At a press event at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs in Los Angeles yesterday, Panasonic officially introduced two new high-end Ultra HD (4K) LED TVs for the US market: The AX850 and AX900 series. The AX850 model on display was an 85-incher while the flagship AX900 series measured in at 65 inches diagonal. Exact pricing was not announced yet but Panasonic reps at the event said they expect the 65-inch AX900 TV (TC-65AX900) to sell for "under $8,000" and the 85-inch AX850 model (TC-85AX850) to sell for "under $13,000." These prices are subject to change, however, with official pricing to be announced closer to the sets' availability in mid to late November.
Although Panasonic has shown larger TVs in the past (a 152-inch plasma being the biggest), the 85-inch AX850 model is the largest LED/LCD set they've ever made. It features an IPS panel for improved off-axis viewing as well as a bevy of enhancements to picture quality over previous models. Both the AX850 and AX900 series are THX 4K certified and feature a beefed up new quad-core Pro5 super-high speed processor to help streamline Smart TV streaming features and video processing.
And while the AX850 model looked excellent in person at the demonstration, it couldn't match the outstanding black levels and color saturation of the AX900. In a bold move, Panasonic put the new sets up against not just their own top of the line LED/LCD model from last year, but against a top of the line Sony Ultra HD TV and Panasonic's flagship plasma TV from 2013, the TC-P65ZT60. And if that weren't enough, they also brought out a professional OLED broadcast monitor from Sony to show that it is possible to come extremely close to pro picture quality standards on consumer televisions.
The AX900 features a direct LED backlight with advanced local dimming technology which Panasonic calls "Local Dimming Ultra." Local Dimming Ultra combines a larger image sample size as well as greater control of the backlight intensity to produce excellent black levels and contrast without introducing any haloing around bright objects. The new Ultra Bright panel offers approximately twice the light output compared to previous models (700 cd/m vs. 350).
Panasonic works around another traditional weakness of LCD TVs: color reproduction in dark scenes. Panasonic's TV engineers have worked closely with their cohorts at Panasonic Hollywood Laboratories to implement enhanced color management technologies that ensure that the colors on the AX900 and AX850 are exactly the same as the director intended. In looking at both Blu-ray and 4K video content on the four LED/LCD sets, the plasma TV and the OLED professional monitor, it was impressive how closely the AX900 set matched the color and overall image reproduction of the OLED monitor.
Also, in an industry first, the AX900 has a gamma setting that matches the BT.1886 standard, which has been recommended by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) as the preferred gamma standard for professional studio monitors. This is yet another way that Panasonic is making their best effort to display films and other content at home as close as possible to what the directors and content creators intended.
My viewing impressions of the AX900 were consistent with the first time I saw it (in prototype form) at CES as well as a more recent viewing at IFA in Berlin. It's the closest I've ever seen an LED/LCD set come to producing the black levels and color saturation of a plasma, and that's saying something. Videophiles who bemoan the death of plasma technology (myself included) will find a lot to like about the AX900.
In terms of connectivity, both sets offer four HDMI 2.0 ports with support for Ultra HD (4K) signals at full 60p frame rates. There's also one DisplayPort 1.2a input for connection of a PC or Mac at full 3840x2160 pixel Ultra HD resolution. Future compatibility is enabled by the AX900 and AX850's ability to play content with HDCP 2.2 copyright protection as well as decode H.265 (HEVC) content from a variety of providers.
Both the AX850 and AX900 are expected to be available to order next month on Panasonic's web site as well as through select online and brick and mortar Panasonic dealers.
