DisplayPort Among Differentiators Panasonic Banking On In 4K Competition

Panasonic is hoping that what it calls a couple of market “firsts” will help the company shore up its cred as top-tier TV supplier, after its decision last year to abandon plasma TV.

At Panasonic’s 2014 LCD TV line review in New York Wednesday, the company touted the flagship AX800 Ultra HD series with its DisplayPort 4K 60p input and a color gamut that covers 98 percent of professional Digital Cinema Initiatives standards. Another differentiator is the AX800’s THX 4K-certified display, said Jay Park, senior product manager-display. Panasonic’s current UHD lineup includes 65- and 58-inch models, and an 85-inch model is due in September, Park said.

On the company’s tricky transition from being plasma’s lead cheerleader to a follower of LED-backlit TV, “I have to say we are concerned about it, but that’s why we're trying to make a leap forward, especially in 4K technology,” Henry Hauser, vice president-merchandising group, told us. Panasonic was “first to launch” with HDMI 2.0, and the first to launch with DisplayPort, Hauser said. He touted Panasonic’s 60-year heritage in TVs where the company has seen “lots of technologies evolve,” and said company engineers with “lots of TV experience” have turned their focus to LCD. Hauser said Panasonic is relying on industry events and digital advertising for getting that message to consumers.

The DisplayPort connection on UHD TVs is geared toward the gaming community, which Panasonic believes will drive UHD TV sales in the near term as the industry waits for 4K studio content. Hauser said the “semi-pro feature” is now used in most PC monitors, offering a more responsive gaming experience. Most high-res PCs have migrated to DisplayPort, he said. Panasonic will have non-theatrical demo content for dealers available on a thumb drive but won’t offer a licensed 4K content package for consumers for now, he said. Consumers will have access to streamed 4K content through smart TVs’ apps, he said.

Panasonic has pared its TV series to six models in 2014 from a dozen last year due to the discontinuance of plasma models, a spokesman told us. In the non-UHD lineup, the company is differentiating models by refresh rate, sound and 3D. The 55-inch TC-55AS680U, with a native 240-Hz refresh rate, integrates Panasonic’s Life+Screen personalized user interface with its “My Home Screen” personalization feature that offers customizable profiles for up to five users. It includes a remote sharing feature, new this year, that allows users to send content from outside of the home to the TV, Park said.

Appealing to consumers who want better sound from a flat-panel TV, Panasonic is packing a soundbar in the box with the 60-inch 60AS640U TV. The soundbar is sold only with that TV and only at Best Buy, along with the 240-Hz model, also exclusive to Best Buy, Hauser said. The AS650 series, meanwhile, including 50-, 55- and 60-inch models, are 3D TVs -- the only non-4K Panasonic TVs to offer 3D, Park said, and exclusive to Panasonic.com.

Panasonic has no TVs in its 2014 lineup that are targeted to the specialty AV channel, Hauser said. The 530 series -- without 240-Hz, 3D or boosted sound -- is the only open-distribution line, he said, with Best Buy owning several exclusives. “We're rebuilding after we exited plasma technology so we thought to secure a wide national showroom-type account would be the best avenue for us at this time,” Hauser said.

Panasonic drew the ire of specialty AV retailers last year when it placed its highly rated flagship ZT60 in national distribution after rave reviews and a limited rollout through specialists. The TV business has been “very tough,” and Panasonic has had to make “a lot of adjustments to our marketing direction based on the necessity of the business,” Hauser said. “So Best Buy has become a good primary partner for us in 2014,” he said.