Curved, 4K Ultra HD screens were hinted at, but not displayed by Panasonic at CES 2015. But now, all has been revealed - there's the CR850, CR730 and CR430 ranges, with screen sizes ranging from 55 to 65in. CR850 (pictured above) is the all singing, all dancing series and includes edge-lit Local Dimming Pro, Super Bright Panel technology and twin HD tuners.
MORE: Panasonic unveils prototype 4K Blu-ray player, 2015 4K TVs
Flat 4K and Full HD TVs also included
Besides the curved screens, there's a good spread of flat 4K sets too, starting with the premium CX800 series (available in 65, 55, 50 and 40in) and ending with the CX400 (available in 65, 55, 48 and 40in).
While it's clear there's a significant shift towards 4K Ultra HD models this year, Full HD sets still have their place. There are three new ranges for 2015 - CS600, CS500 and C300. Screen sizes range from 65 to 48in, with HD Ready models available at 32 and 24inches.
MORE: How to watch 4K content: on TV and online
Firefox OS makes its debut
Panasonic has teamed up with Mozilla to create a brand new new Firefox OS for its 2015 TVs. Available on certain ranges, (CR850, CX800, CR730, CX750, CX700 and CX680), content on your home screen is divided up into different 'decks.' There are three default decks that come set-up as standard: Live TV, Apps and Devices. You can pin your favourite stations, apps and games to the relevant deck as you go along. You can also use the Firefox OS to beam photos and videos to the TVs from a smartphone or tablet on the same wifi network.
4K Pro heads up Panasonic's assault on picture quality and combines the company's new 4K Studio Master Processor, which the company claims can bring images closer to what the director originally intended, with its new Wide Colour Phosphor panels, which claim to combine new backlight technology and a new colour filter system to produce even more realistic colours.
TV Anywhere... apart from the UK
Disappointingly, there are a couple of interesting new features that won't be available to UK buyers. Firstly, TV Streaming allows you stream broadcasts from your main TV to a secondary set in another room or a compatible tablet or smartphone. Because of the twin tuners in some models, you can watch one show in one room while someone else watches another programme in a different room.
TV Anywhere works with Panasonic's Media Center App and allows you to beam content to a tablet or smartphone wherever you are in the world. This can be TV programmes via your TV tuner or content stored on a USB hard drive, connected to your TV. It would apear that content providers in the UK aren't that keen on allowing this this kind of functionality, which is a shame.
Freeview Play first
Panasonic also revealed it will be the first manufacturer to offer TVs with the new Freeview Play connected TV platform.
The platform, which it was also announced will be bolstered (in theory) by the addition of Channel 5's Demand 5 service, will be available on selected Panasonic smart TVs for 2015.
The service sees Freeview take on YouView by offering an easy-to-use interface of live and catch-up TV, with the platform now offering on-demand content from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
HEVC decoding built-in
On the plus side, Panasonic has confirmed that all it's 2015 TVs will feature HEVC and VP9 decoding buit-in. The former allows you to take andvantage of Netflix and Amazon Prime 4K streams while the latter is the codec of choice for Google and is used to encode 4K content on You Tube.
For the complete lowdown on Panasonic's TV ranges, why not visit our dedicated page where you'll find sizes, specs and pricing...
