Samsung Q60D / Q67D / Q68D vs Panasonic Z95A

The Samsung Q60D television, regardless of the scene being tested, achieves brightness above 500 nits, which is above average for this class of devices. Such a level of brightness allows one to experience a taste of true home cinema, with clearly visible details in bright parts of the image and well-reproduced contrast dynamics, especially when watching content from streaming platforms or movies played from Blu-ray. As a result, film screenings gain greater depth and realism, particularly in well-lit scenes. Despite the use of quantum dot technology (QLED), the television does not achieve outstanding results in colour reproduction. The coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space is only 90%, which may be noticeable in more demanding scenes, where the richness and saturation of colours play a key role in image quality.

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.

Samsung has been offering a "Filmmaker" mode in its televisions for several years, aimed at providing the most faithful picture settings straight from the factory, in accordance with the vision of filmmakers. This is certainly a significant step towards cinematic quality at home; however, it is worth noting that this mode is not without its problems.

For instance, the white balance in both SDR and HDR modes exhibits an excessive amount of red hue, causing the picture to appear too warm. As a result, the skin of actors and bright scenes may seem unnaturally pinkish. The Colour Checker test further confirms this issue – colour samples often shift towards red tones, deviating from the neutral colour reproduction that would be more desirable in a professional setting.

When it comes to contrast, there is a noticeable drop at the beginning of the gamma graph, where values below 2.4 drop all the way down to 2.1. Consequently, the image in darker scenes may appear less distinct, losing depth. In terms of HDR content, the EOTF curve (responsible for brightness reproduction) shows a strong spike at the beginning of the graph, which may lead to excessive brightness in the lighter parts of the image, disrupting the natural tonal balance.

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.

After professional calibration of the Samsung Q60D television in film mode, users can enjoy a significant improvement in image quality. Samsung televisions have always offered 2- and 20-point grey scale adjustments, as well as an advanced CMS (Color Management System), which allows for precise colour and shade adjustments. The white balance for both SDR and HDR has been free from strong spikes and tendencies for colours to shift to red hues, greatly enhancing the naturalness of the image. Although a few more significant errors can still be observed in HDR mode, the overall colour reproduction quality has been excellently improved. Regarding contrast, although drastic changes cannot be mentioned due to limitations in the television's technology, the improvement is noticeable. Thanks to calibration, details in dark scenes are more visible, and the differences between light and dark elements of the image have been enhanced. This makes the overall viewing experience more satisfying, allowing viewers to enjoy greater depth and realism in the displayed content.

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.

However, when it comes to processing and scaling lower quality materials, the television performs quite well. The image is rendered without overscan, which ensures full use of the available screen area. Additionally, the outlines of the model or the branches of the tree are not overly jagged, which translates to a satisfactory quality of the displayed content. Although noise reduction could be more effective, the overall results of processing lower quality materials are positive and meet expectations.

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.

Samsung Q60D is equipped with a 60 Hz panel and a film smoothness enhancement option known as "Motion Blur Reduction." This feature aims to minimise motion blur and enhance overall image smoothness, which will certainly appeal to users who are primarily looking for a television to watch films and series. Thanks to this technology, viewers can enjoy a more fluid visual experience, even in dynamic action scenes where details are crucial. However, it is worth noting that while "Motion Blur Reduction" improves the smoothness of images in films, for gaming, this panel may not be the best choice as it exhibits significant motion blur, which can be seen in the picture below.

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.

Samsung Q60D is equipped with features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), HGiG (HDR Gaming Interest Group) and Game Bar, which significantly enhance the gaming experience. However, the lack of HDMI 2.1 implementation limits capabilities, preventing the use of VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), which could further improve smoothness and picture quality. Overall, for casual gamers, this television should perform well in everyday use, providing satisfactory gaming experiences. However, if we are more demanding in terms of gaming, it is worth considering models with a higher refresh rate and HDMI 2.1, which will ensure full functionality and better support for the latest games. In such cases, investing in a more advanced television will yield significantly better results in terms of smoothness and picture quality, which is crucial for gaming enthusiasts.

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.