Panasonic TX-55FZ800: an excellent Oled TV

Presentation

The Panasonic TX-55FZ800 is built around a 10-bit Oled 100 Hz panel from 2018 displaying an Ultra HD resolution of 3 840 x 2 160 px. Like the Panasonic TX-55FZ950, it has the new HCX processor which analyzes each image 1,000 times per second to apply a specific profile to each scene. A process called "Dynamic LUT" rather convincing and which improves color accuracy. Panasonic has also reworked its image processing, and more specifically the reproduction of the darkest gray levels (5% and 2.5% white).

The differences between the FZ800 and the FZ950 are limited to the audio part, which is content here with 40 watts, when the power rises to 80 watts on the second, and to the remote control (only one fairly basic with the FZ800 against two more sophisticated with the FZ950). For the rest, the two televisions are identical. This does not prevent us from returning the FZ800 to the laboratory, to ensure that the calibration is as good as that of the FZ950, and especially to assess the quality of the anti-reflective filter, a measurement that we did not do when testing the FZ950. .

The Panasonic TX-55FZ800 TV is sold for around € 2,000. It takes € 3,000 for the 65-inch version, the TX-65FZ800. The FZ950 is sold € 300 more in the 55-inch version and € 500 more in the 65-inch version.

---

Image quality

Unsurprisingly, the Panasonic TX-55FZ800 uses the same Oled panel as the Panasonic FZ950. We thus find a last generation panel - well almost, since we discovered a new sub-pixel structure on the Philips 55OLED803 manufactured in August 2018. As always with Oled technology, the viewing angles are excellent, the loss of brightness at 45 ° is very limited (24%), and there is no variation on the black, which is total and perfect.

If the delta E - the difference between the expected colors and the displayed colors - is slightly higher than on the FZ950, which was satisfied with an average value of 1.6, it is still much less than 3, value in below which the human eye no longer perceives the drifts.

The average gamma measured at 2.41 is excellent and in line with the reference value. As on the FZ950, there is always a slight deviation to 3% of gray and around 95%, without great consequence on the final rendering.

With an average measured at 6,800 K, the color temperature is still just as good. It is very close to the reference value (6,500 K) and, above all, the curve displays very good stability over the entire spectrum.

As with all Oled TVs, the measured contrast is considered to be infinite. Indeed, even with a white calibrated at 154 cd / m², black is measured at 0 cd / m² (our probe cannot measure a black less than 0.0049 cd / m²). This contrast is still as impressive and allows you to enjoy all the nuances, even in complete darkness.

The FZ800 still embeds the Remastering Engine scaling engine which displays a 1080p image on an Ultra HD panel without distorting the original source. The image is still very soft and we did not detect any artifacts in True Cinema mode. The Intelligent Frame Creation motion compensation system does not evolve and always offers excellent performance. The moving image is always as sharp, with no artifacts, and the camcorder effect is limited. Panasonic easily competes with our benchmark in the category, the Philips 55OLED803, whose compensation system is impressive.

---

HDR

Like the FZ950, the FZ800 does not compress HDR data much with a maximum HDR signal at 10,000 cd / m². Panasonic follows the recommended curve, which is closer to perceptual reality, but this will result in a clipping beyond 739 cd / m² (the maximum brightness that we have measured on this model). Note also that this maximum brightness is a little lower than that measured on the FZ950, which reached 799 cd / m² during our test in May 2018. As always, the Oled remains quite far from the best LCD TV type VA which greatly exceed 1,000 cd / m², such as the Sony 65ZD9 and its 1,300 cd / m² or the Samsung 65Q9F 2018 with its 1,599 cd / m².

Still in True Cinema mode, but this time in HDR, the colorimetry is excellent, with an average delta E of 2.2, well below the value of 3.

Like the Panasonic TX-55FZ950, the FZ800 has 71% coverage of Rec.2020. On the other hand, it rises to 97% in the DCI-P3 color space when the FZ950 was satisfied with 96%. The difference is obviously negligible. The two models are in any case far from covering Rec. 2020, the benchmark standard for Ultra HD Blu-rays. Fortunately, the film industry is content for the moment with the DCI-P3.

---

Video games

Like its big brother, the Panasonic FZ800 is an excellent playmate. The zero afterglow results in very little blurring behind moving objects, while the display delay of only 21 ms reduces to minimum lag between the action on the controller and its impact on the screen. Only Samsung televisions can do better, with a display delay of 15 ms, but we must do so with the longer afterimage of LCD technology.

We are now evaluating the color fidelity in Game mode, because the atmosphere designed by the creators of the game must be respected by the television, just like that of a film. If the game mode does not offer very good colorimetry, this television is one of the few on the market to offer a "game mode" on all the preset modes (Menu> Picture> Option settings> Game mode). It is therefore possible to benefit from an input lag reduced to 21 ms in True Cinema mode, and therefore to have perfect colors in games.

---

Clouding

As with all Oled TVs on the market, each pixel is managed individually and there is therefore no clouding. Banding effects (horizontal or vertical bands) are also absent. We measured the average difference in white homogeneity over the entire 55-inch panel at only 4%. A very good result which is explained by the use of Oled technology resulting in little variation on the white.

---

Ergonomics

If the Panasonic FZ950 stood out with its impressive soundbar, the FZ800 is classic. His foot is no less impressive.

Like the other Oled models, the anti-glare filter of the Panasonic FZ800 is excellent.

The anti-reflective filter used by Panasonic is excellent. In view of the results, we also assume that it is identical to all of the 2018 Oled models. The anti-reflective treatment manages to dilute most light reflections. The result is among the best on the market, but does not equal that of the Samsung 65Q9FNAT, a true benchmark on this point.

A new device now allows us to measure the quality of the anti-reflection filter on televisions, a criterion of importance according to our ...

Without an backlighting system, Oled technology makes it possible to obtain an extremely thin panel. The upper part of the television is thus content with a few millimeters, while the lower part is limited to 6.2 cm. The size on the furniture is always linked to that of the foot which here measures 30 cm deep. It thus occupies a good part of our reference TV stand (which measures 160 x 40 cm).

The rear is very classic. The connections are on the right, the power supply is on the left. The connections are hidden behind a cover and the central leg offers a fairly basic, but relatively effective cable routing system.

The connection is identical to that of the FZ950. On the side, there are two HDMI 2.0a inputs (Ultra HD 60 fps, HDR, HDCP 2.2), a PCMCIA port (CI + common interface), an SD card reader, a USB 3.0 port, the antenna, cable, satellite inputs and TNT, an Ethernet port and a headphone output. At the rear, with a perpendicular output that prohibits the use of the cache, there are two HDMI ports, two USB 2.0 ports, the optical digital audio output and a component input (YUV). The TV has a triple DVB-T / T2 / T2-HD tuner, DVB-S / S2 and integrated DVB-C. It also has 802.11a / b / g / n / ac Wi-Fi, as well as Bluetooth 4.0 for connection with a wireless audio device (headphones or speaker).

Panasonic operates the My Home Screen system, derived from Firefox OS abandoned by the Mozilla foundation last year. The colorful interface is quite pleasant to use, but the system is starting to hit the mark compared to competitors such as Tizen, Android TV and WebOS. There are a few applications like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, but you have to ignore Molotov.tv, Spotify, myCanal, myTF1 and many others. The Panasonic FZ800 however has fairly unique features like the In-House Server, which allows the TV to encode a TV stream received via the over-the-air antenna, satellite or even cable to send it over the home network to a another brand TV . The interest of the triple tuner takes on its full meaning, since the second compatible TV can use it to change channels without being connected to a conventional antenna. But on the rest, Panasonic is clearly lagging behind. It is bad for a good for users who prefer a simpler television in order to entrust the intelligent functions to a real multimedia box like the Shield TV or the Apple TV 4K or even a Chromecast Ultra - the latter being more limited, but no less practical .

It takes about 5 seconds to turn on the TV, whether it is the first start or the next. It takes less than a second to go out. It consumes less than 1 W in standby. On this point, it is a flawless for Panasonic.

The two remote controls of the FZ950 disappear in favor of one, much more basic. We would have preferred that Panasonic at least keep the large backlit remote control of the FZ950, but it is not. You have to settle for a very complete, but very simple remote control. It thus overlooks the integrated microphone, which is essential for research on the Internet, and the backlighting of the keys.

---

Audio

Exit the 80 W sound bar of the Panasonic 55FZ950 and make way for a much more classic, invisible audio part, composed of two woofers located at the back of the TV and two tweeters oriented downwards. The audio rendering does not really have to be ashamed compared to that of its big brother. The low mids are well reproduced from 65 Hz and the speakers cover the entire spectrum above this area. In the end, the sound is more than adequate for a television.

---

Consumption

With a white calibrated at 150 cd / m², the Panasonic 55FZ800 consumes 81 W on our test pattern, a relative consumption of 97 W / m². This consumption of less than 100 W / m² is always higher than that of LCD Edge Led models, such as the Sony KD-65XE8505, record holder in the category with its 56 W / m², the Samsung QE65Q9FNAT and its 61 W / m², or even the Samsung UE75NU8005 which caps at 72.2 W / m².

---

Conclusion

It's practically a no-fault for the Panasonic Oled FZ800 TV. It delivers a perfect image, whether in SDR, HDR or even for gaming. However, if the display quality is perfect, Panasonic begins to lag behind other points that make the difference compared to the best Oled televisions, like the operating system, too limited, or the remote control, much too basic and without microphone.

---