Compare: Panasonic Z95B vs Philips OLED811

Panasonic Z95B is equipment that makes it hard not to raise your eyebrows in delight. From the very first moments, it's clear that we're dealing with an absolutely exceptional screen, capable of bringing out the best in films and games. The black levels are perfect, brightness in HDR is stunning, and the colours – whether in movie mode or gaming – show that the factory calibration at Panasonic has reached a level that other manufacturers can only aspire to. Add to this the fantastic sound from the built-in soundbar and excellent viewing angles, and you have a television picture that, in terms of image quality and overall audiovisual immersion, seems to be complete. But the longer we used it, the more the impression grew that we were encountering a device that was somewhat split. On one hand, it acts like a reference monitor, perfect for assessing video material and enjoying films or series, and even for gaming; on the other hand, it's a television that can disappoint in its everyday functionality. FireTV in its current version can be frustrating, there are far fewer apps than competitors, some won't install at all, and the system can easily stumble. There are also strange system problems like the lack of support for basic subtitles in films from USB – these may seem like minor details, but they contribute to the overall impression of a device that is far from ideal in daily use. And this is where the biggest paradox of the Z95B appears. It's a television that probably offers one of the best images currently available in showrooms, while also being one that is hard to recommend as a typical "television" without reservations. The competition, although often visually slightly weaker, tends to be simply more user-friendly and costs significantly less. Therefore, the Z95B is a proposition for image purists, for those who seek a reference screen and are willing to accept all the compromises related to the non-functioning features. For them, it will be a dream device. For others – a demonstration of Panasonic's strength and more of a curiosity.

Philips OLED811 is a mid-range OLED for 2026 that stands out from its biggest rivals mainly for one thing: Ambilight. The light that follows the picture and spreads across the wall can change the mood of the whole viewing experience. In the evening the screen seems to extend beyond its frame and watching gains an extra bit of charm. For some it will be a pleasant extra, for others a decisive reason to pick Philips again. The picture itself is very comparable to what models like the LG C6 or Samsung S90H offer when using the same panel type. You get deep, perfect blacks that make bright elements really pop. The OLED811 can deliver strong HDR and, importantly, after calibration the picture is close to the reference. There’s no big advantage over the competition, but there’s also no sense that by choosing Philips for Ambilight you’re sacrificing image quality.

Gamers also get a few solid upgrades over last year’s model. Thanks to the MediaTek Pentonic 800 chipset we finally have four HDMI 2.1 ports, so connecting several devices, for example consoles, a PC and a soundbar, no longer means you have to decide which one gets the full capabilities of the port. Gaming itself is very enjoyable — the TV responds quickly, supports variable refresh rate, and from a PC it allows gaming in 4K at 165 Hz. It’s a pity the new processor’s capabilities haven’t been put to equally good use when processing lower-quality sources. The biggest doubts, however, concern the operating system. Titan OS replaced the popular Google TV and, although it has clearly developed over the past year, it’s still hard to call the change a good one. True, the system runs more smoothly, has more useful features, and its library already includes most popular streaming services. Still, the choice of apps is much smaller than Google’s (or the competition’s), and in our view that remains the OLED811’s biggest drawback. People using less popular services may feel that difference particularly strongly.

Is it worth buying? Yes, if Titan OS meets your needs. In terms of picture and the gaming features, the OLED811 has as much to offer as its rivals, but Ambilight gives it something others don’t. Philips therefore gives and takes a bit. It adds a unique viewing atmosphere but limits freedom of app choice. If the services you use are available, this compromise may be worth accepting.

The black level and contrast in the Panasonic Z95B can be summed up in one word – perfection. As with every OLED TV, the panel controlling individual pixels allows for complete dimming of parts of the image, resulting in absolute black. This means the Z95B offers perfect separation between bright and dark elements of the scene, with no visible halos, brightenings or halo effects on the screen. Even in the most demanding sequences, where other LCD TVs reveal their limitations, the picture here remains clear and readable. In practice, it’s hard to imagine that in this category OLEDs could improve any further, as the technology of self-dimming pixels simply has no weak points when it comes to contrast. The Panasonic Z95B follows this trend and demonstrates that when it comes to black levels, there is no room for significant improvements – it sets a reference level that is hard to surpass.

Black levels and contrast are categories where the Philips OLED811 showcases all the advantages of OLED technology. Each pixel emits light independently and can be switched off completely, so black is simply black. No grey halo or blooming around bright objects. During evening viewings this creates a striking effect: stars in the night sky, city lights or text on a dark background remain clearly separated from a perfectly black surround.

So it's hard to expect any improvement over other OLEDs here, because in terms of black depth and contrast the result is already exemplary. The OLED811 doesn't need local dimming zones or a compromise between the brightness of a small object and the black around it. Even a single bright point can sit next to a completely switched-off pixel, giving the image excellent depth.

It's precisely in scenes with a lot of black that the advantage over Mini-LED TVs becomes apparent. Even the most advanced local dimming systems control larger areas of the picture, so in demanding shots they can produce a halo around bright elements or dim them to preserve the dark background. The Philips OLED811 doesn't have that problem.

The HDR effect quality in the Panasonic Z95B is among the absolute best. Thanks to the latest generation panel, named Primary RGB Tandem OLED by the manufacturer, the television can achieve over 2000 nits of brightness in movie scenes. The effect is impressive and can amaze with its intensity of light, giving a sense of contact with the screen that goes beyond previous experiences. Similar feelings were only experienced during tests of the LG G5, Samsung S95F, or Philips OLED910. Of course, there are moments when the device's algorithms decide to limit luminance – this especially applies to full-screen bright sequences, such as the ending credits in the movie The Meg. Even then, the Z95B maintains a level of around 1500 nits, which is still an extremely impressive result. Thus, it can be said that HDR in this model has been brought to a masterful form. A significant step forward is also visible in the reproduction of the colour palette. The new tandem OLED panel does not yet match the best QD-OLED screens in terms of gamut coverage, but the gap between these solutions has significantly decreased. When watching films, the differences are subtle enough that under normal conditions it's hard to notice them, and the colours remain vibrant and saturated.

Philips OLED811 uses the new generation WOLED EX panels, also found in models like the LG C6 and Samsung S90H. After calibration we measured about 1500 nits, which is a very good result for an OLED TV. You can see that clearly in films and series. Flashes of light have the right punch, especially when they appear on a dark background. In those scenes the OLED811 can deliver really impressive HDR. Of course this doesn't mean you'll see that level of brightness in every shot. When the screen is filled with a large area of white or a wide explosion, brightness falls to around 600 nits. That's still a good result, but such scenes don't have the same impact as small bright elements on a dark background. That's a known limitation of OLEDs and the OLED811 is no exception.

Colours

Aside from HDR brightness, colours also matter and here Philips also performs very well. It covers almost the entire DCI-P3 gamut, which contains most of the colours used in HDR films and series. So you get rich reds and lush greens, and while watching it's hard to fault it in that regard. It looks a bit worse with the much wider BT.2020 gamut — its most saturated shades are already beyond the reach of this panel. There's also the issue of the white subpixel that the WOLED panel uses to help boost brightness. With very bright colours you can see a certain "washout": the colour is bright but loses some of its intensity. It's in exactly these situations that Samsung Display's QD-OLED panels have the advantage. In most films and series, though, this won't be something that immediately jumps out at you.

The factory colour reproduction in Filmmaker mode, my dear friends, is a true phenomenon in the case of the Panasonic Z95B. I'm talking about our test sample, but the results were so good that it's hard to believe. The only detail that one could nitpick is a slight lack of blue in the white balance, but apart from that, the television straight out of the box presented an image like we have never seen in factory mode. Colour palette tests, Color Checker – everything indicated values below Delta 2. This is a much lower result than the threshold of human eye perception, which means, to put it simply, that the viewer has no chance of noticing serious deviations. It looks as if Panasonic actually calibrated this model at the factory stage. Of course, we cannot exclude the possibility that we got an exceptionally well-set specimen, but the result still makes a stunning impression. We are very strict when it comes to assessing factory calibration, and here our jaws simply dropped.

The film mode on the Philips OLED811 is sensibly set up straight out of the box. Most colour errors remain minor in both SDR and HDR, so you can comfortably sit down to watch without adjusting the settings first. There are no large inaccuracies that would immediately distract from the film.

It’s not quite perfect, though. The white balance shows a slight lack of red relative to green, so whites and greys can have a faint greenish tint. It’s not a strong colour cast, but measurements clearly show it. There are also small luminance deviations in SDR: some parts of the image are slightly brightened, and the deepest tones aren’t always reproduced evenly. In HDR the TV stays much closer to the reference, although it occasionally lifts detail from the shadows. These are generally things that can be refined. The factory film mode provides a good starting point, and calibration will reveal how much more you can get out of it.

The colour reproduction after calibration on the Z95B is a topic that’s hard to elaborate on, as there wasn’t much to do here. A slight adjustment of the white balance was enough to eliminate the lack of blue, and at that moment, the picture jumped to an almost reference level. It must be said that we haven’t had such a small range of adjustments in a long time. If any of you are particularly perceptive, you might notice minimal deviations in the EOTF curve, but this is more related to the functioning of the dynamic tone mapping feature we mentioned earlier. In reality, this isn’t a flaw, but a characteristic of this solution, which intentionally alters the brightness profile depending on the scene. In summary, we are extremely impressed. The Panasonic Z95B is a television that looks great right out of the box, and after calibration, it reaches a level where we really struggle to find anything to improve.

After calibration the Philips OLED811 delivers an image very close to the reference. We managed to even out the white balance and remove the slight colour cast visible in the factory settings. ColorChecker errors for SDR and HDR fell to around 1 to 2, with many samples even below 1. That's a level at which differences from the reference are hard to spot with the naked eye. We also improved the gamma, with only a slight lift remaining in the brightest whites. In HDR the EOTF curve also stays close to the reference, although the TV still tends to slightly boost the brightness of small details, such as stars or subtitles. That gives the picture a bit of extra brightness that shouldn't be there, but otherwise it's hard to find fault. It was already good out of the box, and calibration allowed us to iron out most of the remaining issues.

Posterisation, or colour banding, was the Achilles' heel of Panasonic's flagship last year, the Z95A. In the new Z95B, it's clear that the manufacturer has made an effort to improve this issue related to gradation, and the problem has largely been corrected. In most scenes, colour banding is no longer visible, and tonal transitions are smooth and look natural. However, this doesn't mean that the problem has completely disappeared. In extremely challenging sections, especially in very dark scenes like those from the film Green Knight, some imperfections can still be detected. Nevertheless, it's gratifying that Panasonic approached the issue seriously and made a significant step forward, as the difference compared to the previous model is truly noticeable.

Compared with Philips' previous OLEDs, the smoothness of tonal transitions has clearly improved. The biggest difference is in the dark parts of the picture, which can cause WOLED panels quite a few problems. On the OLED811 they have been smoothed very well, with tones flowing smoothly from one to the next, without obvious banding or posterisation. That's a big plus, especially when watching dark scenes.

Unfortunately, it isn't as good in brighter shots. That's where we have the biggest reservations: instead of a gentle transition between tones you can sometimes see distinct boundaries, in other words posterisation. It can be noticeable, and it's a pity the improvement seen in dark scenes didn't extend to the brighter areas of the picture to the same degree.

Let's start with what works well. The upscaling in the Z95B is at a very high level – the image in lower resolutions is clear and sharp, and the only minor shortcomings are slight banding in some areas of the picture. It's also important that the television doesn't crop the material in any way and maintains its proportions, which is not always an obvious fact even in 2025.

The situation looks worse when it comes to digital processing. Features like "gradation smoothing" or "block noise reduction" essentially do not work – the tested material looked identical regardless of the settings. We might as well say that this feature simply doesn't exist. It's a bit disappointing, especially since Panasonic heavily promotes its HCX Pro AI II processor, boasting the presence of artificial intelligence improving image quality. Meanwhile, in such a basic matter, the television does not deliver a real effect and it looks weaker than one would expect from top-tier equipment.

The OLED811 handles processing lower-quality material reasonably well, though it's far from perfect. The "Banding reduction" function helps smooth tonal transitions and on the low setting gives a pretty good effect. It doesn't remove banding between shades as effectively as similar solutions from some competitors, but at least it doesn't introduce new artefacts. It's a sensible setting for everyday viewing. Still, there's a bit of a letdown, because the MediaTek Pentonic 800 chipset used here can, in other manufacturers' hands, deal with the effects of heavy compression more effectively even at similarly low settings. A lot therefore depends on how a given manufacturer uses its capabilities.

We have a few more comments about the upscaling to 4K. There's plenty of detail, but overall the image looks rather soft. Edges are heavily smoothed, so the picture lacks some sharpness and clarity. You can partially correct this with the sharpness slider in the menu, though that will be extra edge enhancement rather than recovering detail. On the plus side, there's no overscan, and even with an SD signal the TV doesn't crop the edges of the picture.

The OLED panel with very high refresh rates already provides an incredibly sharp image even in dynamic sports scenes, such as football or basketball matches, and the Z95B is no exception. It's also very important that the television is equipped with the proprietary motion smoothing system 'Intelligent Frame Creation'. Among the available sliders, the most crucial one turns out to be the one called 'film smoothness', as it allows for adjusting the motion to personal preferences with 24-frame content, meaning films – from a more 'choppy' appearance to a smooth, almost theatrical effect. It's a bit disappointing that Panasonic didn't opt to push the latest OLED panel to 165 Hz, as Samsung did with the S95F or LG with the G5, because we know that the panel is technically capable of it. On the other hand, it mainly benefits PC gamers, so in everyday viewing, it's not a significant drawback as we are limited to 120Hz.

In terms of motion handling the OLED811 performs superbly. At 120 Hz, which is useful for console gaming and watching sport, the image remains clear and moving objects don't leave noticeable trails. The OLED's fast pixel response helps here. You can see it clearly in the UFO test, even on a dark background. There are also controls for motion smoothing. In movies you can adjust the strength of smoothing to your taste, from preserving a cinematic feel to much smoother motion. A separate blur-reduction control is useful for fast-paced content like live sports broadcasts.

The Panasonic Z95B is fully equipped for gaming. Two HDMI 2.1 ports with a full bandwidth of 48 Gb/s guarantee support for everything you can expect from a modern screen. It features VRR frame syncing, an automatic game mode (ALLM), and full compatibility with HDR formats used in gaming. The TV supports both Dolby Vision for Xbox and the popular HGiG, which in this case has been implemented correctly, so it actually works as it should.

Although the brand is mainly associated with home cinema and equipment for filmmakers, there’s also space for gamer conveniences here. Onboard is the Game Bar (or rather Game Circles) – it looks a bit unusual visually, but it does its job and allows you to quickly check the most important image parameters. The only thing missing for complete satisfaction is actually having four HDMI 2.1 ports instead of two. It’s a minor detail, but with a TV of this class, one could expect a full set.

The OLED811 has almost everything you’d expect from a TV for gaming. It supports 120 Hz at Full HD, 1440p and 4K, and when connected to a PC it can reach up to 165 Hz. It also offers VRR to help avoid screen tearing when frame rates fluctuate, and ALLM, which automatically switches to game mode. So you don’t have to go into the settings every time you start your console.

Another plus is the properly working HGiG, which ensures that once HDR is set on the console the TV doesn’t apply its own changes to image brightness. The Game Bar is also available, letting you check signal parameters and quickly change settings useful while gaming. The list even includes Dolby Vision for games, but there’s a significant catch here, which you’ll read about below.

Regardless of the content being watched, the input lag on the Z95B is exceptionally low – even in Dolby Vision the TV operates at 120 Hz with a delay of less than 5 ms. This result places it at the very top of the screens for gaming. If we could, we would comfortably give it a score of 11/10. 😉

OLED811 responds instantly. We measured 14 ms at 60 Hz and just 5 ms at 120 Hz, both in Full HD and 4K. Those are excellent results that let you comfortably play even fast online multiplayer games. Unfortunately, when Dolby Vision is enabled the situation changes dramatically: at 60 Hz latency rises to 157 ms, and at 120 Hz it’s 57 ms. The first result in particular already causes a clearly noticeable lag between a movement on the controller and the response on screen. For gaming it’s definitely better to stick with HDR10.

The Z95B can easily be connected to a computer and used as a large monitor. Sure, with the WOLED pixel arrangement, the fonts don't look as perfectly sharp as on typical monitors with IPS panels, and this can be noticed during office work, but it's hard to consider it a serious problem. Not many people buy such a TV for Excel. 😉 When it comes to gaming on PC, there’s nothing to complain about. The 144 Hz mode works brilliantly, and we have full support for G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, so frame synchronization works flawlessly with any graphics card. Despite minor issues with font display, it's hard for the Z95B to struggle in this role – it performs simply phenomenally as a gaming screen.

The Philips OLED811 works very well with a PC. The manufacturer has finally managed to correctly implement 4:4:4 chroma, even at maximum resolution and refresh rate. As a result, small text and coloured edges are readable, without the blurring or rainbow fringing that comes from loss of colour information. Dark text on dark backgrounds also holds up well, which TVs can struggle with. There are still minor imperfections related to the RGWB subpixel layout. Fonts are not as sharp as on a classic RGB monitor, and with white letters you can see faint red halos up close. From a normal viewing distance you barely notice it, though it’s easier to spot when sitting close at a desk.

Where it really shines is gaming from a PC. The combination of 4K at 165 Hz, working G-Sync and input lag around 5 ms makes the OLED811 excellent for that. If you have a computer that can take advantage of that refresh rate, it’s definitely worth plugging it into the Philips.

In this respect, the Z95B performs really well. The drop in brightness at an angle is just 11 percent, which is exactly what the best QD-OLED panels and the previous generation MLA from LG Display are recording. This means that even when watching the TV from the side, there’s no impression that the image becomes washed out or difficult to read.

Colors do fade slightly at extreme angles and aren’t as stable as in QD-OLEDs, but it’s hard to consider that a serious issue. The picture still looks great, and you can be confident that when watching the Z95B from a large angle, everything remains clear. It's also worth noting the swivel stand in terms of viewing angles, as this practical solution allows you to easily adjust the screen so that everyone in the room has the best possible view.

The viewing angles on the OLED811 are excellent and among the best on the market. Even when sitting well off to the side you still see an image with deep blacks and well-saturated colours. That's a big advantage over LCD screens. You don't have to sit exactly in front to enjoy good picture quality.

QD-OLED panels perform even better, keeping colours more faithful at off-axis angles. On the Philips, at wider off-axis angles the whites shift slightly towards greenish tones, but the effect is so small that it's hard to find it bothersome while watching. We'd even say that in this respect this is the best WOLED panel sample we've tested so far.

The year 2025 is the time when it can be confidently said that OLEDs are suitable for viewing even in brightly lit rooms. The new generation of WOLED panels, used in the Z95B, can achieve truly high brightness – the average value for the Z95B in SDR mode is as much as 623 nits. This is a result that just a few years ago was beyond the reach of this technology. Of course, it is not at the level of the best LCD televisions designed for bright lounges, and the panel itself, glossy with a gentle filter, handles glare suppression moderately well. Nevertheless, it’s hard to have major objections. The Z95B easily copes in most daylight conditions, and you can comfortably watch TV or movies even when a lot of light is coming into the room.

OLED811 copes with daytime viewing, although in a very bright living room it already has its limits. Peak brightness in SDR reaches about 600 nits, a level comparable with the LG C6 or Samsung S90H, which use the same panel. That’s noticeably more than basic OLEDs and will be plenty for most people. Bear in mind, though, that this brightness isn’t maintained across the whole screen — it falls with a lot of white, and the average from our measurements was around 392 nits.

A bigger issue can be direct reflections from windows or lamps. The glossy coating dampens them reasonably well, but they’re still clearly visible on the screen, especially in dark scenes. It doesn’t diffuse reflections as effectively as matte screens, so placing the TV opposite a large window isn’t the best idea. On the plus side, black levels remain very good even in daylight. In a typical living room the Philips will therefore perform without major problems, but with strong sunlight falling directly on the screen you’ll want blinds.

Smart TV: Amazon FireTV

Panasonic's Z95B uses the Fire TV system, which is a platform created by Amazon. This is a significant change because just two years ago the company relied on its own Linux-based system. At first glance, everything looks good – the interface is clear, and the operation is quite simple. Additionally, we have AirPlay, which allows you to stream photos or videos from your iPhone, as well as screen mirroring from both Windows and Android phones. The TV also works with Amazon Alexa voice assistant, but here a rather strong limitation quickly arises. In practice, only a few of the most popular languages work well, such as English, while Polish is still not available, and there’s no indication of when it will be.

Classic Features

Here things become at least strange. During testing in the editorial office, the TV refused to find any channels – neither satellite nor terrestrial. As a result, we couldn’t check the functionality of PiP or the operation of the tuner itself. The only certain thing is USB recording, as right after connecting a USB drive, the TV immediately asked if we wanted to format it for this purpose. The remote looks quite classic – it’s large, with a full numeric keypad, and a plus is that you don’t have to aim at the screen since it operates with RF technology.

Everyday Usage Issues

The biggest disappointment, however, arises with the apps and system stability. Some apps are simply unavailable in Poland, others can be found but cannot be downloaded as they are tied to specific markets. On top of that, there are strange bugs, untranslated menu elements, and occasional "freezes," which can effectively diminish the enjoyment of using such a good screen as the Z95B. So, it can be said that while the Z95B impresses with its picture quality as a "monitor," as a smart TV it can be frustrating and disappointing across the board.

Smart features — Titan OS

The Smart TV system is the most controversial change in the OLED811. Philips has dropped the user-favourite Google TV in favour of its own Titan OS. For many people this may be a hard decision to accept, although Titan is getting noticeably better year on year and runs more smoothly. We have working AirPlay, screen mirroring from a computer and voice search in Polish. System responsiveness has improved too, though you can still notice small delays when navigating the menus. We have the impression the IR remote is partly to blame, as it doesn’t always pick up commands immediately. The biggest limitation compared with Google TV is the smaller selection of apps. That doesn’t mean it’s empty, however — you’ll find Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, CANAL+, and Apple TV has recently joined the library. If you mainly use popular services, Titan should be fine, but it’s worth checking availability of less well-known apps before buying (see the list at the bottom 😉).

Ambilight

Ambilight remains one of the best reasons to consider a Philips TV. On the OLED811 it’s three-sided — LEDs along the top and sides of the casing light the wall with colours matched to what’s happening on screen. In the evening this creates a great effect and can change the whole room’s atmosphere, so we awarded extra points for this feature. You don’t have to use the dynamic picture tracking though. If you prefer a calmer viewing environment you can set a static white light. It’s a pleasant option for evening sessions when you don’t want to sit in front of a bright screen in a completely dark room.

Classic features

For regular TV viewing the OLED811 performs well, though it lacks USB recording and picture-in-picture (PiP). You can connect Bluetooth headphones and use them alongside the TV’s speakers. What bothers us most, however, is the infrared control mentioned earlier. The remote itself is quite interestingly designed: it’s backlit and has a hybrid keyboard with a numeric section. It’s a shame you still have to point it at the TV like with old sets. With equipment at this level we’d prefer to just press buttons without worrying which way we’re holding the remote. Hopefully Philips will fix that in future models.

Here we also encountered another issue with the Fire TV system. The built-in player handles popular audio and video files without any problems, so at first glance, everything seems fine. However, the problem starts when we want to enable subtitles in movies. We were unable to launch any format – neither .srt, nor .sub, nor .txt. Regardless of the settings, the subtitles simply did not appear. So if you have a film with a separate subtitle file, you are forced to watch it in the original language unless the subtitles have been permanently embedded in the image. Considering the quality of this television, it's quite a disappointment and further proof that Fire TV still has plenty of shortcomings that can ruin the joy of use.

The USB player in the OLED811 handles most of the audio and video formats we test, so it's perfectly adequate for watching a movie or playing music from a USB stick. Our main reservations are about photos, specifically the strangely selective handling of their resolutions. The TV opened 8, 16 and 32 Mpix files, but couldn't cope with the rest. So it's not that the photos are simply too large, because the player can display a higher-resolution image and refuse to open a smaller one. When browsing holiday photos this can be genuinely annoying, as some will need to be converted on a computer first... or you could just use remote screen mirroring...😉

The built-in audio system in the Panasonic Z95B is truly impressive. The manufacturer has added an extra soundbar that completely changes the audio experience of the television – this time, it can confidently be said that no external equipment is needed to enjoy full and dynamic sound. The bass is clear and surprisingly strong, dialogues remain intelligible even during louder action scenes, and the television can play quite loudly, reaching levels of up to 91 decibels. Another positive is the full support for Dolby Atmos, so if you’re using films or streaming services that support this format, you can expect spatial and impressive sound. A certain limitation is the lack of support for DTS:X – if someone plans to connect a home theatre or Blu-ray player with this standard, they must consider that the television will not play it, but this shouldn't be a major concern looking at how all manufacturers approach this standard. I suppose we have to come to terms with that.

There have been a few concrete changes to the sound compared with last year’s OLED820. The rear subwoofer is gone and the 4.1 speaker layout has been replaced by a 2.2 configuration. Despite these changes the OLED811 still sounds good and fairly even. It can play louder, and the sound even seems a touch fuller than a year ago. The bass has suffered; although the sound has weight, the low end lacks the depth of its predecessor. You can hear this most clearly in films and music when you’re waiting for a stronger hit. That said, it’s still well above average for built-in TV speakers. If you want deeper bass and more distinct spatial effects, it’s worth considering a soundbar or a system with an AV receiver. Philips gives you plenty of flexibility: it supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS, and will pass Dolby TrueHD tracks over HDMI eARC to compatible equipment without any problems. So there’s room to upgrade later if you decide to expand the sound system.

Panasonic Z95B vs Philips OLED811

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

TV appearance

Where to buy

Contrast and black detail

HDR effect quality

Colours

Factory color reproduction

Color reproduction after calibration

Smoothness of tonal transitions

Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions

Blur and motion smoothness

Console compatibility and gaming features

Input lag

Compatibility with PC

Viewing angles

Daytime performance

Panel details

TV features

Classic features:

Smart features:

Sound connection options

Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):

Senior accessibility

Smart TV: Amazon FireTV

Classic Features

Everyday Usage Issues

Smart features — Titan OS

Ambilight

Classic features

Apps

Playing files from USB

Sound

Sound Quality Test

Acoustic Measurements