- Matching (Score) |
- Our verdict |
- Competing TVs |
- TV appearance |
- Where to buy |
- Contrast and black detail |
- HDR effect quality |
- 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 |
- TV features |
- Apps |
- Playing files from USB |
- Sound |
- Panel details
Panasonic W92C (Google TV) Review
W92C / W94C
Available screen sizes:
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Panel type: LCD IPS Refresh rate: 144Hz Brand: PANASONIC Resolution: 3840x2160 System: Google TV Model year: 2026
This review is an English translation of the Polish original. Read the original on Wybierz.tv.
The Panasonic W92C is the brand’s first Mini LED model following major changes to its TV business, in which Skyworth has taken on a significant role. It’s a good time to see what that change means for the TVs themselves. Has Panasonic kept the character we appreciated in its earlier models? The W92C also draws attention with its matte screen and Google TV platform. That combination may appeal to people looking for a TV for a bright living room who want a wide selection of apps. On paper it looks promising. We’re putting the new Panasonic through its paces to see how it performs in practice!
PANASONIC W92C - Our verdict
7.0
Overall rating
The W92C is the first Panasonic developed in collaboration with Skyworth that we've tested. And it's roughly the change we expected: a bit less of the old Panasonic, but also a few new things that work in its favour. Most welcome is the switch to Google TV. The system runs fast, gives access to the apps you need, and in daily use convinces us more than the previous Fire TV. Paired with a matte screen that handles reflections well, this makes for a comfortable living-room TV where you don't always feel like drawing the curtains before watching.
The longer we used the W92C, the more we appreciated its versatility. It can improve poorer source material quite effectively, and after calibration the picture gains a naturalness that, unfortunately, it lacks on the factory settings, as was the case with older Panasonic models. It also works well for consoles and PCs. It responds quickly to input and the high refresh rate delivers pleasant smooth motion. So the Panasonic makes sense in a home where one screen is used for TV, movies, gaming, and sometimes even... working with text. 🙂
The limitations become more apparent during evening viewing. Black can look good, but a more demanding scene will cause halos around bright objects and the bars above and below the picture to glow. A small number of local dimming zones makes it hard to maintain deep blacks and bright details at the same time. Dolby Vision helps get more out of this screen, but it doesn't remove those limitations. The factory picture tuning is also disappointing, and the automatic brightness shifts we encountered during the review further spoil the user experience. This is where the refinement we expected from the "Panasonic" name is most lacking.
So ultimately the attractiveness of the W92C will come down to price. It's a basic Mini LED and should be priced similarly to competing models with simple local dimming. At that level it would be a sensible proposition, especially for people moving up from a regular LCD. They'll get better blacks, a handy system and a versatile screen that works for both TV and gaming. However, if you have to pay a clear premium for the Panasonic badge, it will be hard to justify. The W92C has enough strengths to hold its own as an inexpensive, versatile TV, but too few advantages to sell itself on the brand alone.
Advantages
Matte screen effectively reduces reflections
Fast Google TV system with plenty of apps and features
Natural colours after calibration
Supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+
Very smooth tonal transitions
Effective enhancement of lower-quality content
Good choice for gamers: 144 Hz and low input lag, 3x HDMI 2.1 48 Gbps
Very good text readability from a computer
Disadvantages
Imprecise local dimming (limited number of zones)
Poor out-of-the-box colour accuracy
Software bugs
Motion handling issues: motion blur and lack of advanced motion interpolation controls
Mediocre sound despite the subwoofer
Movies and series in UHD quality6.2
Classic TV, YouTube6.3
Sports broadcasts (TV and apps)6.4
Gaming on console7.8
TV as a computer monitor9.0
Watching in bright light6.8
Utility functions6.6
Apps9.6
Sound quality6.7
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PANASONIC W92C - Competing TVs in this price range
PANASONIC W92C - TV appearance
HDMI inputs: 0 x HDMI 2.0, 3 x HDMI 2.1 (48Gbps) Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI), Mini-Jack (Headphones) Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
Build quality: Good
Stand type: Central
Bezel color: Graphite
Stand: Fixed
Flat design: No
Accessories: Stand
Panasonic W92C looks fairly classic. At the front there are narrow, dark bezels and a slightly wider bottom bezel with the manufacturer's logo. The whole unit sits on a central stand shaped like a rectangular frame. It looks neat and doesn't require as wide a TV cabinet as legs placed at the edges of the screen. From the side it's clear the W92C isn't particularly slim. The back is fairly thick and quite plasticky, although its surface is broken up by a geometric texture. There's also a woofer located in the centre. Overall the Panasonic looks good, but visually it doesn't particularly stand out against the competition.
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PANASONIC W92C - Contrast and black detail
5.2/10
Local dimming function: Yes, number of zones: 91 (7 x 13)
Result
24,900:1
Result
5,050:1
Result
9,150:1
Result
2,000:1
Result
900:1
Black levels on the Panasonic W92C generally look pretty good. That's down to the VA panel and local dimming, which in the 65-inch sample we tested uses 91 zones. In simpler scenes the TV can effectively darken the background, and in our easiest test it achieved a contrast of almost 25,000:1. To get that black, however, you need to set local dimming to high. Lower settings leave the backlight too bright.
This comes at a cost in the bright parts of the image. The separation between individual lights is still visible, but you have to look closely to spot it. A lower dimming level shows those details more clearly, but the loss of black is too great to consider it a better compromise.
Even on the high setting you can see the limits of the relatively small number of zones. What bothered us most were the bright bands above and below the film, which in HDR material sometimes turned almost navy blue. Bright halos, the so-called halo effect, also appear around small, bright objects. On the plus side, the backlight is stable: in the helicopter scene we didn't notice jittery brightening and dimming of successive zones. It could do with more zones, and the control needs refining. Moving up from a basic LCD without dimming can still bring a clear improvement, but for a Mini LED the result is rather underwhelming.
Halo effect and black detail visibility:
PANASONIC W92C - HDR effect quality
4.8/10
Supported formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG
Luminance measurements in HDR:
Result
508 nit
Result
175 nit
Result
348 nit
Result
169 nit
Result
428 nit
Panasonic W92C osiąga szczytowo około 750 nitów przy wygaszaniu ustawionym na poziom wysoki. Taka jasność pozwala już pokazać wyraźny efekt HDR, jednak w filmach telewizor nie zawsze potrafi ją wykorzystać. W jaśniejszych scenach uzyskujemy około 500 nitów, natomiast niewielkie światła na ciemnym tle potrafią spaść do zaledwie 160–250 nitów. W praktyce oznacza to, że słońce w jasnym ujęciu wygląda dość przekonująco, ale latarka czy drobne rozbłyski w nocnej scenie tracą siłę. To kolejny koszt działania lokalnego wygaszania, które przy ograniczonej liczbie stref przyciemnia również jasne elementy, żeby utrzymać czerń wokół nich.
Podczas testów zauważyliśmy też dziwny błąd oprogramowania. Po przejściu do HDR telewizor samoczynnie zmieniał poziom podświetlenia, ustawiając go na przykład na 53 lub 81 zamiast wartości maksymalnej. Obraz był przez to ciemniejszy, niż pozwalają możliwości matrycy. Wszystkie prezentowane pomiary wykonaliśmy po ręcznym przywróceniu maksymalnego podświetlenia.
Kolory
Za szeroką paletę barw w Panasonicu W92C odpowiada luminofor PFS, który daje efekt podobny do kropek kwantowych stosowanych w ekranach QLED. Zmierzyliśmy pokrycie DCI-P3 na poziomie około 94% oraz 74% szerszej palety BT.2020. Co istotne, wyniki w materiałach filmowych były praktycznie identyczne jak na planszach testowych. To dobry rezultat, dzięki któremu filmy HDR mogą pokazać bogatsze, bardziej nasycone kolory niż na podstawowym ekranie LCD.
Nieco gorzej wypada jasność samych barw. W naszych pomiarach czerwień osiągała około 58% wartości docelowej, a zieleń i niebieski około 66–67%. Telewizor potrafi więc wyświetlić szeroki zakres kolorów, ale najjaśniejsze, intensywnie nasycone fragmenty obrazu nie mają takiej siły jak w ekranach RGB.
BT.2020 color gamut coverage and primary color luminance
| Data set | BT.2020 | P3 | R | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synthetic patterns | 74.0% | 94.3% | 59% | 67% | 67% |
| Film measurements | 74.0% | 94.2% | 58% | 66% | 67% |
BT.2020 BT.2020 and P3 – average color gamut coverage (percent of the target gamut).
R, G, B – average primary color luminance relative to target (percent).
Scene from the movie “Pan” (about 2800 nits)
Scene from the movie “Billy Lynn” (about 1100 nits)
The Panasonic W92C does a pretty good job of mapping HDR content to the capabilities of its screen. In the 'Billy Lynn' scene, where peak brightness reaches about 1,100 nits, it retains a fair amount of detail in the bright highlights. It doesn't, however, reproduce brightness proportions perfectly: dark and mid tones are slightly lifted, so the scene looks a touch brighter than it should.
A more demanding section from 'Pan', reaching about 2,800 nits, exposes the TV's limitations more clearly. The W92C still preserves some detail in the whites, but the very brightest parts begin to blow out. With such a large gap between the material's brightness and the screen's capabilities, compromises are hard to avoid. Overall, tone mapping is decent. Despite its modest peak brightness, the Panasonic can show details that are often missing on other screens.
HDR luminance chart:
Even in standard HDR10 the W92C looks pretty good. You can see a lot of detail in the snow and the background, so Panasonic deserves praise here. We've seen TVs that in this scene mainly showed a white blotch. Here, even without Dolby Vision, it's simply good. There’s no denying that switching on Dolby Vision brings a big improvement. It's easier to make out the texture of the snow, the grass poking through it and the trees in the distance. The whole image is less flat and looks more natural. Dynamic metadata therefore helps extract a bit more from this screen, and it's good that Panasonic gives us that option.
Static HDR10
Dynamic: Dolby Vision
Factory color reproduction
4.1/10
We measured the factory colours in Film mode. The W92C also has a "Filmmaker" mode, Filmmaker Mode, but it practically locked all picture settings, so for further testing and calibration we chose a Film mode similar to it. It's better than the other available presets, though unfortunately that doesn't mean it's well calibrated. It's one of the weaker film modes we've tested this year. A shame, because Panasonic has usually given us much better out-of-the-box settings. In SDR material a cool tint is immediately apparent. The white balance has too much blue, and an excess of red relative to green gives the whites a slightly pinkish cast. You can see this in faces too, which don't look as natural as they should. An even bigger problem is the significantly low gamma. Instead of the target 2.4, across most of the scale it sits around 1.9–2.0. In practice the image is overly bright, shadows lose depth and almost every scene looks a bit flat. In HDR there's even more blue, especially in the bright parts of the picture. Here, too, the TV lifts the brightness of darker and mid tones, which is shown by the EOTF curve rising above the reference. That makes some shadow detail easier to see, but the scene loses its proper atmosphere. So we have a similar problem as in SDR: colours that are too cool and an image that's overly bright. For a Panasonic, the W92C's factory settings are simply... disappointing.
Color reproduction after calibration
7.7/10
After calibration the W92C looks noticeably better, especially with SDR material. We managed to equalise the white balance and remove the cool blue cast that had been spoiling virtually every scene. Whites are now neutral and faces have a much more natural colour. We also corrected the gamma, which now holds much closer to the target value of 2.4. That restored depth to the picture and it no longer looks so overly brightened. Colour measurements back up this improvement, and errors are small, so it's hard to criticise the SDR performance.
In HDR we also reduced the excess blue, although some imperfections remain in the very brightest shades. A bigger issue is how the TV manages brightness. Shadows and midtones are lifted, while the brightest highlights actually come out darker than they should. This robs the image of some contrast between dark backgrounds and strong light, which is an important part of the HDR effect. Unfortunately we don't have enough control over this behaviour in the settings. Calibration improves the colours but won't fix the tone mapping and backlight control. That's an operating characteristic of the W92C that Panasonic needs to refine.
PANASONIC W92C - Smoothness of tonal transitions
9.7/10
The smoothness of tonal transitions on the W92C is outstanding. It's one of the best results we've seen this year. Regardless of the scene, colours blend smoothly into one another and you can barely see any banding separating individual shades. Panasonic handles both bright skies and darker, more demanding parts of the picture well. There's really little to fault here.
Image scaling and smoothness of tonal transitions
7.8/10
Smooth transition function
Image without overscan on the SD signal
The "Contour smoothing" function is used to improve tonal transitions in lower-quality material. At the medium level it works very effectively and removes visible banding between shades well. It sometimes loses some fine detail, but these aren't things that stand out. The low setting is more cautious and doesn't affect other image elements, but the smoothing itself is much weaker. We'd stick with the medium setting. Another plus is that the function leaves noise and film grain untouched.
Scaling itself also performs quite well. In our shot with the model the details of the clothing and the tree remain clear, so lower-resolution content looks decent on a large screen. There is, however, one drawback: with an SD signal the TV crops the edges of the image, applying so-called overscan. As a result we lose a small portion of the frame.
PANASONIC W92C - Blur and motion smoothness
7/10
Maximum refresh rate of the panel: 144Hz
Film motion smoothing option: Yes
Blur reduction option: Yes
BFI function 60Hz: No
BFI function 120Hz: No
The Panasonic W92C has a 144 Hz panel, which is most useful for PC gaming. For console gaming and sports it's more important how the screen handles 120 Hz. Motion is smooth, though moving objects aren't perfectly sharp. In our UFO test you can see a distinct trail behind it, especially on a dark background. Even so, the W92C is still a better option for fast-paced content than a typical 60 Hz screen. The higher refresh rate gives a noticeable improvement in smoothness, it's just that the panel itself could react faster to colour changes.
Blur (native resolution, maximum refresh rate):
Blur (4K@144Hz):
For movies and TV there's also MEMC motion interpolation, but its settings are fairly limited. You can turn it off or choose one of three presets: "Standard", "Sport" and "Smooth". The settings affect both 24 Hz films and 60 Hz content. However, there's no user mode with two separate sliders, so you can't independently adjust smoothing for films and faster content. The motion interpolation itself works, you just have to accept one of the preset modes. It's also a pity there's no BFI, i.e. black frame insertion, which can improve perceived sharpness in motion.
PANASONIC W92C - Console compatibility and gaming features
8.1/10
- ALLM:
Yes
- VRR:
Yes
- VRR range:
48 - 144Hz
- Dolby Vision Game Mode:
Yes
- Correct implementation of HGIG:
No
- 1080p@120Hz:
Yes
- 1440p@120Hz:
No
- 4K@120Hz:
Yes
- Game bar:
Yes
Panasonic W92C has quite a lot to offer gamers. It has three HDMI 2.1 ports with full 48 Gbps bandwidth, supports 4K gaming at 120 Hz, and when connected to a PC allows up to 144 Hz. There’s also VRR from 48 to 144 Hz, which helps keep motion smooth when frame rates vary, and ALLM that automatically switches to low-latency mode. It also supports Dolby Vision for gaming. The new Game Bar deserves special praise. The big circles known from Panasonic TVs with Fire TV have been replaced by a far more organised panel. At the top you see the key signal information, and at the bottom shortcuts to gaming settings. It looks more modern and is much closer to what the biggest competitors offer. Definitely a change for the better. Not everything is in place, though. There’s no properly functioning HGiG, which helps match HDR in games to the screen’s capabilities. The W92C also doesn’t support 1440p at 120 Hz. That’s a shame, because that mode is especially useful on a PC when you want more frames than in 4K but better detail than Full HD.
PANASONIC W92C - Input lag
9.9/10
The input lag on the Panasonic W92C is very low. At 60 Hz we measured around 15-16 ms, and at 120 Hz only 7 ms. Controller response is therefore quick, and even in fast-paced games there's little to criticise. Dolby Vision also performs well: 17 ms at 60 Hz and 9 ms at 120 Hz. You can comfortably use any format without worrying that input will become noticeably slower.
| SDR | HDR | Dolby Vision |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p60: 16 ms | 2160p60: 15 ms | 2160p60 DV: 17 ms |
| 1080p120: 7 ms | 2160p120: 7 ms | 2160p120 DV: 9 ms |
| 2160p60: 16 ms | ||
| 2160p120: 7 ms |
PANASONIC W92C - Compatibility with PC
9/10
Chroma 444 (max. resolution and refresh rate): Yes
Font clarity: Very Good
Readability of dark text and shapes: Very Good
Input lag in PC mode (4K, max. refresh rate): 7ms
Matrix subpixel arrangement: RGB
Max refresh rate: 144Hz
G-Sync: Yes
Working with a computer is one of the W92C's stronger points. The fonts look really great. They are sharp, legible and don't lose fine details. This also applies to dark text on a dark background, which some TVs struggle with. It's one of the few VA panels that handled our font test so well. The RGB subpixel layout and proper support for chroma 4:4:4 help here, even at maximum resolution and refresh rate. There are also plenty of options for gamers. You get 4K at 144 Hz, functioning G-Sync and input lag of 7 ms. So the Panasonic performs well both for working with text and for gaming. You just need to remember the previously mentioned smearing and the lack of support for 1440p at 120 Hz. However, the clarity of the image from a computer is excellent.
PANASONIC W92C - Viewing angles
3.2/10
Brightness drop at an angle of 45 degrees: 80%
The viewing angles on the W92C are fairly average, which is typical for VA panels. If you sit off to the side the colours start to lose saturation and the picture loses contrast. So it's best to watch the Panasonic straight on. With widely spaced seats or a large corner sofa, people sitting at the edge will see a weaker picture.
PANASONIC W92C - Daytime performance
6.8/10
Panel finish: Matte
Reflection suppression: Very Good
Black levels during daytime: AbsorptiveBlack-Decent
A matte panel is a big plus for the W92C when watching during the day. It disperses reflections very well, so instead of a clear image of a window or lamp you see a more blurred glow. There's also an average brightness of around 555 nits, which is more than enough for watching TV in a typically bright living room. That doesn't mean light falling on the screen stops being a nuisance. The matte coating scatters it over a larger area, making blacks look greyish and reducing contrast. It's easiest to notice this in dark scenes. Despite that, the combination of decent brightness and effective reflection suppression means the Panasonic is quite well suited to everyday viewing without having to draw the curtains.
Panel brightness
Panasonic W92C (Google TV): 555 cd/m2
PANASONIC W92C - TV features
6.6/10
System: Google TV
System performance: Good
- HDMI inputs: 0 x HDMI 2.0, 3 x HDMI 2.1 48Gbps
- Outputs: Toslink (Optical audio), eARC (HDMI), ARC (HDMI), Mini-Jack (Headphones)
- Network Interfaces: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Ethernet (LAN) 100Mbps
- TV reception: DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-C
Classic features:
- Recording to USB (terrestrial TV): No
- Recording programming: No
- Picture in Picture (PiP): No
- RF remote control (no need to aim): RF
- Backlit remote control: No
- Teletext: Yes
- Audio only mode: Yes
- Bluetooth headphones support: Yes
- Simultaneous Bluetooth headphones & TV audio: Yes
Smart features:
- AirPlay: No
- Screen mirroring (Windows Miracast): Yes
- Voice search: Yes
- Voice search in native language: Yes
- Ability to connect a keyboard and mouse: Yes
Google TV
Google TV is a big step forward compared with Panasonic’s older systems, and also improves on the newer Fire TV, which didn’t fully convince us. On the W92C everything runs very smoothly. Navigation through the menus is quick, apps start without long waits, and we found all the services we were interested in. There’s voice search in Polish and Chromecast, which makes casting from your phone easy. It’s a pity there’s no working AirPlay — we couldn’t use it with our newer iPhone.
There were a few minor hiccups. Some Polish translations in the menu sound rather clumsy, and the automatic brightness changes mentioned earlier show the software still needs polishing. Despite that, everyday use is good and the switch to Google TV is definitely one of this model’s strengths.
Classic features
Among the classic features are EPG, teletext and the ability to listen to audio simultaneously through Bluetooth headphones and the TV speakers. Missing, however, are USB recording and picture-in-picture. The remote is simple, has a numeric keypad and doesn’t need to be pointed at the screen. It’s a shame it isn’t backlit, and the build quality could be a bit better. For connecting devices there are three HDMI 2.1 ports with 48 Gb/s bandwidth. There’s also an optical output and eARC, but note the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. That’s becoming rarer and is useful for wired headphones or older audio systems with analogue inputs.
Sound connection options
HDMI audio:
Other audio outputs:
- Toslink: Yes
- Stereo (Mini-Jack): Yes
Wireless audio:
- Bluetooth: Yes
Supported audio formats (external HDMI eARC audio):
- Dolby Digital Plus 7.1: Yes
- Dolby True HD 7.1: Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC): Yes
- Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD: Yes
- DTS:X in DTS-HD MA: No
- DTS-HD Master Audio: No
Senior accessibility
- Numeric keyboard on TV: Yes
- Font size adjustment: Yes
- Audio description: Yes
PANASONIC W92C - Apps
9.6/10
PANASONIC W92C - Playing files from USB
8.7/10
| Maximum photo resolution: | Supported photo formats: |
|---|---|
| 4 Mpix | JPEG |
| 6 Mpix | HEIC |
| 8 Mpix | PNG |
| 10 Mpix | GIF |
| 12 Mpix | WebP |
| 16 Mpix | TIFF |
| 20 Mpix | BMP |
| 24 Mpix | SVG |
| 28 Mpix | |
| 32 Mpix |
Playback of files from USB works smoothly on the W92C. Media load quickly, operation is simple, and the built-in player handles most common video, photo and music files. It's perfectly adequate for an occasional movie or for browsing photos from a USB stick. Just watch out for subtitles. In our tests the TV wouldn't read .sub and .txt files. It's best to convert them beforehand to the .srt format, which worked correctly, including Polish characters.
PANASONIC W92C - Sound
6.7/10
94dB
Maximum volume
Supported codecs (TV speakers)
Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Dolby True HD 7.1
Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus (JOC)
Dolby Atmos in Dolby True HD
DTS:X in DTS-HD MA
DTS-HD Master Audio
The sound on the Panasonic W92C is rather average. Given the additional rear-mounted subwoofer, we expected a slightly fuller sound. However, the bass is still lacking, which is particularly noticeable in music and in more intense movie scenes. So the subwoofer itself doesn’t deliver as much as one might expect. On the plus side, the volume is impressive. In our measurements the W92C reached about 94 dB, so there’s plenty of headroom. For regular TV viewing this setup will do, but simply turning up the volume won’t make up for the missing low end.
Sound Quality Test:
Acoustic Measurements
94dBC (Max)
75dBC
PANASONIC W92C - Panel details
Software version during testing: UKN6.260116.086
Panel uniformity and thermal imaging:
Backlight Type: Mini-LED PFS LED
Founder and originator of the "ChooseTV" portal
Journalist, reviewer, and columnist for the "ChooseTV" portal
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