Compare: Panasonic Z95A vs TCL A300W NXTVision

During the Panasonic Z95A tests, we felt as though we were holding a television that deserves to be called one of the best on the market. When it comes to picture quality, it is exceptional! The OLED with infinite contrast, perfect blacks, and incredible brightness makes watching films a pure pleasure. The micro lens array (MLA) truly made a difference. Thanks to it, the picture gained not only in brightness, reaching a spectacular 1500 nits in HDR content but also improved viewing angles - which are already quite good in regular WOLED panels. As a result, every scene looked so realistic that we felt as if we were part of it. We also checked how it performs in various lighting conditions – it impressed without exception in both dark and bright rooms. We couldn't complain about the sound either. The built-in soundbar with Dolby Atmos surprised us with its spaciousness and dynamics, which is usually lacking in speakers integrated with televisions. This is really solid support for cinematic experiences. The Panasonic Z95A does not disappoint gamers either. We tried out its gaming features – support for ALLM, VRR, a 144 Hz panel, and playing in Dolby Vision at 120 Hz are things that every avid gamer will appreciate. Additionally, there are practical extras such as the ability to record to an external disk and a PiP function, which enhance everyday use of the television. Of course, we also noticed some downsides. The Fire TV operating system from Amazon, although better than in older models, still has its flaws. The absence of certain popular apps, such as Player.pl or TVP VOD, and poorly executed translations in the interface can be frustrating at times, especially in a television in this price range. Panasonic Z95A is a television with a capital "P" like premium. It impresses with its image quality, sound, and functionality. However, its high price may deter some, especially when there are devices on the market offering similar capabilities at a much lower price. However, if the budget is not an issue, Z95A is a television that delivers cinematic experiences at absolutely the highest level.

At first glance, it is clear that the TCL A300 NXTVision aims to be more than just an ordinary television. It offers an image display mode that – unlike its competitors from Korea, Samsung The Frame – is completely free. Additionally, just like its rivals, it comes with freebies. In the packaging, besides the television, we find extra frames mimicking light wood and a flat wall mount, allowing the television to actually resemble a gallery piece. In terms of everyday use, the standout feature is the Google TV system – extensive, quick, and offering access to a vast number of applications. And if we feel like stepping out of the digital museum and jumping straight into the world of gaming, the A300 can surprise us. Two HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz, VRR, ALLM, and very low input lag ensure that even demanding gamers can feel at home here. Well... perhaps except for those who are sensitive to motion blur – as this remains one of the major issues with this model. There are also downsides. Although the image mode is free – and that is worth appreciating – the quality of the available graphics is clearly lacking compared to what Samsung offers in its paid ART Store. The displayed images resemble photos rather than realistic reproductions of artworks. Unfortunately, the A300 – like the rival Hisense S7NQ – performs poorly here and additionally has certain software issues. The brightness of the television itself also leaves much to be desired – it is the darkest television of the entire "frame trio," which translates to average experiences during the day and limited HDR effect. Nevertheless, the TCL A300 NXTVision is quite a reasonable alternative to Samsung The Frame or S7NQ – especially if we are looking for a cheaper solution without additional fees for access to the "gallery" mode and with an operating system that does not limit us in terms of the number of applications. However, it is essential to remember that this is a proposition with a significant amount of compromises. If we want to save a bit and do not expect top-notch picture quality, then the A300 could be a hit in the picture stakes. Otherwise, it is worth taking a look at its competition.

The contrast and black levels in the Panasonic Z95A television are at a level that captures the attention of even the most discerning viewers. The Z95A, as befits an OLED, delivers remarkable results in this area. In every tested scene, the contrast is practically infinite, translating into excellent image quality in real-world conditions. During the screening of the film Oblivion, one can see how light sources, such as lamps, fall on the actor, creating an incredibly realistic effect. The Z95A Panasonic reproduces these black details with impressive precision, making even subtle differences in brightness and lighting stand out clearly. As a result, viewers experience a sense of depth and naturalness in the image that is hard to find in LED televisions, which often offer various types of compromises.

The TCL A300, also known as NXTVision, uses a VA panel, so right from the start, one could expect decent contrast. On our test charts, the television indeed showed typical results for this type of panel – in the best case, the contrast reached around 5000:1, which is not a bad result for this segment.

However, it should be noted that the model is not equipped with any local dimming technology, which unfortunately is noticeable in practice. The black levels, though quite deep at times, often lean towards navy blue or grey – especially in darker scenes. In short: for a television without local dimming, it's not bad, but it cannot be compared to models that already have this feature on board.

Panasonic Z95A showcases class when it comes to HDR performance. In luminance tests, it achieves a level of 1800 nits, which has a real impact on movie watching. Scenes from Life of Pi or Gemini Man look fantastic – the television effortlessly renders details and intensity of bright spots, impressing with its power. In more demanding moments, like the final scene from The Meg, one can see how bright light floods the screen. In such moments, brightness drops, which is typical for organic matrices. Nevertheless, a result around 1000 nits can still be considered excellent, still providing very good image quality. Additionally, the television offers excellent coverage of wide colour palettes – as much as 98.6% for DCI-P3 and 74.5% for BT.2020. Thanks to this, colours are not only vivid but also deeply saturated, allowing for a full appreciation of the richness of details, especially in HDR scenes. Such coverage makes the hues look more realistic, and the HDR effect gains in intensity and accuracy. All this impressive HDR effect is thanks to MLA technology, which enables achieving such high luminance and excellent image detail. Because of this, the Panasonic Z95A offers HDR at a level that truly makes a difference.

When it comes to brightness, the TCL A300W is definitely the darkest television among all frame-style models, such as Samsung The Frame or Hisense CanvasTV – and unfortunately, this is immediately noticeable. In our measurements, the peak luminance reached a mere 400 nits, and on test film patterns, this value dropped to 350 nits. This is definitely too little to experience the true “magic” of bright HDR effects. As a consolation – the television is equipped with a PFS LED coating (which is something like QLED), providing very good coverage of a wide colour gamut, both DCI-P3 and BT.2020. In addition, it has full support for all popular HDR formats – HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision – which somewhat compensates for the lack of brightness and helps improve the overall perception of content in this quality.

The best picture mode on the Panasonic Z95A is undoubtedly the Filmmaker mode. It offers quite a good image reproduction, but it is not free from certain issues that require improvement. Firstly, the white balance, for both 4K and HD content, tends to have a dominance of red and blue hues. This causes a slight pinkish tint to the image, particularly noticeable in bright, white scenes. Such deviations can be seen in the comparative photo below, which illustrates this issue well. The Colour Checker test also confirms these discrepancies, showing slight shifts in the dots towards the mentioned shades.

In terms of gamma brightness characteristics, it performs very well, with only minor problems when brightening small details. A greater challenge is posed by the EOTF curve, which is responsible for controlling brightness in 4K HDR content. Here, there is a slight boost in brightness above the reference value, which sometimes makes the image too bright, especially in more demanding scenes. Although the Filmmaker mode is definitely the best choice on the Z95A, these aspects require refinement to fully utilise the television's potential.

TCL A300 offers several picture modes, but without a doubt, the best is the movie mode. Unfortunately, although it is the best option available, it is not free from errors. In both HD and HDR content, the image has a noticeably too warm hue - it leans slightly towards pink, which is particularly noticeable in scenes with snow. Instead of pure white, we get a pinkish tint that spoils the natural perception of colours.

The management of brightness is also not very good. In the case of older HD material, the image often seems too dark - which is confirmed by the inflated gamma value. Conversely, with HDR content, the effect is the opposite - the image is overly bright, which we observed in scenes from the film Pan. Such a lack of consistency also affects the accuracy of colour reproduction - a test with the ColorChecker showed that many samples clearly deviate from the reference values.

Fortunately, TCL allows for manual adjustment of settings, so we decided to check how the television would perform after our professional calibration. The effects of this adjustment are described below.

After calibration, Panasonic Z95A shows its full potential, offering an almost perfect picture. The television provides immense adjustment capabilities, which we have fully utilised. The white balance after calibration is positively perfect, and errors in SDR content at the level of 0.5 place it in an absolutely reference standard. The same is true for 4K HDR content – the screen tint has been completely eliminated, and the white balance is now exemplary.

The colour palette and Colour Checker test confirm the excellence of the calibration. Errors below 2 are a result that will satisfy both professional calibrators and enthusiasts of cinematic picture quality. Significant changes have also occurred in the brightness characteristic – the EOTF curve has been flattened, eliminating previous issues with excessive brightness. And a small gamma error has been reduced.

Before calibration, the picture was decent, but now it's an entirely different league. It's a real feast for the eyes, the quality of which is hard to compare to anything else. Panasonic Z95A, after fine-tuning the settings, becomes a true master of colour reproduction.

After our professional calibration, the TCL A300 has literally received a new lease of life. The image has stopped being too warm, and the colours finally look as they should – which was confirmed by the ColorChecker test, where the colour samples finally started to hit their marks, at least to some reasonable extent. It was also possible to partially correct the brightness management – the image is now more balanced and less "wobbly" between different types of content. Of course, certain limitations cannot be overcome – a slightly noticeable blooming effect is still present, but that is a characteristic of the technology and not something that can be eliminated even after professional settings.

Generally speaking: after calibration, the A300 performs significantly better and gains a completely new quality.

The tonal transitions in Panasonic Z95A are not disastrous, but in this class of devices, one can expect more. The television struggles with smoothly blending colours, both in dark and light shades. In more demanding scenes, minor imperfections are visible, which can affect the visual experience, particularly for more discerning users. While this is not a disqualifying factor, it is an aspect that needs improvement, especially considering the price and ambitions of this model.

TCL A300 NXTVision is another frame-style television that handles transitions of tones really well. It's hard to find distinct bands or sharp transitions between shades of the same colour – the overall appearance is natural and smooth.

However, it must be admitted that among the three tested models (The Frame and S7NQ), TCL performs the worst in this category. In darker and lighter scenes, slight imperfections can be noticed. Nonetheless, looking at it as a whole, for a television in this price range – it presents itself really solidly. It may not be the best of the bunch, but it maintains a very good level.

In the case of lower quality materials, the function "Gradation Smoothing" is responsible for smoothing tonal transitions. The best results are achieved with an intermediate setting – although they are not spectacular, the function works correctly and does not introduce unwanted effects into the image. It can be rated as average, but sufficient to improve the quality of tonal transitions.

As for digital processing, or upscaling, the image looks surprisingly good. It is vivid and pleasant to the eye, which makes lower quality content, such as standard television or YouTube, look quite decent. However, minor issues can be noted, such as "jagged" edges, for example, branches in the background. Nevertheless, this does not significantly affect the overall viewing experience, and the television handles these materials in an acceptable manner.

TCL A300 handles tonal transitions in high-quality films very well, but the question arises – how does it perform with weaker material? The television is equipped with a tonal transition smoothing function, but its effectiveness can be described in one word: "random." In one scene it could work and improve the gradation, but when turned off… the effect remains the same. There is a lack of consistency and predictability.

Image scaling is also not one of A300's strong points. On the test chart, the main character actually looked better than on the raw signal, but with thin lines – such as fonts or background details – there was noticeable jaggedness and aliasing. On the positive side, the television does not crop the image and has no problems with overscan, but the overall quality of scaling is rather average.

Panasonic Z95A, thanks to its 144 Hz panel, offers excellent image fluidity. For films, there is an "Intelligent Frame Creation" feature that enhances fluidity and reduces motion blur. The user has two sliders at their disposal: "Motion Blur Reduction" – responsible for clearer and sharper details in rapidly moving scenes. "Film Smoothness" – adds fluidity by creating additional frames between the originals, making motion appear smoother and more natural with a "soap opera" effect.

Thanks to this, viewers can adjust the settings to their own preferences. Films and less dynamic material look smooth and natural, which should satisfy most users.

The TCL A300 is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, which should immediately satisfy practically everyone – both gamers and sports fans. The motion is smooth and the image is clear even during fast-paced scenes. Additionally, the television offers motion enhancement functionality called "Motion," where we find two sliders on a 10-point scale. These allow you to adjust the effect to your own preferences – from a classic, cinematic look with visible frames to a very smooth (though somewhat unnatural) image reminiscent of soap opera effects. This way, everyone can find a setting that suits them.

Panasonic Z95A this year shows that the manufacturer has made a huge leap forward in terms of support for gamers. The television offers virtually everything one could expect from a device in this bracket. Support for ALLM (automatic low latency mode) and VRR (variable refresh rate) ensures smoothness and eliminates tearing in dynamic games. The 144 Hz panel allows for incredible fluidity, and additional support for resolutions other than 4K provides greater flexibility, which is a significant advantage for gamers using various configurations.

A unique and quite specific feature is the "Game Bar." Its ball-shaped interface stands out from the competition and allows for quick adjustments of key settings such as VRR, brightness level, or picture mode, without having to interrupt gameplay.

However, in this class of device, there is a minor disappointment – the Panasonic Z95A offers only two HDMI 2.1 ports, instead of four. This is definitely too few for a premium television, especially at a time when many people own more than one device requiring full HDMI 2.1 support, such as a next-gen console or an advanced computer. In this category, it's hard to accept this limitation, especially given the high aspirations of this model. Nevertheless, the television is an excellent choice for gamers, offering versatility and functionality at the highest level.

TCL A300 is a television designed not only to transport us to a digital art museum but also to a full-fledged gaming world. Here, we find practically everything one could expect from gaming equipment: two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, 144 Hz refresh rate, VRR support, and ALLM.

The proper implementation of the HGIG mode also deserves praise – something that competitor Hisense sometimes struggles with. The television easily handles lower resolutions (e.g., Full HD) while maintaining high refresh rates, which older console or PC owners will appreciate.

In addition, there is an attractive and clear GameBar that facilitates quick access to settings for gamers. The A300 is really well-prepared for top-level gaming – it's just a shame that issues with smearing slightly tarnish its overall image as a gaming device.

Panasonic Z95A delights with an exceptional level of input lag, making it one of the best choices for gamers in its class. Regardless of the mode, the television achieves results of around 13 ms at 60 Hz and just 5 ms at 120 Hz, ensuring incredibly smooth and responsive gameplay. Moreover, Panasonic allows playing in Dolby Vision mode with minimal delays. Well done!

In terms of input lag, the TCL A300 performs really well. Values below 10 ms at a refresh rate of 120 Hz are something many gamers dream of – such low lag is practically unnoticeable, both during everyday gaming and in more demanding e-sports titles. One might criticise the result of 23 ms in Dolby Vision mode at 60 frames, but it is still a sufficiently low value that it's hard to have serious objections. In this category, the A300 really excels.

Panasonic Z95A works excellently with computers, offering full chroma 4:4:4 support, which translates to very good font readability. However, one should bear in mind the characteristic way of displaying text of WOLED matrices with a white subpixel, which may be noticeable during prolonged work with documents or browsing websites. This is something worth considering if the television is to be used as a work monitor.

Additionally, the support for G-Sync technology is a plus, which is a great addition for gamers using NVIDIA graphics cards. This means that the Z95A provides smooth gameplay without tearing and delays, making it a versatile device for both work and play.

If we plan to use the TCL A300 as a monitor for a computer, we may be pleasantly surprised. The television performs really well in this role. It is equipped with a 144 Hz panel, supports G-Sync, and, as we have already mentioned, offers very low input lag, so gaming on it with a connected PC is a pure pleasure.

Working with text is also possible, though with some limitations. The TCL A300 has slight issues displaying dark fonts and thin lines – this stems from the subpixel structure, which in everyday use can be somewhat bothersome, although it looks better in photos than in reality.

The television supports chroma 4:4:4, but only up to 120 Hz. Therefore, we have indicated that this feature is available, but with a limitation – if we care about perfectly readable fonts, it is advisable to stick to a refresh rate of 120 Hz. At 144 Hz, the sharpness of the text may suffer slightly.

The viewing angles on the Panasonic Z95A are excellent, thanks to the use of an OLED panel with MLA technology. This ensures that the picture remains clear, full of detail, and without visible colour shifts even at large angles. In practice, this means that regardless of where we are watching the television from, the picture quality remains at the highest level.

In this respect, the Z95A ranks among the very best, competing for the title of leader with televisions based on QD-OLED panels (Samsung and Sony). It is difficult to find anything better on the market, making this model an ideal choice for larger rooms or screenings with family and friends, where everyone can enjoy a perfect picture.

The viewing angles on the TCL A300 NXTVision are – let's be honest – mediocre. The television is equipped with a VA panel, which inherently has rather limited angles and unfortunately this is evident here. The video below speaks for itself – even a slight deviation from the axis results in a noticeable drop in contrast and colour saturation. It's a shame that this is yet another frame-style television that has done absolutely nothing about it. After all, we don't always have the opportunity to sit perfectly straight on – especially if the device is also intended to serve a decorative function in the living room.

Panasonic Z95A is equipped with a glossy panel that manages to reduce reflections quite well. However, due to the use of micro lens array (MLA) technology, blacks in bright environments may take on a slightly cherry hue, which is particularly noticeable in brightly lit rooms. In terms of brightness, the average SDR value is around 500 cd/m², which comfortably allows for enjoyable viewing of the television in most living rooms. However, it should be taken into account that in very sunny conditions or with intense artificial lighting, this brightness may prove insufficient to fully eliminate reflections and maintain perfect contrast. Nonetheless, in typical home conditions, Z95A performs very well.

The TCL A300 NXTVision is equipped with a matte panel very similar to the one found in one of its Chinese competitors – the Hisense S7NQ model. Such a surface handles reflections fairly well, although it must be said that it performs worse than Samsung's The Frame, which offers a significantly higher level in this regard. As is often the case with matte displays, blacks lose their depth during the day and appear more gray than black – and this is no different here. Unfortunately, the fact that the A300 is the darkest television of the three tested does not help either. As a result, it has a real problem standing out in brightly lit rooms.

Panasonic Z95A introduces a new operating system, which we believe is a very good move compared to last year's MZ2000 model. The system is called Fire TV and was created by Amazon. It is a novelty in the Polish market, distinguished by its fluidity and responsiveness, providing convenient operation and quick performance in everyday use.

Despite numerous advantages, the system still has a few shortcomings. We won’t find some popular applications on it, such as SkyShowtime, as well as Polish streaming services like Player.pl or TVP VOD. Another drawback is the quality of the interface translation – many functions have been translated in a rather imprecise manner, giving the impression that the translation was done "on the fly". Some names are incomprehensible, especially for those who haven't previously encountered other televisions, which can complicate the use of the device.

In terms of user functions, Z95A performs very well. It includes options such as USB recording, support for the PiP (picture-in-picture) function, AirPlay, and Miracast. As a result, the television offers versatility and meets most of the demands of modern users, although the Fire TV system still requires refinement to fully compete with more established solutions on the market.

The TCL A300 is a television styled to resemble a painting, which can successfully masquerade as a work of art during everyday use, hanging on the wall. It is equipped with a special image display mode, additional frames in a light wood tone, and a flat wall mount that allows the television to be hung like a true picture – flush against the wall.

A significant advantage of the image mode is that it is completely free. We have access to dozens of works from which we can choose the one to be displayed in standby mode – instead of a black screen, the picture we selected remains on the wall. The quality of the graphic reproductions is decent, but it must be admitted that it clearly falls short of that from the Samsung ART Store. Although access to images there is paid, the quality of the scans is significantly better – you can see the texture of the paint, the canvas, and the details. In the TCL A300, it resembles high-quality photographs more than realistic reproductions of artworks. Additionally, the implementation of the image mode in the system leaves much to be desired. For example – if we set the brightness in image mode to 10%, that same value automatically transfers to the normal viewing mode, where we could comfortably set the brightness to 50% or even 100%. This works in the opposite direction too – when we set the brightness to 100% in normal mode, switching to gallery mode displays the images with that same maximum brightness, shining too intensely and losing the entire effect of a “picture on the wall.” These are minor but annoying errors that can ruin the experience of what was intended to be visually subtle and elegant.

Moving on to more classic features – the A300 runs on the Google TV system, which currently offers by far the largest selection of applications (the full list available below). The well-functioning voice assistant with support for the Polish language is also a major plus. As standard – as in most TCL televisions – the USB recording function or picture-in-picture (PiP) mode is missing.

As we mentioned earlier, the Fire TV system in the Panasonic Z95A has some issues with support for the Polish language, which is unfortunately also noticeable when playing files from a USB drive. The built-in media player does not allow for the correct display of Polish characters, such as "ź", "ć" or "ł", which can be inconvenient for users relying on local subtitles for films. If the correct display of Polish characters is important to the user, it may be necessary to use an external application available in the Amazon store or to stream content through other devices.

The built-in player in the TCL A300 works as it should – most popular video and photo files play without any issues. There is a lack of support for the HEIC format from Apple (which is quite common in many televisions), but most users still use AirPlay, so this shouldn't be a major problem. If someone is not satisfied with the default player, the Google TV system offers considerable options – it's easy to install an alternative app that better suits our tastes. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that the factory solution is entirely sufficient for everyday use.

The sound in Panasonic Z95A is one of its strong points, mainly thanks to the built-in soundbar, which provides impressive audio experiences. Dolby Atmos support makes the sound spatial and full of depth, perfectly fitting into the cinematic experience. Both dialogues and sound effects are clear and dynamic, which will satisfy even the most demanding users. Unfortunately, there is a lack of support for the DTS format, which may be disappointing for those using films or content that require it. Nevertheless, the overall sound quality in Z95A is at a very high level and successfully replaces external audio systems (at a reasonable price) in most home applications.

When it comes to sound, the TCL A300W – like its competitors – plays quite... flat, after all, we are talking about a super flat television. For everyday watching of news or series, this level is entirely sufficient, but during film screenings, we may clearly miss depth and space. On the plus side, it is worth noting that the television supports both Dolby Atmos and the increasingly rare DTS:X – which offers more options when connecting an external audio system. It is also worth mentioning that the A300 PRO model has been equipped with a dedicated, flat soundbar. And not just any soundbar – it performs better than most of the televisions we have tested.

Panasonic Z95A vs TCL A300W NXTVision

Advantages

Disadvantages

Our verdict

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

TV efficiency during daytime

Details about the matrix

TV features

Playing files from USB

Apps

Sound