NEWS: Panasonic launches JZ1500, JZ1000 and JZ980 OLEDs for 2021

So looks like reports that the HZ1000 will be making a 2022 appearance may be correct. although the 980 is also missing, Was so tempted to wait but glad I jumped in with the HZ1500 now and will see if it's worth an upgrade in 22/23

Release date of JZ1000 Mentioned in this thread ;)

I just hope we see the JZ1500 available soon for pre ordering....because I’m getting extremely impatient lol
 
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Yes I did mean JZ1000 not HZ1000, Doh! been a long long day :facepalm::( bit agree the JZ1500 looks to be the most interesting and I was very tempted to wait
 
I just returned my HZ980 and looking at Vincent's review of A90J, next try will bez JZ series. I'm now spoiled by the amazing near-black performance on the Panasonic.
 
I just returned my HZ980 and looking at Vincent's review of A90J, next try will bez JZ series. I'm now spoiled by the amazing near-black performance on the Panasonic.
May I ask why you did return the HZ980?
 
May I ask why you did return the HZ980?

  • lack of 5:5 pulldown for 24 Hz content (all other Pana OLEDs can do it, HZ980 does 3:2 pulldown which makes the motion look worse in some scenes, especially during slow panning shots; Panasonic claims it's because HZ980 is 50 Hz model while other models are 100 Hz)
  • motion problems in Dolby Vision played over HDMI. I couldn't get rid of them, usually they're very subtle but still annoying enough in my eyes that I preferred to just disable Dolby Vision. HDR10 was flawless. I'm hoping new processor won't have this issue anymore.
 
  • lack of 5:5 pulldown for 24 Hz content (all other Pana OLEDs can do it, HZ980 does 3:2 pulldown which makes the motion look worse in some scenes, especially during slow panning shots; Panasonic claims it's because HZ980 is 50 Hz model while other models are 100 Hz)
  • motion problems in Dolby Vision played over HDMI. I couldn't get rid of them, usually they're very subtle but still annoying enough in my eyes that I preferred to just disable Dolby Vision. HDR10 was flawless. I'm hoping new processor won't have this issue anymore.
Ok, that sounds bad.
Aren't the panels of the HZ 1000/15000/2000 120HZ ?
 
Ok, that sounds bad.
Aren't the panels of the HZ 1000/15000/2000 120HZ ?
Yes, 100/120 and 50/60 can be used equivalently, they can do both natively. Panasonic seems to be sticking to PAL standard giving either 50 or 100 value as a "default" frequency in their spec sheets, but 3:2 pulldown is typical way of displaying 24 Hz content on a 60 Hz display and 5:5 is for 120 Hz displays (120/24 = 5).
 
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I just returned my HZ980 and looking at Vincent's review of A90J, next try will bez JZ series. I'm now spoiled by the amazing near-black performance on the Panasonic.

Be aware that it's not all one-way traffic.

Having owned 2020 Sony and Panasonic OLEDs, Panasonic's near black handling is much better than Sony's. This area of image performance is Sony's Achilles heel (and was a deal breaker for me). Panasonic also wins in terms of accuracy, both out of the box and calibrated.

With that said, Sony's upscaling is cleaner and sharper than Panasonic's, while Sony's motion processing is the better of the two (whether we engage motion settings or otherwise). That's not to suggest Panasonic drops the ball on these fronts, but there are differences and Sony wins out.

If I was building my perfect OLED television, I'd combine Panasonic's near black handling and accuracy with Sony's motion performance and upscaling. While we're at it, Sony's surface audio solution is better resolved, organised and more convincing than Panasonic's Dolby Atmost effort. If I wanted the premium audio option I'd pick Philips' B&W soundbar over either of the two. If we could get all of the above in one package that would be a truly great television.
 
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Be aware that it's not all one-way traffic.

Having owned 2020 Sony and Panasonic OLEDs, Panasonic's near black handling is much better than Sony's. This area of image performance is Sony's Achilles heel (and was a deal breaker for me). Panasonic also wins in terms of accuracy, both out of the box and calibrated.

With that said, Sony's upscaling is cleaner and sharper than Panasonic's, while Sony's motion processing is the better of the two (whether we engage motion settings or otherwise). That's not to suggest Panasonic drops the ball on these fronts, but there are differences and Sony wins out.

If I was building my perfect OLED television, I'd combine Panasonic's near black handling and accuracy with Sony's motion performance and upscaling. While we're at it, Sony's surface audio solution is better resolved, organised and more convincing than Panasonic's Dolby Atmost effort. If I wanted the premium audio option I'd pick Philips' B&W soundbar over either of the two. If we could get all of the above in one package that would be a truly great television.
so then Sony or Panasonic for movie content?
 
Be aware that it's not all one-way traffic.

Having owned 2020 Sony and Panasonic OLEDs, Panasonic's near black handling is much better than Sony's. This area of image performance is Sony's Achilles heel (and was a deal breaker for me). Panasonic also wins in terms of accuracy, both out of the box and calibrated.

With that said, Sony's upscaling is cleaner and sharper than Panasonic's, while Sony's motion processing is the better of the two (whether we engage motion settings or otherwise). That's not to suggest Panasonic drops the ball on these fronts, but there are differences and Sony wins out.

If I was building my perfect OLED television, I'd combine Panasonic's near black handling and accuracy with Sony's motion performance and upscaling. While we're at it, Sony's surface audio solution is better resolved, organised and more convincing than Panasonic's Dolby Atmost effort. If I wanted the premium audio option I'd pick Philips' B&W soundbar over either of the two. If we could get all of the above in one package that would be a truly great television.

I would add better gradient handling to the list of Sony advantages, I had A8H for a week :) Looking at HDR test patterns I was really impressed how clean Sony was in terms of color banding, better than HZ980 and much better than CX. In movie content difference is usually very minimal/negligible but in games it would sometimes show up.

I also liked built-in sound on Sony. Well balanced overall, not too thin, not muffled like HZ980 or CX, it really feels like it's coming directly in front of you from the screen.
 
so then Sony or Panasonic for movie content?

That's a great question. It's closer than a lot of people might think.

For SDR movie viewing, I'd say that Panasonic shades it, just, because Panasonic handles 24p content better than 50Hz broadcast content (although I still felt the A8 offered smoother presentation of 24p material). Donotbot is right to highlight Sony's better gradation performance. Panasonic's near black handling and accuracy push it over the line, though.

For 4K HDR content, Panasonic is a clearer winner due higher peak brightness, more faithful tone mapping, better near black handling and universal format support.

The A8 is an excellent television, but the killer for me was near black flashing that can be mitigated to a degree, but not eliminated or calibrated out. It really distracted me and happened far too often, with all types of content, for me to live with it.

If it's a concern, I also found Sony's Android system buggy (I had a few crashes). Panasonic's smart platform isn't pretty, but it works, is responsive and hasn't crashed on me so far.
 
That's a great question. It's closer than a lot of people might think.

For SDR movie viewing, I'd say that Panasonic shades it, just, because Panasonic handles 24p content better than 50Hz broadcast content (although I still felt the A8 offered smoother presentation of 24p material). Donotbot is right to highlight Sony's better gradation performance. Panasonic's near black handling and accuracy push it over the line, though.

For 4K HDR content, Panasonic is a clearer winner due higher peak brightness, more faithful tone mapping, better near black handling and universal format support.

The A8 is an excellent television, but the killer for me was near black flashing that can be mitigated to a degree, but not eliminated or calibrated out. It really distracted me and happened far too often, with all types of content, for me to live with it.

If it's a concern, I also found Sony's Android system buggy (I had a few crashes). Panasonic's smart platform isn't pretty, but it works, is responsive and hasn't crashed on me so far.
I cancelled delivery of my HZ1500 due to not having the gaming features.
Now seeing what the new JZ series and the Sony A80J perform. When VT compared A90J in his video, it seemed that near black is still an issue for Sony and the new processor hasn't resolved it or match Pana. Would wait for his full review of A90J. The near black/posterization which is prominent on streaming and as most people watch streaming content, this is important to see how a TV deals with it.

HDR DV performance could be similar now, as the Sony is now TV led, but would have to wait and see.
 
PRC Direct have new prices for the JZ series. Surprised to see the flagship model 65JZ2000 is priced £3500, which is much lower than last year.

Re-read the features on this year's JZ series and I couldn't see anything that is an improvement or a a major feature than last year's range, where they had many features.

All we have this year is:
  • HCX Pro AI - A new AI processor. We know people don't like AI to control their picture and they usually turn it off.
  • HDMI 2.1 = Makes me mad when reviewers list the following features as though they come built in the box! No 120hz or VRR as standard but 'implemented later in the year or next year who knows via firmware' So it means as it ships, it's basically the same feature as last year's range. We know what happens when companies promise to implement certain features via firmware, going back what Sony did to last year's range.
  • Home Screen 6. = No new popular streaming apps, so this renders it useless, unless you're looking at a new layout without any meaningful new apps.
 
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PRC Direct have new prices for the JZ series. Surprised to see the flagship model 65JZ2000 is priced £3500, which is much lower than last year.

Re-read the features on this year's JZ series and I couldn't see anything that is an improvement or a a major feature than last year's range, where they had many features.

All we have this year is:
  • HCX Pro AI - A new AI processor. We know people don't like AI to control their picture and they usually turn it off.
  • HDMI 2.1 = Makes me mad when reviewers list the following features as though they come built in the box! No 120hz or VRR as standard but 'implemented later in the year or next year who knows via firmware' So it means as it ships, it's basically the same feature as last year's range. We know what happens when companies promise to implement certain features via firmware, going back what Sony did to last year's range.
  • Home Screen 6. = No new popular streaming apps, so this renders it useless, unless you looking at a new layout without any meaningful new apps.

Isn't VRR/Freesync on Panasonic supposed to be present on day one? Only some bandwidth problems will be fixed later with an update.
 
PRC Direct have new prices for the JZ series. Surprised to see the flagship model 65JZ2000 is priced £3500, which is much lower than last year.
Well, I'd say the lower prices are an "upgrade" in themselves but more importantly the altered JZ 1500 with the special panel and the heatsink, allowing for higher peak brightness but without the soundsystem and therefore lower price. That model itself is worth waiting for. I certainly would have, if I had a TV already but I needed one now.
Re-read the features on this year's JZ series and I couldn't see anything that is an improvement or a a major feature than last year's range, where they had many features.

All we have this year is:
  • HCX Pro AI - A new AI processor. We know people don't like AI to control their picture and they usually turn it off.
I don't care for AI either but if this processor is capable of delivering smoother motion, that would be a great upgrade. That's the only downside I see so far with Panasonic TVs, their motion just isn't that great. If they can fix their motion problems, then they are probably the best TV's out there (well the ones with the brighter panels at least).
  • HDMI 2.1 = Makes me mad when reviewers list the following features as though they come built in the box! No 120hz or VRR as standard but 'implemented later in the year or next year who knows via firmware' So it means as it ships, it's basically the same feature as last year's range. We know what happens when companies promise to implement certain features via firmware, going back what Sony did to last year's range.
That's definately a bummer but considering that 120Hz and VRR have a lot of issues anyways, then I'd say it's not that big of a deal - I don't care about gaming though. I still would say don't buy Panasonic if you care about gaming anyways. I have trouble with judder even when watching movies, I don't want to know how Panasonic TV's perform for fast paced gaming....
  • Home Screen 6. = No new popular streaming apps, so this renders it useless, unless you looking at a new layout without any meaningful new apps.
That is their second downside. I actually grew to like the interface quite a bit though. Sure, it's ugly but it's responsive and does what you need it to do. If they added Disney+, I would be happy with it.
 
Well, I'd say the lower prices are an "upgrade" in themselves but more importantly the altered JZ 1500 with the special panel and the heatsink, allowing for higher peak brightness but without the soundsystem and therefore lower price. That model itself is worth waiting for. I certainly would have, if I had a TV already but I needed one now.

I don't care for AI either but if this processor is capable of delivering smoother motion, that would be a great upgrade. That's the only downside I see so far with Panasonic TVs, their motion just isn't that great. If they can fix their motion problems, then they are probably the best TV's out there (well the ones with the brighter panels at least).

That's definately a bummer but considering that 120Hz and VRR have a lot of issues anyways, then I'd say it's not that big of a deal - I don't care about gaming though. I still would say don't buy Panasonic if you care about gaming anyways. I have trouble with judder even when watching movies, I don't want to know how Panasonic TV's perform for fast paced gaming....

That is their second downside. I actually grew to like the interface quite a bit though. Sure, it's ugly but it's responsive and does what you need it to do. If they added Disney+, I would be happy with it.
Sorry to hear you're still having issues with motion, have you tried the settings others gave you.
120hz doesn't have issue like the VRR, and LG implemented the 120hz feature, years ago and Panasonic is struggling to put that in their 2021 sets.

I'm not a gamer but my teenage son plays PS4 occasionally and is going to get PS5, when they're available.

I agree JZ1500 is the one to get minus the speakers but will have to see how much of an improvement they made compared to last year's model, in terms of picture quality and any movement on motion. I only returned one TV in my life, that was a Panasonic CRT which had a terrible judder/motion blur.
 
Sorry to hear you're still having issues with motion, have you tried the settings others gave you.
120hz doesn't have issue like the VRR, and LG implemented the 120hz feature, years ago and Panasonic is struggling to put that in their 2021 sets.
Well I am so far that I wouldn't call it an issue anymore. It certainly not as smooth as the LG CX was but I think I have found settings that will do it for me. I use dejudder on like 6 or 7 but keep the frameinterpolation off or very low on 1 or 2 to avoid artefacts. I think this does the trick enough for me that I can keep the TV, the ultimate judgement is still out though.
The word "issue" in my statement was referring to the occasional stutter / framedrops that Panasonic TVs still have. I personally didn't notice this stutter so far though.
I'm not a gamer but my teenage son plays PS4 occasionally and is going to get PS5, when they're available.
It's certainly nice for futureproofing and I still don't like that my HZ 1000 doesn't have it, even if I never use it. The hardware ist there on these new models so that's great even if it requires a software update.
I agree JZ1500 is the one to get minus the speakers but will have to see how much of an improvement they made compared to last year's model, in terms of picture quality and any movement on motion. I only returned one TV in my life, that was a Panasonic CRT which had a terrible judder/motion blur.
Hate to tell you but Panasonic's OLEDs don't really shine in terms of judder too. If you are sensitive to that, I would look at Sony's OLEDs.
I only fear that the JZ 1500 - if priced competitively - will be very popular and it's probably gonne be pretty hard to find good deals on it.
 
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Mediatek Soc (assuming), so Sony are the same, VRR update at a later date (and if you have a PS5, well, need to wait for its VRR update too).

They can receive 4k VRR but at half the vertical res (until patched), Sonys will be the same (or at least was the same in 2020).

The fact they stated it will happen on video, while you should not expect anything more than what you get day 1, they are saying they will get it working...but yeah, if you want 100 % guarantee, you will have to wait .
 
According to this site and google translate there will be differences in picture quality between the JZ2000 and JZ1000(this is the same as JZ1500 in Europe apparently). It looks like only the JZ2000 has the new panel and a reconstructed panel structure.
 
Surely from what I’ve been reading the JZ2000 and JZ1500 has the same panel, its only the Technics speaker system omitted from the 1500 is all that’s changed between the two
 
If I was buying a panasonic it would be the J1500 over the Jz2000 as the sound is not that great for the money anyway.
 
If I was buying a panasonic it would be the J1500 over the Jz2000 as the sound is not that great for the money anyway.
yeah but you pay top dollar for the heat panel aswell, the 1500 doesn't have that.
 
I mean it's their site and it's pretty detailed what is the same and what isn't so i'm not sure anymore as I thought they have the same panel as well but I think what they meant is it will be a HZ2000 without the sound system but they didn't talk about the new panel. We can only be sure if someone compares the two. This is the most detail I have seen about these new tvs and why would they say they differ if they don't?
 

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