Samsung OLED S95D vs Panasonic Z85A

Samsung S95D offers excellent HDR performance, delivering consistent effects across all scenes exceeding values of 1500 nits, except for the fifth, where brightness drops to 800 nits. Despite this, the television maintains a high level of picture quality. A significant advantage of QD-OLED technology is its ability to maintain high brightness even in the smallest elements against a black background, which is rare in LCD and mini LED televisions. As a result, every scene dazzles with strong lighting effects, regardless of the size of the illuminated area. Only in the brightest scenes with large light areas does brightness slightly drop, which is typical even for standard OLEDs produced by LG. Additionally, the quantum dot coating has achieved an unprecedented high coverage of the BT.2020 colour gamut at 88%.

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.

On the Samsung S95D, the mode that best reproduces colours is the Filmmaker mode. We conduct all our tests in this mode. Although initially, the picture in this mode may appear slightly warmer to the viewer, it provides significantly more detail compared to the standard or dynamic mode, which is always oversaturated and artificial. The Filmmaker mode is therefore the most closely aligned with the vision of filmmakers and ideal for watching high-quality content. It is worth noting, however, that the factory settings are not perfect, despite dealing with premium segment equipment. The image may contain certain errors that affect the overall quality of the displayed scenes. An example is drops in red colour in the white balance, both in HD and HDR content. Colour Checker tests showed that the hues lean towards cooler tones. The image is dominated by blue hues, and the entire colour spectrum is distorted. As can be seen in the picture below, the little boy from the film appears in cooler tones, making him look less natural. When it comes to the brightness characteristics for HD content, it is quite accurate, although there are minor errors. The biggest problem arises when displaying 4K HDR content. The EOTF curve, which seems appropriate at first glance in test patterns, shows that the television sometimes "messes" with the image in real film scenes. This causes the picture to be slightly brightened in some scenes and darkened in others.

Samsung S95D offers quite good factory colour reproduction, but it has some shortcomings that may require calibration to fully utilise the potential of this television. The process is recommended to achieve the most natural and immersive image possible.

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!

How much can the picture quality of a television change after calibration? After performing calibration on the Samsung S95D, the white balance was significantly improved, eliminating any major errors, which allowed for a more natural and harmonious colour reproduction. In the case of 4K content, there are only minor imperfections, which do not affect the overall picture quality. Thanks to calibration, viewers can now enjoy more balanced tones, allowing for a better representation of the filmmakers' intentions. The contrast has also improved, and the gamma shows even better results. This means that the differences between the light and dark areas of the image have become more pronounced, translating into better depth and detail in scenes. As a result, shadows gained more detail, and bright areas are no longer overwhelming, providing a more realistic visual experience. However, it should be noted that the EOTF curve is slightly below the expected level, which may affect how the television handles dynamic scenes. Nonetheless, after calibration, the overall picture quality has significantly improved, and viewers can now enjoy a visual experience that is more in line with the filmmakers' intentions. The television handles subtle tonal transitions and contrast better, making it more suitable for watching films and high-definition programmes. Ultimately, the picture after calibration is closely aligned with reference quality, making the visual experience even more satisfying.

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.

How does the television handle tonal transitions in lower-quality materials? Generally speaking, the S95D performs exceptionally well. On the screen with the light bulb, there are virtually no transitions between shades of grey, making it one of the best televisions we have tested in this regard.

Regarding digital processing, the entire image — from branches to model figures — has been well rendered, without any jagged edges or heavily visible contours. However, we must draw attention to one issue: the image is slightly cropped. Nevertheless, the television performs excellently, and details in lower-quality materials are still noticeable and well-defined.

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 Samsung S95D television, equipped with a refresh rate of 120 Hz (and even 144 Hz in the appropriate PC configuration), offers excellent motion smoothness. Samsung provides a variety of image sharpness settings on a ten-point scale, allowing users to adjust the display according to their preferences - whether the image should be more cinematic/frame-like or more theatrical/smooth. In UFO tests, the OLED matrix shows its advantages, eliminating any blurring. The lightning-fast pixel response means that dynamic movements are reproduced with unparalleled precision.

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 Samsung S95D TV is perfectly suited to the needs of gamers, offering four HDMI 2.1 ports that support key features such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and HDR Gaming Interest Group (HGIG). The HDMI 2.1 ports do not provide full bandwidth of 48Gb, but they are still sufficient for achieving appropriate resolution and smoothness. Thanks to these technologies, gamers can enjoy smoother and more responsive gameplay, which significantly impacts comfort and performance during intense gaming sessions. One of the biggest advantages is the Xbox app, which allows for cloud gaming without the need for a console. Through it, gamers can access a wide range of titles directly on the TV, enjoying high image quality and smooth gameplay. Additionally, the S95D offers a Game Bar feature that enables easy management of game settings, including quick adjustments of parameters such as changing the aspect ratio, which can be extremely useful in various games and gaming modes. It is also worth mentioning the support for G-Sync and FreeSync, which is a huge plus for users of Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. Despite the lack of support for Dolby Vision, the TV still offers excellent features that make it an ideal choice for console gaming enthusiasts. Overall, the S95D combines modern technologies with outstanding picture quality, creating a complete package for any gamer.

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.