Panasonic supersizes OLED with gamer-friendly LZ2000

Panasonic is supersizing its OLED flagship TV in 2022, offering a 77-inch Master OLED Pro Cinema Size version of its CES 2022 announced LZ2000, alongside 55- and 65-inch versions.

The LZ2000 will also offer the most advanced selection of gaming features yet seen from the brand. A new information and settings Game Control Board interface will be joined by automatic NVIDIA GPU detection, improved 60Hz input lag, and full HDMI 2.1 support on two of its four HDMI inputs.

Next gen gamers can expect 4k High Frame Rate (HFR) 120fps in full 4k resolution and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support.

The Game Control Board interface carries frame rate, HDR metadata and chroma information, along with a Dark Visibility Enhancer, which allows the player to adjust the near black portion of dark scenes, HDR Tonemap settings; Input Lag and VRR settings.

An SPD Auto Game Mode detects compatible HDMI2.1 4K HFR/VRR-supporting NVIDIA GPUs, like the RTX30, to automatically optimize both the input lag and VRR settings.

A new `60Hz Refresh Mode’ was shown to reduce input lag to just 1.5ms in demos.

The LZ2000 also boasts a revamped Auto AI picture processor able to adjust for ambient light colour temperature, and thereby preserve subjective colour when viewing with warm coloured ambient lighting. The new sensor works with the HCX Pro AI processor, adjusting tones individually.

The panel is based on the latest OLED design from LG Display, custom engineered to deliver enhanced mid-level brightness. Final colour-tuning is handled by Hollywood colourist Stefan Sonnenfeld.

HDR format support covers Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Vision, Filmmaker Mode, HDR10+ Adaptive, and HLG Photo.



The set has a fully integrated Dolby Atmos sound system, in the form of Panasonic’s 360 Soundscape system. While top and side speakers remain unchanged from last year’s range-topper, the front facing speaker has been completely overhauled with an array of speaker drivers which run the width of the TV screen (pictured).

Panasonic says this approach allows it to offer directional sound. Using an intuitive GUI, viewers can adjust the relative loudness of the audio around a room. It comes with three modes: Pinpoint allows the sound to be directed to one specific point; Area allows you to shift the sound to a group of people in a specific area of the room; while Spot boosts the volume in one particular spot, while others can still hear the sound.

The power output varies for each inch size: the 77-inch monster is rated at 170W, the 65-inch 160W, and the 55-inch 150W.

The rest of Panasonic’s OLED and LED 2022 TV line-up will be revealed in the Spring.