I Test TVs Against a £30,000 Monitor, & Just Found My Favourite OLED of 2025

Television Review: Panasonic Z95B OLED Insights

Overview of Evaluation Methodology

• The reviewer emphasizes a dual approach to evaluating televisions, combining objective measurements with subjective assessments against a high-end reference monitor, the Sony BVM HX 3110.

• The Sony BVM HX 3110 is highlighted as an expensive investment for the channel, costing over £30,000, underscoring its significance in the review process.

Key Features of Panasonic Z95B OLED

• The Panasonic Z95B OLED is identified as the favorite TV of 2025 for its ability to closely reproduce creator intent in HDR content.

• It utilizes LG Display's latest four-stack RGB tandem OLED panel technology, achieving impressive peak brightness levels of nearly 2400 nits on a 10% window after calibration.

Unique HDR Output Capabilities

• A notable feature is the TV's capability to limit maximum HDR light output based on SD 2086 max CL metadata from HDR10 signals, ensuring optimal brightness without exceeding content specifications.

• This implementation helps maintain RGB purity longer and delays white sub-pixel boosting, which is crucial given HDR10's absolute PQ system.

Adjustments for Viewing Conditions

• The default HDR luminance level is set at 70 instead of the typical maximum value of 100 to accommodate brighter viewing environments while preserving detail.

• Users can adjust luminance and RGB balance down to 0.5% video stimulus through granular control options available in user menus.

Performance and Color Accuracy

• The Z95B offers superior performance in suppressing near-black chrominance overshoot artifacts compared to its predecessor due to algorithm improvements.

• Out-of-the-box color accuracy is commendable; no grayscale inaccuracies exceed perceptible thresholds. However, results using Kalman AutoCal were inconsistent during testing.

Conclusion on Overall Experience

Panasonic Z95B Review: Performance Insights

Color Performance and HDR Capabilities

• The Panasonic Z95B, calibrated to D65, shows cooler color temperature compared to the Sony BVM HX 3110, indicating a notable difference in calibration standards.

• In HDR playback, the Z95B achieves nearly 100% DCIP3 color gamut coverage and 83% REC 2020 coverage due to its advanced W OLED panel technology.

• Some HDR titles may exhibit muted colors on the Z95B due to strict adherence to ST 2086 metadata in HDR10, especially with inconsistent metadata.

Dolby Vision Playback Issues

• There are instances of posterization in Dolby Vision mode compared to HDR10; this was observed during specific content like the title screen from "June."

• Engaging motion smoothing while watching 24p Dolby Vision films can lead to intermittent frame skipping, which is difficult to detect without slow-motion footage.

Motion Handling and Frame Rate Management

• With accurate Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC), the Z95B effectively presents slow panning shots at 24 frames per second without noticeable judder.

• Users sensitive to stutter can customize IFC settings for smoother playback without significant interpolation artifacts.

Upscaling and Image Processing

• The upscaling performance of sub4K content on the Z95B rivals that of competitors like Sony's Bravia series, showing improved sharpness through microcontrast enhancement techniques.

• A pure direct setting allows users who prefer unaltered images to disable microcontrast processing while maintaining proper cadence for film playback.

Video Quality and Input Lag

• Bright uniformity is commendable with no visible banding or dirty screen effect; however, slight pink tinting at edges remains an issue typical of recent WLED panels.

Panasonic Z95B Review: Performance Insights

Display and Gaming Features

• The Panasonic Z95B features frame doubling to 120 fps with a true 120 fps video signal, achieving an input lag of only 4.5 milliseconds, making it highly responsive for reflex-based games.

• It utilizes a MediaTek Pentonic 700 chipset; however, only two out of four HDMI ports support the full HDMI 2.1 FRL bandwidth of 48 Gbps, with one being the ER port.

• The TV supports 4K at 120 Hz Dolby Vision gameplay from Xbox Series X but is recommended to disable Dolby Vision for gaming due to over-brightening issues and inability to maintain full chroma reproduction at high refresh rates.

• HDIG support is well implemented in true game mode, preventing unnecessary double tone mapping and preserving HDR creative intent by hard clipping at maximum luminance levels.

• VR features like Nvidia J-Sync minimize frame drops and tearing artifacts; however, some flicker remains during certain VR games, particularly in static menus or solid scenes.

User Experience and Interface

• The game control board overlay was noted as sluggish on the review unit, possibly due to integration with Fire TV OS; channel switching was also reported as slow despite disabling data collection settings.

• A positive aspect includes the glossy anti-glare coating on the W OLED panel that helps retain deep blacks even in bright environments while maintaining high brightness output.

Audio Performance

• The Z95B delivers an immersive Dolby Atmos sound experience through its array of front-firing, top-firing, and side-firing speakers built into the chassis; however, it lacks DTS audio decoding capabilities.

• Some bass rattling was observed during specific sequences which may relate to woofer placement adjustments for thermal flow cooling systems; using an external subwoofer could mitigate this issue given the provided output port.

Overall Assessment

• Panasonic has addressed several shortcomings from its predecessor (Z85A), resulting in significant improvements such as boosted HDR color luminance via a new four-stack W OLED panel and better management of near-black chrominance overshoot through advanced algorithms.

• The Z95B showcases outstanding color accuracy and exceptional shadow detailing while offering smooth native 10-bit gradation in HDR10 alongside innovative cooling systems that enhance panel brightness without image retention issues.

Competitive Standing

• In comparison with other leading OLED models released this year (LG G5, Samsung S95F, Sony Bravia A80J), the Panasonic Z95B stands out for delivering superior overall picture quality with cleaner images and smoother gradation despite occasional Dolby Vision posterization issues.