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Panasonic 65-inch Smart VIERA WT600 Ultra HD TV (eyes-on)
Panasonic's 65-inch Smart VIERA WT600 UHD TV may have hit the market as a "me too" 4K TV, but it sure does look nice -- even when placed right next to some of the competition. Thanks to its embedded H.264 decoder, we saw it run 4K content straight off an SDXC card and streamed from the internet (after about 10-15 seconds of loading). Interestingly, while the TV supports the fresh and still-unfamiliar HDMI 2.0 spec, a good chunk our demo session was done over DisplayPort 1.2a to show the display's ability to pump out 60fps 4K content -- unlike existing competitors, which cap out at 30fps. Aside from faster frame rates, it was apparent in our viewing session that the out-of-box settings on a Sony XBR-65X900A ($5,499) had overly boosted reds, while both it and a Samsung F9000 ($5,000) dropped in for the demo showed pronounced haloing. Now we just want to see all of these TVs running 4K content fed from a player using HDMI 2.0 -- whenever that's fully standardized.
Panasonic confirms 65-inch Smart VIERA WT600 UHD TV with HDMI 2.0
The paint is still wet on the new HDMI 2.0 specification, and already it's getting some use. Panasonic's rumored new Smart VIERA WT600 TV with support for the new 4K / 60fps input, as well as DisplayPort 1.2a, has just been given the official nod. The 65-inch set also offers up a built-in H.264 decoder, so you'll be able to play all that 4K content direct from USB drives, SD cards and directly from the internet (thanks to the onboard WiFi). Other features include personalized home screens so users can pick up their favorite content quickly, and voice control via the touch pad remote. The WT600 is available to pre-order starting today, for an October ship date, costing a cent shy of $6,000.
Panasonic leaks 65-inch 4K LCD, HDMI 2.0 prior to IFA announcement
Panasonic is one of the few electronics companies that's not pushing a 4K TV right now, but that is apparently about to change. An AV Forums reader spotted a few webpages cached prior to the company's launch event that show off not only its upcoming 4K res WT600 television, but also details of the HDMI 2.0 spec. The current HDMI 1.4 connectors can only handle 4K content at 30fps, and the page mentions HDMI 2.0 will support at least 60fps, but any further capabilities are unknown. The Panasonic WT600 details shown include that it will support DisplayPort 1.2 as well as 4K specific features like a web browser, media player, rendering engine and THX certification. The only disappointing part, as the post points out, is that there's no sign yet of Panasonic's sweet 4K OLED prototype which combines both of this year's high-priced HDTV buzzwords in one lovely display. The HDMI licensing group has a press conference scheduled for IFA on Friday while Panasonic's is Wednesday, so it shouldn't be long before we hear more about both pieces of this puzzle, and how other manufacturers plan to react. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
