Panasonic TX-55HZ2000B
A new OLED panel takes this telly to the top of Panasonic’s impressive range, where it looks terrific. But things are not quite as they should be
View offers
Television | £2299 whf.cm/TX-55HZ2000B |
The HZ2000 sits right at the top of Panasonic’s current TV range, elevated above its siblings by a so-called ‘Professional Edition’ OLED panel and a speaker system that boasts genuine upward-firing Atmos speakers.
We loved the HZ2000’s predecessor, with which it shares much of its design and technology, and we’re big fans of the more affordable HZ1000, so the omens here are very good indeed. Something, though, has gone rather wrong.
The HZ2000 looks largely identical to the GZ2000 it replaces, and that makes it a fairly utilitarian aesthetic proposition. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – Panasonic has resisted the urge to push flashy designs, instead choosing to allow the performance to do the talking.
A key part of the HZ2000 proposition is its advanced, Technics-tuned, Dolby Atmos sound system, which consists of a soundbar subtly mounted beneath the screen and a set of drivers firing upwards from the top of the set’s rear. In total, the system’s amplification is rated to an impressive-sounding 140W.
No other manufacturer has yet taken the same approach, and perhaps that’s at least partly because of the repercussions it has in terms of design. While almost all OLEDs have an enclosure mounted to the rear of the panel for speakers, processing hardware and connections, the HZ2000’s is much larger than most, with the set measuring just under 8cm front-to-back in all but the top two corners, so it will stand off the wall more than most.