Panasonic "my Home Screen7.0" OS questions

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gzt

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#304425 2-May-2023 18:09

I'm looking at Panasonic OLEDs. The operating system is "my Home Screen7.0".

Questions
- is 7.0 still based on FirefoxOS?
- how long does Panasonic usually provide updates?

Thanks in advance for any info.

michaelmurfy

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#3070576 2-May-2023 18:34

Panasonic have great TV’s but rubbish software. You’re better to get a third party streaming box for that.

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gzt

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#3070583 2-May-2023 19:08

The TV supports all major vision mode formats:

Specs: HDR10+ Adaptive/HDR10/HLG/DolbyVision IQ/HLG Photo

Auto AI/Dynamic/Normal/Cinema/True Cinema/FILMMAKER/Custom/Professional Photo/Professional1 (isfccc)/Professional2 (isfccc)/Sport/Game/DolbyVision (Vivid/IQ/Dark)/Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode

Hopefully it selects those automatically depending on content. I'm not aware of any streaming stick that does a fraction of that. I have several.

In general I doubt any streaming stick & tv combination yet can take full advantage of all advanced tv features and switch appropriately on HDMI 2.1?

freitasm

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#3070596 2-May-2023 19:43

Fire TV Stick 4K does both HDR and Dolby Vision. Chromecast with Google TV does HDR and Dolby Vision too. I use both with my Panasonic TV. The truth is that Panasonic only maintains the software for current models and doesn't necessarily update previous models. Yes, panels and pictures are great, but you better use a streaming device. If you want to use 120 Hz source, then use a Xbox Series X as a streaming device (you will find the basic software you need such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Plex but the other devices will have more software).

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michaelmurfy

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#3070676 3-May-2023 00:10

gzt: The TV supports all major vision mode formats:

Yep, while it supports most formats the software is still pretty bad. I've gone to the extent of blocking the Plex client on it (on my Plex server) as it is not really supported.

Dedicated streaming box is still the way to go. I personally use Apple TV's and find them excellent.

Handle9

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#3070677 3-May-2023 00:16

gzt: The TV supports all major vision mode formats:

Specs: HDR10+ Adaptive/HDR10/HLG/DolbyVision IQ/HLG Photo

Auto AI/Dynamic/Normal/Cinema/True Cinema/FILMMAKER/Custom/Professional Photo/Professional1 (isfccc)/Professional2 (isfccc)/Sport/Game/DolbyVision (Vivid/IQ/Dark)/Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode

Hopefully it selects those automatically depending on content. I'm not aware of any streaming stick that does a fraction of that. I have several.

In general I doubt any streaming stick & tv combination yet can take full advantage of all advanced tv features and switch appropriately on HDMI 2.1?

What content sources are you looking at using? It's all pretty academic if it's just Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

jonathan18

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#3070822 3-May-2023 14:09

We have GZ and JZ model OLEDs and the apps on both are still working well - the former we’ve had for 3.5 years.

While I’d agree the Panasonic UI is rudimentary and, aesthetically, from a different era, the basic interface and key apps like Netflix, TVNZ, Disney, Apple TV etc work absolutely fine. The last of those - Apple TV - is an example where they’ve added support, as it wasn’t previously available.

The time actually using the TV’s interface vs time in the apps themselves is minimal; and the apps work fine, though I would agree that the Plex app is a dog. That said, it’s only really Plex (apart from some minor apps like Curiosity Stream) for which we need to use a GCCwGTV. Of course, that may change if/when any of the built-in apps stop working, but it does demonstrate it’s far from essential to solely use an external device from day one.

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gzt

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#3072352 4-May-2023 16:31

Handle9: What content sources are you looking at using? It's all pretty academic if it's just Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

That kind of thing exactly.

gzt

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#3072353 4-May-2023 16:37

freitasm:
Fire TV Stick 4K does both HDR and Dolby Vision. Chromecast with Google TV does HDR and Dolby Vision too. I use both with my Panasonic TV. The truth is that Panasonic only maintains the software for current models and doesn't necessarily update previous models. Yes, panels and pictures are great, but you better use a streaming device. If you want to use 120 Hz source, then use a Xbox Series X as a streaming device (you will find the basic software you need such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Plex but the other devices will have more software).

I wasn't aware of that. That's good news. I'm still thinking the output won't be perfectly tuned for the panel. Maybe anything going through HDMI will get the correct treatment from the onboard AI. Random for example using FireStick or Google is upscaling better on the stick or on the TV and is it possible or useful to choose in some cases? This is not critical this and similar examples are boggling my non-av brain..

gzt

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#3072354 4-May-2023 16:41

jonathan18: We have GZ and JZ model OLEDs and the apps on both are still working well - the former we’ve had for 3.5 years.

This is good news. I understand Home Screen is based on FireFoxOS and Mozzila no longer maintains that. Panasonic can do it but I suspect they'll switch. Even so, three years is a reasonable expectation for any brand and Panasonic should be good on that.

JPNZ

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#3072567 5-May-2023 07:51

michaelmurfy:

Yep, while it supports most formats the software is still pretty bad. I've gone to the extent of blocking the Plex client on it (on my Plex server) as it is not really supported.

Dedicated streaming box is still the way to go. I personally use Apple TV's and find them excellent.

Same user case here, no problems at all.

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Handle9

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#3072712 5-May-2023 14:38

gzt:
Handle9: What content sources are you looking at using? It's all pretty academic if it's just Netflix, Amazon and Disney.

That kind of thing exactly.

Watching heavily compressed content like that it’ll all look much the same.