant voice control technologies; the 820 also supports Dolby Vision.

New Technics turntables are designed to tap into the brand's legacy among vinyl-favoring music-lovers

Other consumer electronics-related introductions by the company encompassed the company’s Technics audio brand; they included two new Technics direct-drive turntables – SP-10R and SL-1000R, which are being released to leverage that Panasonic brand’s legacy as well as to tap into the vinyl-record aficionados market segment.