Panasonic Z85A vs LG OLED B5

The Panasonic Z85A is an OLED television, so you can expect great effects in movies right away. And indeed – our tests show 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 you to enjoy a dynamic and detailed image. However, like every OLED, the Z85A has its limits. In very bright scenes that cover the entire screen – like the final sequence from the movie The Meg – the television reduces brightness to about 400 nits. This is standard behavior for this technology, so if someone plans to watch movies in a brightly lit living room, it's worth keeping this in mind. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut at 98% also deserves a big plus. As a result, the television delivers a wide range of colors that stand out with vibrancy and depth, and details in HDR scenes are sharp and precise. In short – the Panasonic Z85A provides a solid HDR effect that will satisfy any movie enthusiast.

LG B5 is a moderately bright OLED TV. Regardless of the scene, it can generate around 500 nits of peak brightness. And interestingly, it does this even in full-screen shots flooded with white, where most OLEDs usually fall short. So, is this screen suitable for HDR movies? Yes – absolutely, because such brightness really allows you to feel the magic of HDR effects. However, it's worth noting that compared to last year's model B4, the new B5 is darker – by about 100 nits. It may seem like a small difference, but at such average peak values, it makes quite a significant difference. Fortunately, the TV makes up for it with another advantage – excellent coverage of the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color gamut. As a result, HDR movies look really colorful, vibrant, and impressive even in more demanding scenes.

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 impressed us positively.

However, there were some minor shortcomings. In the SDR signal, we noticed a slight deficiency in red and blue colors, which made the image have a cooler shade than it should. This is particularly evident in the comparative photo. Conversely, in 4K HDR materials, the situation was the opposite – the excess of red made the image seem warmer than the creators intended. In terms of brightness characteristics (gamma) and maintaining the appropriate EOTF curve, it is hard to find fault. There are some minor deviations, but they are so minimal that the average viewer is unlikely to notice them.

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

We tested the B5 in Filmmaker mode and... we would like to see more TVs like this straight out of the box. Really. The white balance is set very well – there is practically nothing to complain about. Well, if one were to be very picky, one might notice a slight deficiency in blue, which makes the overall picture have a slightly yellowish tint. But that’s just our editorial nitpicking. Most of you probably won't even notice it. We also have some minor reservations about brightness management in HDR format. The EOTF curve – that is, the one responsible for how the TV distributes brightness in a scene – is slightly below the ideal. In practice, it can happen that the darkest parts of the image may be displayed too dark and simply... disappear. But these are details that only come out in measurements. Overall: we are impressed. But we also know that LG TVs respond very well to professional calibration. They can produce nearly reference-quality images, so – even though it's already very good out of the box – we allowed ourselves to take an extra step and fine-tune everything to perfection.

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

We must admit that we didn't have much work with the LG B5. It's one of those TVs that looks good right from the start, but after calibration… it can really impress. The white balance was brought to almost perfect levels – to a degree of error invisible to the human eye, unless you are a professional colorist with a magnifying glass at the screen. We also managed to control the TV's slight tendency to dim the darkest details, especially in HDR scenes. After proper tuning, everything looks coherent: the black is still deep, but not information-hungry. The highlights retain a natural sparkle, and the colors align with the director's vision. It's really one of those models that show you don't have to spend a fortune to get almost reference-quality image. If you can decide on professional calibration – it's definitely worth it for the B5.

Now that we know how the Panasonic Z85A handles tonal transitions in 4K materials, it's time to look at its "Gradation Smoothing" feature. It works, but unfortunately not entirely effectively. Regardless of the selected value – whether 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. While it may slightly blur fine details, it at least avoids the problem of losing film grain, which can be crucial for many viewers when watching classic productions.

When it comes to image scaling, the television performs quite well. It is evident that the image is slightly sharpened, and thin lines can sometimes appear somewhat jagged. However, this is standard in most televisions and fortunately, it can be adjusted using the sharpness slider. This gives us full control – we can achieve a more plastic, blurred image or a clearer one, though more "harsh" and artificially sharp. It all depends on the user’s preferences 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.

LG B5 really surprised us positively in terms of dealing with lower quality content. Thanks to the enhancement and smoothing features, HD or even SD materials get a new life. Importantly – when this option is turned on at the "low" or "medium" level, we don't get the impression that the image is artificially softened or overly smoothed. Details remain intact, film grain does not disappear, and object edges do not look washed out 😉. It's a really useful tool – especially if you watch terrestrial TV, archival materials, or content from YouTube in lower resolutions. The image is clean, cohesive, and simply pleasant to the eye.

Upscaling as such works very well – even content of poor quality is rendered with surprising fidelity. Unfortunately, there was a small hiccup. While the menu offers an option to turn off overscan, the television still struggles to display very low-resolution images correctly. It’s a minor detail, but when watching older materials – it can be annoying.

The Panasonic Z85A has a 120 Hz panel, which will surely please both gamers and sports fans. Sure, it's 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's no sign of any motion blur. The same goes for sports – a quick run by a soccer player or a dynamic car maneuver looks smooth and natural. The TV also has an "Intelligent Frame Creation" feature, which is a motion smoother. There are two sliders – one for reducing motion blur and the other for motion smoothness. With these, you can adjust the picture to your personal preferences – whether you prefer a more cinematic effect with gentle transitions between frames or a maximally smooth image perfect for watching sports.

The LG B5 is a television with a 120 Hz OLED panel. It may not sound as impressive as the marketing terms "144 Hz" or "165 Hz" found in gaming monitors, but honestly? The smoothness is still excellent. The picture is sharp, smooth, and simply enjoyable to watch – even when there’s a lot happening on the screen. The organic panel does its job – the pixel response time is nearly instantaneous, which means there’s no blurring or smearing that can ruin dynamic shots. Sports, fast-paced games – everything looks clear and distinct.

We also have LG's classic motion smoother, TruMotion. This feature allows you to smooth out films shot at 24 frames per second – in other words, most of what you watch on Netflix or on Blu-ray discs. If you set the “De-Judder” slider to lower values, you'll get an image closer to the cinematic experience – with a slight judder, but without artificiality. Higher settings? Soap opera effect guaranteed. Fortunately, LG gives you the choice, and you can tune everything as you like.

Panasonic is mainly associated with home cinema televisions, but the Z85A shows that it can also enter the gaming world with a really strong punch. This is equipment that can easily be called a gaming beast - it has everything needed for comfortable gameplay.

Even though we only have 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 TV to game mode, VRR ensures smooth images without stuttering and tearing, and with properly implemented HGIG and Dolby Vision, HDR games look really good - colors are vivid, details clear, and dark scenes readable. There is also a Game Bar in the form of a clear, circular menu. It may not look as impressive as with the competition, but it is intuitive and contains all the most important settings that we would like to have at hand during gaming.

In summary - the Panasonic Z85A is equipment that really surprises with its gaming capabilities. It is a television where both console gamers and PC gamers will feel at home. It's smooth, dynamic, and simply good.

There are already a few televisions on the market with the label "for gamers" that don’t really understand what that means. The LG B5 is not one of them. Everything here is right – there are four HDMI 2.1 ports, it has 120 Hz, VRR and ALLM, and it also has a Game Bar that is actually useful, not just looks good in the promotional folder. You connect your console – it works. You set 4K at 120 Hz – it works. You have an Xbox and want to play in Dolby Vision – it works too. And not in the sense of "it theoretically supports it," but rather it really turns on, looks good, and you don’t have to fiddle with the settings for half an hour. On top of that, there’s the HGiG picture mode, which LG has implemented correctly – meaning that HDR in games doesn’t turn the screen into a flashlight but shows exactly what it should. There are no surprises here, no strange limitations, no "buts." And you know what? That’s how it should be. Kudos to the LG B5!