Panasonic backs HDR over Dolby Vision - promises improved TV audio

Netflix has already promised to start streaming 4K HDR video this year and now Panasonic has reaffirmed its commitment to the video technology.

Speaking to What Hi-Fi?, Hiroyuki Iwaki, global head of TV product planning for Panasonic. said: "We'll be prioritising and pushing HDR as the industry standard."

Iwaka also confirmed that Panasonic's recently launched 4K TV sets wouldn't be able to support Dolby Vision, pointing to the fact that this technology requires additional hardware which won't feature in this year's models.

Manufacturers claim that HDR delivers improved picture performance and it's being investigated by a number of other TV manufacturers, including Sony, Samsung and LG.

At its European Convention in Frankfurt, Panasonic confirmed that its new CX800 flat and CR850 curved 4K Ultra HD TVs will support streamed HDR content when it becomes available later this year.

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Panasonic has also placed added importance on TV sound this year, with a new TV speaker system making its debut in the company's premium CX800 series (pictured above). "I feel very sorry for the European consumer," said Iwaki, "TVs have become thinner, and we've been sacrificing sound quality. We need to keep a balance."

We've certainly noticed a downward spiral in general TV sound quality in recent years - though some companies, notably Sony, have made decent efforts to rectify this - so we'll be interested to hear if Panasonic has managed to overcome this problem.

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Andy Madden

Andy is Deputy Editor of What Hi-Fi? and a consumer electronics journalist with nearly 20 years of experience writing news, reviews and features. Over the years he's also contributed to a number of other outlets, including The Sunday Times, the BBC, Stuff, and BA High Life Magazine. Premium wireless earbuds are his passion but he's also keen on car tech and in-car audio systems and can often be found cruising the countryside testing the latest set-ups. In his spare time Andy is a keen golfer and gamer.