Panasonic Unveils New Flagship OLED TVs With MLA And Proprietary Heat Sink Hardware

One of the highlights of CES each year is Panasonic’s unveiling of its latest flagship OLED TV. These sets always feature state of the art hardware (Panasonic was doing advanced heat sinks while other brands were still in low brightness nappies), the latest Hollywood influenced software and tuning, and true multi channel Dolby Atmos audio playback.

This trend continues with Panasonic’s 2024 CES TV reveal of its new Z95A and Z93A OLED TVs but this time there’s an unexpected twist on the formula in the shape of a switch from the brand’s usual proprietary My Home Screen smart interface to Fire TV. Before I get more into the Fire TV move, though, let’s first explore the stuff that will most excite AV fans about the Z95A and Z93A TVs: their picture quality.

The new Z95A and Z93A flagship OLED TVs from Panasonic switch to Fire TV for their smart systems. The most important news here is that the 65 and 55 inch models that make up the Z95A range feature a new ‘Master OLED Ultimate’ panel which combines the latest Micro Lens Array WRGB OLED panels with a multi layer heat management configuration that has, crucially, been developed by Panasonic own engineers.

This is not a ‘bought in’ technology. The Z93A ‘range’ actually only includes one 77 inch model, and does not get the Master OLED Ultimate technology. It seems a shame that Panasonic hasn’t expanded its use of MLA technology to a 77 inch screen this year especially as the technology is now available elsewhere up to 83 inch.

But Panasonic said last year that it didn’t include MLA on its 77 inch flagship TVs because it didn’t think it could do it for a price consumers would be interested in in sufficient numbers. So I guess that same argument applies for 2024 too. Both new ranges, though, get Panasonic’s new chipset and the latest, improved version of Panasonic’s HCX Pro AI processor, cunningly called the HCX Pro AI Processor MK II.

A key part of this new processor is a revamped 4K Remaster Engine that combines AI and ‘mathematical models’ to deliver crisper, more noisless and all round more natural looking streaming picture quality. A reflection, perhaps, of the way introducing Fire TV in conjunction with today’s general viewing habits! has influenced the focus of Panasonic’s picture quality engineers.

The new processor also claims to improve colour gradation to remove the appearance of banding in HDR footage (again, something that’s especially useful with streamed content). Both new models support the Dolby Vision IQ Precision detail engine. This goes a step further than the original Dolby Vision IQ feature (which adjusts pictures based on ambient light levels in your room) by also tweaking light levels individually for different areas of the screen/image to bring out more detail without boosting the overall brightness of the image to a point where it might start to look washed out or forced.

Panasonic's latest OLED flagships will carry an expansive roster of features focused on gaming. As we’ve come to expect with Panasonic’s premium OLED TVs, the Z95A and Z93A continue to feature color tuning developed with Stefan Sonnenfeld, founder and CEO of renowned color grading studio, Company 3.

The idea being that when you watch a film on a Z95A or Z93A, its appearance will match as closely as possible the look its creators wanted when working on it in the mastering studio. There’s good news for gamers, meanwhile, with the Z95A and Z93A both introducing 144Hz gaming refresh rate support for the first time on a Panasonic OLED TV.

This includes support up to 144Hz for variable refresh rates through the new TVs’ HDMI 2.1 ports, and impressively the 144Hz rate is even supported with Dolby Vision gaming. Panasonic claims the new TVs will also continue to support the ultra low input lag capabilities we’ve seen with its past couple of flagship OLED generations, too, as well offering a True Game mode picture preset featuring colour accuracy, white balance and greyscale settings optimised for gaming sources.

There’s a Tone Mapping Off setting gamers can choose, too, if they want to optimise HDR settings on their gaming source without the TV then applying its own tone mapping on top of the settings you’ve already optimised. The game support even extends to the Z95A and Z93A’s audio, with dedicated RPG and FPS Game Sound Modes specially optimised to suit the different play styles and environments associated with these two game types.

These game sound modes will be produced through the latest refinement of the multi directional, Dolby Atmos capable, developed in cooperation with audio brand Technics 360 Soundscape Pro sound systems we’ve come to associate with Panasonic flagship OLED TVs. Let’s turn finally to the integration of Fire TV smarts into the Z95A and Z93A.

Personally I didn’t have many major problems with Panasonic’s previous My Home Screen system, but I guess moving to such a well known third party smart system makes sense in terms of content access (apps no longer have to be negotiated over and created for a proprietary Panasonic platform) and user interface familiarity.

Moving to Fire TV allows the Z95A and Z93A to become Panasonic’s first TVs with integrated support for far field voice control with Alexa too, as well enabling the sets to take advantage of the Fire TV Ambient Experience, where you can play artworks, your own digital photos or at a glance information (customisable via Alexa widgets) on the screen when you’re not watching it in earnest.

Smart home support The Fire TV OS is fully compatible with Alexa enabled devices as well, meaning they feature a smart home dashboard through which users can monitor and control their connected home ecosystem. There’s support for Apple Home and Airplay, too, so you can control the TV using Siri, and stream content from iPhones, iPads or Macs.

While the Z95A and Z93A are all about Fire TV now, Panasonic has retained some of the most useful features from its proprietary OS. The Penta Tuner is still there, for instance, supporting reception via Internet (IPTV) and home network (TV>IP), allowing the TVs to be located independently of an antenna socket, and programmes to be enjoyed in every room without the need for an extra TV connection.

The two new TV ranges also still carry a MyApp button on their remote controls, which can be programmed to directly open a favourite app, channel or even a favourite voice control command. Panasonic has yet to confirm official launch dates and pricing for its 2024 flagship OLED TVs, so keep an eye on my Forbes channel for an update on this in the coming weeks.

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