Panasonic's OLED TV mantra for the past few years has been “movies movies movies!” Specifically, making TVs that reproduce films and TV shows that look as close as possible to how their creators intended. A philosophy it's backed up by working closely with Hollywood creatives when it comes to creating the processing software and picture 'tuning' of its premium OLED sets.

While this philosophy remains for Panasonic's just-announced flagship OLED TV for 2022, the brand has added another key demographic to its target list: Gamers.

Panasonic started to take gaming seriously with last year's JZ2000, but it's really upped its game [pun absolutely intended] for 2022's LZ2000s.

For starters, the LZ2000 series carry two 40Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports capable of handling the latest gaming features of 4K at 120Hz graphics, variable refresh rates, and automatic low latency mode switching. Additionally, Panasonic demonstrated the set's remarkable new low latency mode, which reduced the rendering time of 60Hz image data to an astonishing 1.5ms. The best rivals, for context, manage to get to just under 10ms (which is roughly the figure the LZ2000s deliver in their 'standard' Game mode).

Panasonic has joined the likes of LG and Samsung by introducing a dedicated gaming 'shortcut' menu dubbed Game Control Board. Here, gamers access crucial information on the TV's graphics, such as frame rates, HDR metadata, and even chroma sub-sampling data. Furthermore, you can adjust the TV's HDR Tone mapping settings), input lag, and VRR settings. Finally, there's a Dark Visibility Enhancer that lets you raise brightness levels in dark areas (without impacting the rest of the image) so that you can spot lurking enemies more easily.

Moreover, Panasonic also provides a series of gaming-related picture presets. But, perhaps most impressively, the LZ2000s can auto-detect the specific model of NVidia GPU a connected PC is using, self-adjusting itself accordingly to deliver the optimal picture results.

However, cinephiles can rest assured that the LZ2000's new gaming advances arrive as well as, rather than instead of, Panasonic's customary love of movies. Panasonic's HCX Pro AI processing continues to draw on decades of know-how built up through the brand's relationship with Hollywood movie creatives. It adds new features designed to ensure that images maintain their intended look no matter what sort of room conditions you're watching your TV in. The Auto AI Mode designed to identify different types of content and optimise picture settings accordingly has also apparently been improved by further machine learning input.

The panel at the LZ2000's heart is another one of Panasonic's proprietary high brightness models, and the brand says that its latest processor has managed to find slightly more luminance in mid-bright areas than we saw from last year's JZ2000. This matters even more than it usually would now that we're seeing advances in brightness from the latest generation of OLED panels from LG, Sony and Philips - not to mention the arrival of QD OLED technology.

Home cinema fans will be delighted, too, to hear that Panasonic has answered their prayers by adding a 77-inch LZ2000 to the 55- and 65-inch models Panasonic's flagship OLED range has previously been restricted to.

Finally, the range also benefits from a couple of improvements to its audio setup. The main front drivers have received a redesign to give them more power and projection. Also, Panasonic has come up with an innovative directional sound concept that lets you adjust the angle of the sound coming out of the speakers to focus on different seating positions.

These new features come on top, of course, of the 360-degree sound Panasonic has delivered with its past couple of flagship OLEDs, where side- and up-firing drivers join forces with the front-firing 'soundbar' to provide a larger, more immersive sound stage - especially with Dolby Atmos sources.

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