LG NANO82T6B vs Panasonic Z85A

The brightness of NANO82T, to be honest, is quite average, especially when compared to alternatives in a similar price range. With a maximum brightness of around 280 nits, it is not among the highest and may affect the overall viewing experience of HDR content. While many TVs in this price class offer brightness above 400-500 nits, LG NANO82T may seem less impressive. As a result, details in bright areas of the image may be less distinct, and the HDR effect is not as spectacular as one might expect.

The Panasonic Z85A is an OLED television, so you can immediately expect excellent effects in films. And indeed – our tests showed that the WOLED panel can achieve around 800 nits of peak brightness in optimal conditions. This is a solid result, performing well in most demanding HDR scenes, allowing viewers to enjoy a dynamic and detailed picture. However, like every OLED, the Z85A also has its limits. In very bright scenes that fill the entire screen – like the final sequence from the movie The Meg – the television reduces brightness to around 400 nits. This is standard behaviour for this technology, so if someone plans to watch films in a heavily sunlit living room, it is worth keeping this in mind. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 98% also deserves high praise. This allows the television to reproduce a wide range of colours that stand out with vibrancy and depth, while details in HDR scenes are sharp and precise. In short – the Panasonic Z85A delivers a solid HDR effect that will satisfy any film enthusiast.

The colour reproduction in LG NANO82T in Filmmaker mode, which is the best mode available from the factory settings, is not without its flaws. The primary issue is the white balance, where the graph shows dips in the blue colour level. This phenomenon results in a shift of colours towards yellow shades, causing the image to appear warmer than it should. Such deviation means that the colours on the screen are not naturally reproduced, which can be particularly noticeable in scenes with white or neutral backgrounds. For example, the image below from the movie "Star Wars," where there are a lot of elements that should be white. The Color Checker test confirms that some colours are "shifting" into other shades, indicating that the TV does not display colours accurately.

In terms of contrast, the gamma graph analysis showed drops to a level of 2.1, while the optimal value should be 2.4. This means that the TV might display darker areas of the image brighter in certain scenes, reducing their depth and dynamism. Additionally, on the EOTF curve, which is responsible for brightness reproduction, a slight spike was noticed at the beginning. This phenomenon may result in excessive boosting of brightness in the brightest parts of the image, leading to a loss of detail in very bright scenes.

The Panasonic Z85A offers many picture modes, but the Filmmaker mode definitely stands out from the rest. It's rare for a TV straight out of the box to be so well calibrated, and the unit we had the opportunity to test truly impressed us.

However, there were some minor shortcomings. In the SDR signal, we noticed a slight deficit of red and blue, which made the picture appear cooler than it should have been. This is particularly evident in the comparison image. In contrast, with 4K HDR material, the situation was the opposite – the surplus of red made the image seem warmer than intended by the creators. In terms of brightness characteristics (gamma) and maintaining an appropriate EOTF curve, it's hard to find faults. There are slight deviations, but they are so minimal that the average viewer is unlikely to notice them.

It's also worth highlighting that our observations relate to a specific unit of the TV. Two identical models may differ from each other due to natural production variances. Nevertheless, the piece we had in hand looks really solid and deserves praise. Now it's time for our calibration – we'll see if we can squeeze even more out of this screen!

After calibration, the colour reproduction in SDR content on LG NANO82T is very good. The white balance has been effectively improved, resulting in natural and balanced hues across various scenes. The gamma has also been adjusted, providing more precise detail representation in both shadow and highlight areas of the image. Thanks to these corrections, the television performs excellently in everyday use, offering solid colour quality and clear, well-balanced images in SDR mode.

However, in the case of HDR content, the situation is not as good. The television does not support a wide colour gamut, limiting the depth and richness of colours that HDR can offer. The EOTF curve diverges from the ideal, leading to excessive highlighting of details in the bright areas of the image. Unfortunately, this approach results in significant colour reproduction errors, as confirmed by tests on Colour Checker. The low brightness level of the panel further negatively impacts HDR image quality, causing the dynamic range effects to not be fully realised, and colours appear washed out.

The television significantly improved after calibration, especially in SDR content. The improvement in white balance and gamma has greatly enhanced image quality, providing a more natural and consistent colour reproduction. Compared to the state before calibration, the difference is clear, and the television now offers better performance in daily use, particularly in standard dynamic range.

The Panasonic Z85A offers truly wide-ranging capabilities when it comes to picture settings, so we eagerly set about calibrating it. Although we mainly focused on adjusting the white balance, the final effect exceeded our expectations. Both HD and 4K HDR content now showcases nearly perfect colour reproduction, with minimal errors that are hard to catch with the naked eye. Well-calibrated TVs are a rarity, and we must admit – it’s truly satisfying. While the gamma and EOTF curve didn't require drastic adjustments, we managed to further stabilise their characteristics across the entire brightness scale. After calibration, the Panasonic Z85A is a true gem for home cinema enthusiasts. The picture is precise, the colours are natural, and every scene looks exactly as the director intended.

If it comes to gradation in very low-quality materials, LG NANO82T gives us the option of a feature called "Smooth Gradation". In the "Low" setting, this feature slightly improves the most problematic tonal transitions, which is noticeable and useful for such content. In the "High" setting, it works even more effectively, enhancing tonal transitions, but at the cost of smoothing out details that shouldn't be smoothed. This is a compromise that not all users will appreciate.

When it comes to image scaling, NANO82T is not without certain limitations, particularly when playing content at lower resolutions. The television applies a gentle, artificial sharpness boost, making the image appear sharper. This effect mainly results from the overlay of artificial contours. For some users, this may be beneficial, as they prefer more pronounced and highlighted details. However, for those who value the naturalness of the image, this effect may be less attractive and too artificial. It’s a subjective issue that can impact viewers differently, depending on their visual preferences.

Now that we know how the Panasonic Z85A handles tonal transitions in 4K material, it’s time to take a look at its "Gradation Smoothing" function. It works, but unfortunately not entirely effectively. Regardless of the chosen value – whether it’s low, medium, or high level – we couldn’t achieve perfectly smooth tonal transitions in our test sequence. We recommend setting this function to an intermediate level. While this may slightly blur fine details, at least it avoids the problem of losing film grain, which can be crucial for many viewers when watching classic productions.

When it comes to image scaling, the TV performs quite well. It’s noticeable that the image is slightly sharpened, and thin lines can sometimes appear a bit jagged. However, this is standard for most TVs, and fortunately, it can be adjusted using the sharpness slider. This gives us full control – we can achieve a more vivid, blurred image or a clearer one, although it may appear more "harsh" and artificially sharp. It all depends on the user's preferences and the type of content we’re watching. Overall, the scaling is at a solid level and should satisfy most users who are using lower resolution material.

LG televisions, including the NANO82T, offer an interesting motion smoothing feature called TruMotion, which will satisfy most users who value control over the quality of the films they watch. The TruMotion function allows users to adjust the smoothness of the displayed films according to their preferences on a 10-point scale, enabling a personalised visual experience.

However, in the case of more dynamic scenes, such as games or action films, the television performs worse. The 60Hz panel and relatively slow pixel response times mean that motion clarity isn't ideal. The result is noticeable blurring and less smooth playback of fast scenes.

Overall, the LG NANO82T should satisfy those who primarily watch films and prefer more subdued content. However, for those who value dynamic, fast motion, we recommend looking for an alternative.

The Panasonic Z85A features a 120 Hz panel, which will surely please both gamers and sports fans. Sure, it’s not 144 Hz like some gaming TVs, but in practice, the difference is really hard to notice. In games, the picture is stable and sharp, and during fast action, there’s no sign of any blurring. The same goes for sports – a player’s quick run or a car’s dynamic maneuver looks smooth and natural. The TV also has an “Intelligent Frame Creation” feature, which is a motion smoother. There are two sliders here – one controls motion blur reduction, while the other adjusts motion smoothness. With these, you can tailor the picture to your own preferences – whether you prefer a more cinematic effect with gentle transitions between frames or a maximally smooth image ideal for watching sport.

While gaming on the console, LG NANO82T offers a range of features that can significantly impact the gaming experience, though it also has some limitations. Among the advantages, it is worth mentioning the ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) feature, which automatically adjusts picture settings by switching the TV to low latency mode. This is particularly beneficial for gamers who need a quick response to their actions. Another plus is the support for HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group), as HDR games are displayed according to the creators' intentions, providing realistic and vivid visual effects. These features make the LG NANO82T offer a good gaming experience, although some aspects could be better, especially in dynamic scenes. Unfortunately, LG NANO82T has its limitations when it comes to gaming features. It lacks support for variable refresh rate (VRR), which can affect the smoothness of gameplay, especially in more dynamic games. The TV has a 60Hz panel, preventing the use of higher refresh rates. This is a significant drawback for gamers who expect smoother gameplay at higher resolutions. Additionally, the lack of G-Sync support limits image synchronization capabilities, which can lead to tearing and stuttering in games.

These shortcomings may mean that the LG NANO82T does not meet the expectations of the most demanding gamers who are looking for advanced features and the highest image smoothness.

Panasonic is mainly associated with home cinema televisions, but the Z85A shows that it can also step into the gaming world with a truly strong punch. It's a device that can easily be called a gaming beast – it has everything needed for comfortable gameplay.

Even though it has only two HDMI 2.1 ports, both operate at full bandwidth, so we can easily connect both a next-gen console and a gaming PC. All the key features are supported: ALLM automatically switches the television into game mode, VRR provides smooth visuals without stuttering and tearing, and with properly implemented HGIG and Dolby Vision, HDR games look really good – colours are vivid, details are sharp, and dark scenes are clear. We also find a Game Bar in the form of a transparent, circular menu. It may not look as impressive as the competition's, but it's intuitive and includes all the most important settings we’d want at hand during gameplay.

In summary – the Panasonic Z85A is a device that truly surprises with its gaming capabilities. It's a television where both console gamers and PC gamers will feel at home. It's smooth, dynamic, and just good.