TECHWEEK
The Panasonic GX940 series and Panasonic GX920 series occupy one of the leading positions in this manufacturer’s TV lineup in 2019. Panasonic representatives do not hide their goal – to attract a higher level consumer, able to pay attention to OLED models, not LCD series.
This is why four OLED TV series were announced this year. These are GZR2000 (GZ2000), GZR1500 (GZ1500), GZR1000 (GZ1000) and GZR950 (GZ950). Series markings vary by region. But today we would like to review the Panasonic TX-75GXR940E review on the UltraHD.su website.
Panasonic GXR940 review
Panasonic GXR940E series (GX940 for Europe, GX920 for UK with indexes E and B, respectively) takes pride of place among 4K HDR models. Here you can find the highest specs among Panasonic LCD TVs this year. It is no coincidence that the manufacturer intends to produce this series only in 75-inch diagonal – Panasonic TX-75GX940E and Panasonic TX-75GX920B.
For true connoisseurs of a high-quality picture, a price similar to some OLED models has been prepared. The company expects to see the 75GXR940 in question on sale in June, and pre-production samples were presented at the exhibition, where they managed to see the new 4K HDR TV from Panasonic.
Design and capabilities
What makes the GXR940 (GX940) series easier than the others is that this series has only a single diagonal. And this diagonal is just huge. For installation on a horizontal surface, it requires at least 168 centimeters. In return, you get a massive and dramatic screen that is sure to impress your guests.
The entire TX-75GXR940 TV cabinet is supported by a single four-leg stand. Due to this design of the stand, it is not enough to determine only the horizontal installation site, this should be taken into account when choosing a place. For good stability, the manufacturer needed to slightly upgrade the base, which is familiar to us from the Panasonic TX-75FXR780 TV . The rest of the design is identical to Panasonic’s OLED panels, although the thickness of the TV is slightly thicker than the advanced models.
Color option: silver gray with a metal frame around the screen. The back of the TV is made of dark plastic. The interface part is hidden by a decorative cover, there are side connections on the back of the TV.
Sound
As for the audio system of the GXR940 TV, then here is a fairly standard option – 20W total power (2x10W speakers). The emitters are built into the back of the housing. The system is compatible with Dolby Atmos, but, despite this, for advanced users, external speakers with surround sound will be required. All of this is true if you really want a home theater system. For information: Panasonic’s OLED lines come with 50W speakers as standard.
Smart TV – My Home Screen 4.0
The new Panasonic 75GXR940 TV comes with a modified My Home Screen 4.0 user interface. The UI wrapper allows the viewer to tailor the user interface to their preferences with more flexibility. You can change the look of your home screen and create your own skins.
Accessing VOD services and digital broadcast content is made easier with a new GUI with shortcuts for direct access to broadcasts. All connected devices and apps such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are immediately visible. You can add frequently watched TV channels to your home screen.
In addition, the 75GXR940 is the first My Home Screen 4.0 TV to support HD +. It uses the standard HbbTV application. Now you can, without getting up from the couch, become a player “Who wants to be a millionaire?” There are additional and convenient functions, for example, restarting the UI, connecting to various multimedia libraries and TV programs. The model is equipped with Freeview Play.
Picture
Given that the Panasonic GXR940 is the flagship LCD model, it will be interesting to know how the 75GXR940 differs from expensive OLED TVs. If you are comparing color gamut, contrast, or black levels, then perhaps such a comparison would seem unfair. All of these pluses are the strengths of OLED models.
But the fact that this series uses the same HCX Pro smart processor as the 2019 OLED TVs, in our opinion, the parameters should be similar. For example, frame rate, motion dynamics processing and color processing, even if the technology of the panel itself is different.
Recall that the TX-75GXR940 in question is a 4K UHD TV certified “UHD Premium”. Therefore, a high level of visual detail in HDR playback is maintained. Any pixel is truly bright without a doubt. In all fairness, we expected to see full-array backlighting on a high-quality LCD TV.
It would give maximum accuracy and good control of brightness levels across the entire screen area. Instead, Panasonic skimped on it and used a cheaper type of side panel illumination (Edge-lit). MVA panel with 10 bit color depth (8 bit + FRC). Maybe the company was reluctant to allow LCD TVs to “sit very close” and compete with new OLED models?
In fact, the brightness of the TX-75GXR940 is not the same across the entire screen. Second point. The TX-75GXR940 specifications include a “local dimming” clause, but side-lit panels have less accurate color reproduction. Peak brightness at the time of publication is not determined, its approximate value is from 500 to 850 nits (requires clarification).
HDR
To our surprise, Panasonic did not relax in this direction. The GXR940 and GXR800 series now feature both Dolby Vision and HDR10 +. With a high frame rate of 100Hz (or as some sources indicate 120Hz) and an intelligent HCX PRO processor, the flagship 75-inch model GX940 now has a wide range of HDR formats (on par with OLED TVs), including the new HLG Photo format.
This is now referred to by the manufacturer as “Multi HDR”. The HCX PRO Intelligent Processor instantly analyzes and optimizes the color, contrast and clarity of all 4K video content, ensuring you enjoy the best TV picture available, no matter the source.
Connections
Four HDMI ports are available to the user (4K @ 60 / 50p with HDCP2.2 support). HDMI version 2.1, but only paired with ARC. One USB 3.0 port and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. RJ-45 Ethernet port and AV component and composite. Sound output is provided by a 3.5 mm socket and an optical interface.
There are separate connectors for the terrestrial antenna and satellite input (DVB-T / T2 / DVB-S2), a couple of CI + slots of the 1.4 standard due to the Twin tuner. There are also Wi-Fi (a, b, g, n, ac) and Bluetooth (Y / HID / HOGP / A2DP) wireless interfaces. The proposed DVB-IP standard was not included in the specification, which is a pity.
Panasonic GXR940: Conclusion
The GXR940 series, which includes a single diagonal, has excellent support for various HDR standards, a huge screen, and a new HCX Pro chip. All this is the flagship LED Panasonic 75GXR940 model.
However, all these characteristics do not allow the TV to stand out against the background of more advanced OLED TVs, for example, the GZR1000 or GZR1500. Surely, the main disadvantage is the side lighting. As always, the price will be the main criterion. Of course, the pre-production review of the GX940 does not reveal all the possibilities, but we will try to add some data as we get interesting information.
