More information has been revealed about Panasonic’s 2015 UltraHD TV lineup for the European market. At CES this year we saw the company’s new flat TV, the CX850 (Panasonic is Big on B2B), which will be known as the CX800 in Europe. Three curved ranges – the CR850, CR730 and CR430 – will join it, as well as four more flat lines: CX750, CX700, CX680 and CX400.
Sizes and backlight motion rate (BMR) differentiate the ranges. The flagship CX800 (40″, 50″, 55″ and 65″) has a 1,600Hz BMR, dropping to 1,000Hz on the CX750 (43″, 49″, 55″ and 60″); 800Hz on the CX700 (40″, 50″, 55″ and 65″); and 200Hz on the CX680 (40″, 50″ and 55″). The entry-level CX400 series (40″, 48″, 55″ and 65″) does not have BMR.
In terms of curved models, the CR850 is the flagship in 55″ and 65″ sizes with a 1,600Hz BMR. The CR730 (55″ and 65″) has a 1,000Hz BMR and the CR430 (55″) 400Hz.
As we heard at CES, image quality is a significant part of the CX800 and CR850’s USP, with 98% of DCI-P3 coverage on the 65″ model and 90% on the 55″. They also have local dimming (not on 40″ CX800) (also on CR730 and CX700) and high dynamic range features. Both models also feature Panasonic’s 4K Pro image processing. The company says that the 4K Studio Master Processor draws on its experience with reference-quality plasma TVs.
In addition to colour, Panasonic says that the CX800 and CR850 have a new ‘Super Bright Panel’, using ‘super-transmissive’ LCD cells, achieving high brightness levels without a significant increase in power requirements. Additionally, the CX750 uses a Super Bright IPS Panel.
The CR850, CX800, CR730, CX750, CX700 and CX680 series share many features. They all use Firefox OS and Panasonic’s My Home Screen 2.0 UI. They also have an in-home streaming feature, with the ability to send content from a main TV to a second TV or mobile device(s), and TV Anywhere, to stream TV anywhere to a linked device worldwide. The CX800, CR850 and CX750 feature a twin tuner.
Quad-core chips are used on the CR850, CX800, CR730, CX750, CX700 and CX680 and feature voice control and recommendations.
FullHD TVs were also announced. They are the CS600 (up to 400Hz BMR, 32″, 40″, 50″, 55″ and 65″), CS500 (200Hz BMR, 24″, 32″ (1280 x 720), 40″ and 50″) and C300 (up to 400Hz Real Light Motion Rate, 24″, 32″ (1280 x 720), 48″ and 55″).
Panasonic will begin to launch its new TVs in April, with the premium models arriving between May and July. Pricing has not yet been confirmed.
