Nearly a decade ago, Panasonic plasma TVs were some of the best around. While the sets have been absent from the American market for quite a few years, they have stayed on the market in other countries and still generally ranked well.
Panasonic is apparently looking to recapture some of its former glory, as it has announced a return to the United States television market.
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“(Re)Introducing Panasonic 4K televisions,” the company’s site says, adding a tag of “We’re back and better than ever” above its new television models. Three sets, which will run on the Amazon Fire OS, are a part of Panasonic’s new lineup: the premium Z95A, the core Z85A, and the mini-LED W95A.
Z95A
Available in a 65″ model for $3,199.99, the Z95A is the most premium of the bunch. It’s an OLED display powered by the HCX Pro AI Processor, which automatically adjusts the picture and sound settings based on what you’re watching. It has support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision/Dolby Vision IQ HDR, plus a 144Hz refresh rate, and Game Control Board for fine-tuning your gaming settings, and an always-on microphone for voice controls. This set also has a micro-lens-array for improved brightness, something the rest of the lineup doesn’t have.
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One of the most impressive things about this TV is the audio. While many TVs don’t focus on sound, the Z95A has a built-in array tuned by Technics at the bottom with both up-firing and side-firing speakers for a “360 Soundscape Pro” experience. At 160 watts total and 7 channels plus a mono woofer, this is one of the better TV speaker systems you’ll see.
Z85A
Available in a 55″ size for $1,599.99 and a 65″ size for $1,799.99, the Z85A is the base model of Panasonic’s lineup. It’s an OLED that runs on the HCX Pro AI Processor, but it doesn’t have the micro-lens-array for better brightness.
It has a 144Hz refresh rate, support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision/Dolby Vision IQ HDR, and dedicated gaming controls, but it doesn’t have the always-on microphone. One major loss is that the Z85A doesn’t have as robust a built-in speaker setup as the Z95A. It still has a 50-watt two-channel system with mono woofer, though, which is better than many other options.
W95A
The W95A mini-LED has the most size options, from 55″ to 85″ and starts at $1,299.99. It runs on the HCX Pro AI Processor MK II processor, has a dedicated gaming mode and 144Hz refresh rate, support for both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, and has the same speaker setup as the Z85A. The main difference is that the mini-LED display will be brighter than the Z95A, which means it will likely lose some darker black colors.
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The new offerings are available for preorder from retail locations including Amazon. Panasonic said they should also be available for preorder at Costco.com.
