LG OLED G4 vs Panasonic Z85A

LG G4 guarantees an incredibly vivid HDR effect, placing the television among the very best. The equipment of the highest model in the producer's 2024 portfolio with the second generation of micro-lens technology (MLA) has achieved a maximum brightness level of 1474 nits in real scenes. The only area where the product from the Korean manufacturer may lag behind LCD televisions with Mini LED backlighting is during the full-screen scenes featuring a lot of white. If we disregard the latter type of scene, the average result would be even higher. It is also worth mentioning scenes with very fine details, where each one shines at full intensity, which is not as evident in non-OLED televisions. The combination of such brightness and wide coverage of the DCI-P3 palette makes HDR materials more engaging than ever before.

The Panasonic Z85A is an OLED television, so one can immediately expect great effects in films. And indeed – our tests have shown that the WOLED panel can achieve around 800 nits of peak brightness in optimal conditions. This is a solid result that performs well in most demanding HDR scenes, allowing viewers to enjoy a dynamic and detail-rich image. However, like any OLED, the Z85A has its limits. In very bright scenes covering the entire screen – such as the final sequence from the film 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 brightly sunlit living room, it is worth keeping this in mind. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 98% also deserves high praise. Thanks to this, the television reproduces a wide range of colours that stand out with vibrancy and depth, and 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 best factory mode in terms of colour reproduction was "Filmmaker". This was the one we used during our tests. Let's check how its characteristics looked before the calibration process. Looking closely at the white balance first, we can notice a significant dominance of red and green. As a result, the image had a warm yellowish hue. Such characteristics are typically observed in "Cinema", "Filmmaker" or similarly named modes. The effect of this colour balance was clearly visible in both SDR and HDR content, which after switching from "Standard" mode appeared distinctly yellow. Now, let's move on to two graphs that are responsible for the brightness characteristics and consequently the contrast of the image. The first one (Gamma), representing materials with a standard colour palette, performed decently. For most of the time, midtones and bright whites were reproduced very accurately; however, it noticeably lost the darkest details, which merged into a black blob. Conversely, HDR materials, represented by the EOTF curve graph, exhibited a significant drop in contrast due to a strong boost in brightness. The colours themselves also posed a problem, as can be seen on the "ColorChecker" graph, since they were noticeably under-saturated.

The Panasonic Z85A offers many picture modes, but the Filmmaker mode definitely stands out from the rest. It is rare for a television to be so well tuned straight out of the box, and the unit we had the opportunity to test really surprised us positively.

However, there were a few minor shortcomings. In the SDR signal, we noticed a slight deficit of red and blue, which resulted in the image having a cooler hue than it should have. This is especially noticeable in the comparative photo. Conversely, in 4K HDR content, the situation was the opposite – an excess of red made the image appear warmer than the creators intended. In terms of brightness characteristics (gamma) and the maintenance of the appropriate EOTF curve, it's hard to find fault. There are slight deviations, but they are so minimal that the average viewer is unlikely to notice them.

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

The manufacturer has implemented extensive support for the calibration process in its LG televisions for many years. We therefore used 2- and 20-point greyscale adjustments, as well as an advanced CMS (Colour Management System), and got to work. As you can see, thanks to the procedure carried out, each parameter has significantly improved. The use of tools allowed for the achievement of extremely beneficial effects, which include: studio colour reproduction, recovery of details in dark areas of the image, appropriate brightness characteristics, and suitable colour saturation. This brings us as close as possible to the reference image, which is what the film director saw on the preview monitor. It is worth noting that the LG G4 televisions alone allow for even deeper intervention in image quality thanks to the ability to calibrate with 3D LUTs. However, this is a solution recommended only for post-production or graphic studios.

The Panasonic Z85A offers truly wide possibilities when it comes to image settings, so we enthusiastically set about calibration. Although we mainly focused on correcting the white balance, the final result exceeded our expectations. Both HD and 4K HDR content now display nearly perfect colour reproduction, with minimal errors that are hard to catch with the naked eye. Well-calibrated televisions are a rarity, and we must admit – it is truly gratifying. Although the gamma and EOTF curve did not require drastic adjustments, it was possible to further stabilise their characteristics across the entire brightness range. After calibration, the Panasonic Z85A is a true gem for home cinema enthusiasts. The image is precise, the colours are natural, and every scene looks exactly as the director intended.

The tested television did not perform particularly well with materials rich in tonal transitions, as a result of which we could observe a strong posterisation effect. However, there is a partial remedy for this issue. The manufacturer has equipped the LG G4 with a smoothing system called "Gentle Gradation," which we can apply at three levels: Low, Medium, and High. Each of these options guarantees quite a high effectiveness of smoothing on light colours, although it is low on darker ones. We recommend primarily using the first one, as the other two interfere with the director's intentions by removing film grain.

When watching lower-quality materials, the efficiency of the television during upscaling is extremely important. The image from the tested television is sharp and clear. However, one should pay attention to the jagged edges of fine details and minor issues around characters, such as the creation of halo effects, which occurs due to the sharpening imposed by LG G4 even when the lowest value on the slider, that is 0, is set. It is worth noting that this represents a certain change compared to the LG G3, which did not impose such strong image sharpening, even when the appropriate slider was set to position 0.

Now that we know how the Panasonic Z85A performs with tonal transitions in 4K content, it’s time to take a look at its "Gradation Smoothing" feature. It works, but unfortunately not entirely effectively. Regardless of the chosen value – whether it’s low, medium, or high – we were unable to achieve perfectly smooth tonal transitions in our test sequence. We recommend setting this feature to an intermediate level. Although it may slightly blur fine details, at least the issue of film grain loss does not occur, which for many viewers can be crucial when watching classic productions.

As for image scaling, the television performs quite well. It’s noticeable that the image is slightly sharpened, and slim lines may at times appear a bit jagged. However, this is standard in most TVs, and fortunately, it can be adjusted using the sharpness slider. This gives us complete control – we can achieve a more plastic, blurred image or a clearer one, although it may be more “harsh” and artificially sharp. It all depends on user preference and the type of content we are watching. Overall, the scaling is at a solid level and should satisfy most users who are using lower resolution materials.

The maximum refresh rate that we can set on the LG G4 is 144 Hz. Naturally, this is only possible when the LG G4 is connected to a very powerful PC. Otherwise, we will operate at a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, which is recommended if we primarily want to watch sports or content with high motion dynamics. For those requiring high image fluidity, the manufacturer has implemented a multi-level motion smoother called "TrueMotion". This has been divided into two separate sliders that adjust the sharpness of moving images (De-Blur) and judder (De-Judder). Both sliders can be set in the range from 0 to 10, with each level affecting the degree of smoothness, allowing everyone to find their golden mean.

The LG OLED G4 panel features an average response time of 0.78 ms (as directly derived from our measurements), enabling an incredibly clear image, unattainable by LCD televisions, which can have response times of several milliseconds. This is perfectly illustrated by the images from the "UFO Test", which show no trailing blur behind the object. Moreover, the LG OLED G4 test revealed that the television offers the ability to precisely adjust the motion smoothing function, allowing users to select the ideal level of image interpolation. We particularly appreciated this during fast-paced actions in video games, where the LG G4 performed exceptionally well, minimising any blurring. Thanks to OLED technology, this model eliminates so-called ghosting, ensuring that the image remains sharp even in the most dynamic sporting or cinematic scenes.

The Panasonic Z85A features a 120 Hz panel, which will certainly please both gamers and sports fans. Admittedly, it is not 144 Hz like some gaming TVs, but in practice, the difference is really hard to notice. In games, the image is stable and clear, and during fast action, there is no sign of any blurring. The same applies to sports – a fast-running footballer or a dynamic car manoeuvre looks smooth and natural. The TV also has the “Intelligent Frame Creation” function, which is a motion smoother. There are two sliders here – one is for reducing blur, and the other is for motion smoothness. With these, you can adjust the image to your own preferences – whether it be more of a cinematic effect with gentle transitions between frames, or a maximally smooth image ideal for watching sports.

The LG G4 television supports all the features that make up the HDMI 2.1 standard. During testing, each of them activated without the slightest problem, which allows us to consider the television as designed for gaming. Their functionality will surely be appreciated by both console users and those connecting the LG G4 to a computer. It is also worth mentioning the correct implementation of the HGIG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) mode, which ensures that games mastered to brightness levels exceeding the maximum luminance of the LG G4 will correctly map tones, and the game's visuals will remain true to the original.

A nice touch is the existence of a special GameBar, which we can call up at any moment to check game parameters, but most importantly, to change them quickly. More importantly, enabling VRR technology does not degrade contrast, which is very common in televisions that feature local dimming or Mini LED backlighting. Of course, this is thanks to the OLED panel itself, characterised by pixel self-emission. As a matter of editorial obligation, we will only mention a slight grey flicker, which is somewhat normal after enabling VRR.

In summary, the LG G4, like practically all OLED televisions, is an ideal product for all kinds of games and online competitions. With fully-fledged HDMI 2.1 connections with a full bandwidth of 48 Gbit, features such as VRR, ALLM, G-Sync, FreeSync, or gaming in HDR Dolby Vision will bring much joy.

Panasonic is mainly associated with home cinema televisions, but the Z85A demonstrates that it can also step into the gaming world with a really strong impact. This hardware can easily be called a gaming beast – it has everything needed for comfortable gameplay.

Although there are 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 key features are supported: ALLM automatically switches the television to game mode, VRR ensures smooth images without stuttering or tearing, and with correctly 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 clear, circular menu. It may not look as impressive as the competition's, but it is intuitive and contains all the important settings we would like to have at hand during gameplay.

In summary – the Panasonic Z85A is equipment that truly surprises with its gaming capabilities. It is a television on which both console gamers and PC players will feel at home. It is smooth, dynamic, and simply good.