Panasonic Z85A vs TCL C69K / Q6C

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.

In terms of brightness, TCL C69K / Q6C is a moderate model. In optimal movie conditions, it shows its full potential, reaching a maximum of around 600 nits. In scenes with large, intense light sources, the HDR effect can be truly satisfying, giving a cinematic glow. However, it's important to keep in mind that when managing the backlight zones, there are situations where parts of the image are dimmed, and at times become barely visible. This suggests that there is still a lack of proper optimization of the algorithms, although considering the technical parameters in this price range, the overall construction still looks very good.

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!

The Filmmaker Mode, which has been introduced in this year's TCL TVs (including the C69K / Q6C), is definitely the best choice "to start with". This is the mode we recommend for everyday movie and series viewing. Unfortunately, as is often the case, best does not mean perfect. In SDR materials, the image turned out to be too warm, with a strong red tint in the white balance. The opposite impression was had with HDR content – here the image became cooler than it should have been, due to an excess of blue. Additionally, there is the brightness characteristic, which at times resulted in overexposures. In practice, this translated to fairly noticeable errors in color tests, which is difficult to accept in a mode branded as "by the creators".

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.

Through white balance adjustment, we were able to significantly reduce the tendency of ChooseTV C69K / Q6C to distort colours, which resulted in a very good final outcome. After calibration, the problem of excessive warming of scenes in SDR and over-cooling of the image in HDR disappeared. However, it's worth analysing the brightness characteristics more closely. While in SDR content there are few complaints – the picture looks really good, especially in older films, TV programmes, or on YouTube – it performs much worse with HDR content. Analysis of the EOTF curve suggests that everything is fine, but in practice (EOTF in films), the limitations of the actual construction become evident. This model tends to excessively brighten small parts of the frame, while in other situations, it darkens the entire scene too much. The effect of calibration is therefore undeniable, and in terms of colourimetry, ChooseTV C69K / Q6C gains a lot. Unfortunately, certain limitations arising from local dimming management simply cannot be bypassed.

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.

In terms of image scaling, TCL C69K / Q6C performs quite well. Lower quality content is presented acceptably, and due to the lack of overscan issues, the image is displayed in full without any cropping. However, don’t expect miracles – materials of very low quality won’t gain a second life here, as the image processor has its limitations.

On thin lines and details, there is noticeable jaggedness, which reveals the lack of more advanced image enhancement algorithms. It's also a shame that the C69K / Q6C lacks a feature for smoothing tonal transitions. As a result, in older films or video materials, color banding can be visible and may become distracting during extended viewing.

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.

The use of a 144 Hz panel in TCL C69K / Q6C is a significant advantage in this price range. This represents an important step forward compared to its predecessor (C655 PRO), which only offered 60 Hz at 4K. The difference is particularly noticeable when watching sports or gaming – the ball, players, and dynamic action in games are displayed more clearly and without losing detail. An interesting feature is also the panel's ability to operate at 240 Hz (which the manufacturer does not officially mention) – we will revisit this topic in relation to the PC gaming mode. TCL has also added a feature for movie fans: “Motion Clarity.” This allows users to adjust the picture to their own preferences using two simple sliders. We can either leave the visible film frame or opt for a very smooth one, "

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.

TCL C69K / Q6C is a television that can confidently be called equipment designed for gamers. Here we have 4K at 144 Hz, VRR support, automatic game mode (ALLM), and Dolby Vision Gaming. Additionally, there's a practical Game Bar, which is a panel with the most important settings within easy reach – handy when we want to change something quickly during gameplay (e.g., aspect ratio: Yes, it can be done!). The wide range of VRR, reaching up to 240 Hz, is noteworthy. However, this option is mainly for PC gamers looking to go below native 4K resolution. In this case, the television can spread its wings and show additional smoothness, particularly in fast e-sport titles. For consoles, we stick to the standard limit of 120 Hz, but even so, the possibilities are truly extensive. The only minor criticism is slight ghosting that can sometimes be seen in dynamic scenes. Other than that, C69K / Q6C offers everything gamers expect from a television.