Roohster
Distinguished Member
Good to see DV and HDR10+ available side by side at last, let's hope other manufacturers follow suit.
Knowing where you're based Simon, and having previously attempted to have a sensible technical conversation with that particular Sony sales rep, I would tend to take anything he says with a hefty pinch of salt...
However, observations about menu bars on phones with AMOLED displays may have a little significance. I could understand the possibility of uneven wear having the potential to becoming noticeable - but isn't that what the built-in 'compensation cycles' are intended to address to some degree?
For me, apart from the convenience, the turn-offs about this particular model are:
- I would effectively be paying £500 extra for a built-in soundbar which would not come close to the performance of a separate at the same price. Indeed, a sound bar (or associated processing) which exhibits the 'crackling' problems found by Phil and a number of GZ2000 owners already. How soon Panny get around to fixing this issue is anybody's guess...
- it is JL-only - and JL only offer a 5-year warranty. I intend to make the jump from plasma to OLED this year - and a Panny model at that - but will get mine from RS (6-year warranty) when prices have settled down a little.
For me, it will be a question as to whether the much larger price difference between the GZ2000 and GZ950 can be justified by the difference in picture quality? Ideally, I would wait until Vinny has done an A-B comparison - but that may never happen...
In my case, as well as movie watching, the TV will be the daily driver for general TV - so all of the panel pixels will get regular illumination. I would like to know how the TV upscales SD broadcasts and older DVD sources. The former because local news programmes and some other interesting channels are still broadcast in SD; the latter because I have a number of favourite music concert videos on DVD, that were never ported across to Blu-Ray. However, for discs, I can see if my OPPOs do a better job of upscaling. In this respect, from what I have seen so far, the Sony AG9 does a perceptibly better job of upscaling SD - but that would not persuade me to consider the Sony, which still has flaky DV implementation and can't offer the dual HDR format processing of the Panny.
I was in John Lewis Milton Keynes today and it looked fantastic and had a very bright screen the design of the TV looked gorgeous too. The contrast was amazing too between blacks detail and brightness it looked like the best TV I have ever seen.Very interested in hearing how the gz2000 performs and if its MUCH better than other models.. if all the others use the same panel/processing etc then the cheaper one will be more appealing...no need for sound as just used as a monitor.. will def stick with Panasonic as like the cinematic plasma look.. bought the ez952 in a 55 in some ways regret not going bigger but be interesting the difference between the ez952 and newer models..
Another very informative review. Thanks.
TPS offer a 7 year warranty and have already had the 55" GZ950/ GZ1000 at £1595 and the 65" at £2295.
Paul
Yeah, that's about the only thing I feel is "missing" from the review. It'd be nice to hear more about the sound aspect of the TV, since the integrated soundbar is the main selling point of this model over its little brothers.Would of liked more info on the inbuilt soundbar quality tbh, also no mention of the Amazon Prime bug (are Panasonic ever going to fix this !), as some one else says no mention of the lack of a 7 day epg now it now longer supports freesat and no mention of what audio codecs the ne Panasonic can and cannot play.
I'm pretty sure Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) is Panasonic's chosen HDMI 2.1 feature, and that's it.Can't watch the video but can't see any mention of whether eARC is supported? Can live without other HDMI 2.1 features but not that
There is no eARC. Only ALLM.Can't watch the video but can't see any mention of whether eARC is supported? Can live without other HDMI 2.1 features but not that
Would of liked more info on the inbuilt soundbar quality tbh, also no mention of the Amazon Prime bug (are Panasonic ever going to fix this !), as some one else says no mention of the lack of a 7 day epg now it now longer supports freesat and no mention of what audio codecs the ne Panasonic can and cannot play.
What's the Amazon Prime bug?
The panel wouldn't be any better if you removed the soundbar. And the apps are now essential. You couldn't sell a television without them, even if set top boxes can fulfil the same function.I wish someone would just do a top spec panel like the old days. No freeview rubbish smart apps soundbar etc....
But it might be cheaper. Panasonic used to sell just panels on occasion.The panel wouldn't be any better if you removed the soundbar.
But it might be cheaper. Panasonic used to sell just panels on occasion.
I'll never switch on the smart apps, tuner or speaker on my 950.
I wish someone would just do a top spec panel like the old days. No freeview rubbish smart apps soundbar etc....
You're living in a dream world if you think they'd make a set especially for enthusiasts and charge less.
Shame, that's easily the most useless feature for them to have opted for. I'm assuming they had a choice of features to support just based on reading that Sony can do eARC without the full HDMI 2.1 spec.There is no eARC. Only ALLM.
TPS a possibility - but I prefer dealing with a retailer who has a store presence nearby. I have always had great service from RS in Norwich, and great response on the one occasion in fifteen years when I had a faulty piece of kit
You're living in a dream world if you think they'd make a set especially for enthusiasts and charge less.
Both RS and JL should match this.TPS a possibility - but I prefer dealing with a retailer who has a store presence nearby. I have always had great service from RS in Norwich, and great response on the one occasion in fifteen years when I had a faulty piece of kit