After Nearly a Decade Away, Panasonic TVs Are Back In the US

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: You might have a hard time stretching your memory to the Obama era, but back in 2013, Panasonic's plasma TVs were the critical darlings of the US market. They far outperformed their LED/LCD counterparts at a time when OLED was little more than a pipe dream for most. Then suddenly, under enormous pressure from ever-cheaper LED panels, Panasonic halted all plasma TV production. By 2016, the company had left the US TV space entirely. Now, over 10 years after its plasma models reigned supreme in the US, Panasonic TVs are back, baby.

Outside the US, Panasonic has remained a global leader in the OLED era. Rumors about a stateside return have been swirling for nearly as long as the brand has been away, but a global partnership with Amazon announced at CES 2024 kicked things into high gear. Today, Panasonic officially revealed the US launch of three premium TVs powered by Amazon's Fire TV smart interface: the flagship Z95A and "core" Z85A OLED TVs, and the W95A flagship mini LED TV. All three models are available now in limited sizes, as Panasonic begins its slow walk back to competing against LG, Samsung, and Sony. There are three models now available in the US: 55- and 65-inch OLED options and a Mini LED TV that measures up to 85 inches.

The Z95A is Panasonic's top OLED model featuring advanced gaming features, a 144-Hz refresh rate on select inputs, HDR10+, Dolby Vision support, and AI-powered picture modes. According to Wired, it boasts an impressive sound system developed with hi-fi audio brand Technics and employs Panasonic's proprietary microlens array technology for optimized brightness and heat management.

The Z85A is a step-down model offering similar gaming specs and smart home integration at a lower price, lacking the Z95A's specialized brightness and sound enhancements. It includes a game mode, HDR10+, Dolby Vision support, and a Mark II processor but only supports up to 120 Hz and doesn't have a built-in microphone for Alexa.

Last but not least is Panasonic's W95A flagship miniLED model, offering gaming-ready features like a 144-Hz refresh rate on two HDMI inputs and local dimming for deep contrast and high brightness. It includes the same smart-home integration as other models but features a more standard sound system, and Alexa control is available only through the remote.

Smart TV?

[gtall]

"same smart-home integration "? forget it.

Re:

[thegarbz]

forget it

Forget about all new TVs then.

Re: Smart TV?

[haxor.dk]

/Your terms are acceptable./

As they say.

Re:

[Valgrus Thunderaxe]

Just don't connect it to a network.

Optional Smart TV actually

[bagofbeans]

Per TV-65Z95AP user manual, you can skip internet connectivity by pressing >> key to skip at the initial setup stage.

Panasonic is not a "leader" in the OLED era

[ffkom]

Outside the US, Panasonic has remained a global leader in the OLED era.

Absolutely untrue. Panasonic does not even manufacture OLED display panels, they have to buy them from competitors.

Panasonic certainly has a history of building high-quality products, and the TVs they build around other companies' OLED panels may be fine, but in terms of the main feature of any TV, its display quality, they cannot possibly be better than those they buy the panels from.

Not correct in this case.

[blahbooboo]

I used to think the same until I learned more about OLED TVs. While the panel is the main part of an OLED TV, how the panel is configured with it's software control has a significant impact on the OLED image quality and use case. For example, Sony OLEDs are generally better out of the box for TV/film use in terms of color accuracy, judder, etc. Whereas LG TVs are not as good out of the box for video/tv use but excels in gaming use -- LG is generally a solid all around TV. Panasonic OLEDs in the last few years have performed better than many LG OLED models despite LG making the OLED panel.

See HDTVTest's recent Panasonic review that will provide you a review of the Panasonic TV and a good intro on the differences between manufacturers that you casually discounted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

Re:

[keltor]

That's just not how any of this works with any display technology, least of all OLED.

Currently the high end Panasonic are all VERY good - generally better than what the panel maker itself produces.

Question

[Artem S. Tashkinov]

Is there anything Japanese about them left?

Re:

[TigerPlish]

Is there anything Japanese about them left?

Doubt it. I've had 3 Pana projectors, starting in 2005 and the last one I purchased was in 2015, clearance sale.

The first two were Made in Japan. They even put the town -- Osaka.

The last one was Made in China.

The lamps were always Made in Japan, tho -- even the replacements.

Japan long ago outsourced to China and other places, just like everywhere else. It's disheartening to us that grew up with "...all the best stuff's made in Japan, Doc."

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

Panasonic has factories in Japan still. They don't just make finished products like TVs, they also make components. If you want durable, quality capacitors, Panasonic made in Japan ones are the go-to, or other Japanese brands like Nichicon.

Even when their products are made in China, they usually use components made in Japan. And the OLED panels are made in Korea by LG.

Of course the R&D is done in Japan too. Panasonic are generally thought to have some of the best picture quality available, rivalling Son

Re:

[keltor]

They make tons of products for the Japanese market - almost all of my kitchen is Panasonic appliances, all Made in Japan.

They have like 100 factories in Japan making all sort of stuff. Consumer Electronics just isn't their direct main business. They are a VERY big company.

Wish they'd make the HT projector again

[TigerPlish]

After having a decade of really good HT projectors, they quit. They still make large-venue projectors, and projectors with odd resolutions not relevant to HT, but they make *nothing* for HT.

The last was the AE-8000, and that went from 2008 to maybe 2014. They gave up on Home Theater entirely.

They were the best combination of price, image quality and flexibility for small rooms (I have a 10' throw). Am on an Epson now, because the AE8000 I had gave up the optic block at about 7000 hrs.

C'mon, pana.. make me a projector again, not everyone wants a TV. I know I don't, especially with all the garbage everyone's added to them.

Re:

[Narcocide]

C'mon, pana.. make me a projector again, not everyone wants a TV. I know I don't, especially with all the garbage everyone's added to them.

Seconded.

Still rocking my Panasonic plasma

[Cyrano de Maniac]

I jumped and bought a Panasonic plasma TV, a TC-P50ST60 when they announced the end of production in late 2013. Nearly 11 years later it's still going strong, with the only real problem being that it only supports ARC, not eARC, so my JBL soundbar produces crappy stereo rather than a presenting a clear centered channel for dialog (easily remedied by sending the HDMI first through the soundbar before reaching the TV -- man do I ever need to get a real sound solution).

If I had to replace I don't know what I'd end up with. Probably OLED, as picture quality is by far the biggest concern -- I don't need eye-searing blinding brightness.

Anyway, I welcome the return of my Panasonic overlord.

It's a relic, but it's still ticking

[Anonymous Coward]

My TH-42PHD8UK 42" Panasonic plasma is still running, after 19 years. Gets a lot of use.

Re:

[magzteel]

My TH-42PHD8UK 42" Panasonic plasma is still running, after 19 years. Gets a lot of use.

I have a Panasonic plasma and a Pioneer Elite plasma. Both were the best in class in their day

Re:

[Robert Goatse]

Similar experience here as well. I paid ~2K for a 50" Panasonic plasma tv over 15 years ago and it still works great. It doesn't have any of that smart stuff and can only do 1080p, but it's been a rock-solid tv. I have a JBL soundbar/sub and everything works like the day I bought it.

I thought about doing the whole 4K tv thing, but why bother as my plasma is doing great.

Re:

[kalpol]

same - i don't know what year my Panasonic plasma is from but it's great. I don't think it's 1080p but I also don't really care, most of my stuff is DVD.

Fire TV by Panasonic

[crow]

With TVs now, the first thing to consider is what interface you're buying into. This is a Fire TV, which is one of the poorer interfaces, which pulls it off my list. At least it's not Samsung. (And if you want a dumb TV, at least Roku works great as one if you never enable the network; I'm not sure about others.)

As to being Panasonic, I'm a little surprised to learn that it's not like RCA where the company is gone and the brand name is licensed out to whoever wants to pay to use it. But it's not much be

...powered by Amazon's Fire TV smart interface

[Raistlin77]

Good luck with that.

Two HDMI inputs?

[indytx]

Sign me up of a TV with only two HDMI inputs. I mean, there are too many devices connected to my current TV, so let's just rid of some.

I still have a Panasonic plasma from 2012

[kalpol]

It's great. Very minimal janky software (the Viera stuff that does something unknown, but is never used and out of the way). Picture good enough for me at 720p as most of my stuff is DVD still. I'll be sad when it goes.

Re:

[The-Ixian]

I have a 2009 or 10 720p Panasonic plasma in the basement that is still kicking. Though I hardly ever use it anymore. It's the "guest tv".

Re:

[keltor]

I have a Viera OLED from 2022, last year they made a top end model without smartTV stuff, though in their case you can basically opt out of actually using the Smart TV functionality at all.

Ad?

[Lobo42]

This feels like an ad masquerading as an article.

How about a cheaper Dumb TV with a great display?

[FauxReal]

I would be very happy with an OLED TV that has all the great image features but with none of the smart home integrations or even apps or network connectivity.