The new Panasonic Z95B sets look promising but I have a few reservations after seeing the clips of the actual TV. I'm not too enamored of the speaker set-up as I and probably a good percentage of higher end flatscreen owners who are this sets target market already have some sort of external Home Theater audio set-up and have no use for the Panny's in-set audio. Good as the Panny's speaker set-up may be, even a low end external AV and 5.1 speakers will blow away the Panny's audio.
This leads to the second issue - the "fabric" grill that lines the outer edges of the TV just looks cheesy and cheap to me. From a design standpoint, this set is a throwback to more low budget LED TVs. The old Panny VT and ZT Plasmas aesthetically look much nicer. I like the swivel stand, but on first viewing, it's looks a bit too small to be stable, plus the set sits only a few inches up leaving no room for a center speaker or soundbar if anyone wanted that option.
Finally, does the in-set speaker array and deeper housing for airflow significantly increase the weight of the TV? Is the 65" over 75lbs?
The bottom line is picture quality which it appears is top of the line. Hopefully there's no wierd issues that crop up as consumers start getting this set in their hands.
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