Panasonic Z85A vs Samsung The Frame 2025 (LS03F)

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.

The Frame LS03F is a television that can surprise with its brightness. The maximum luminance reaches around 650 nits, which already looks solid on paper. But as we know, lab tests are one thing, and real movie scenes tell a completely different story. When watching HDR content in natural conditions, The Frame 2025 maintains very good results. In most film scenes, peak brightness remained at levels of 550–650 nits. This is enough to feel the difference between standard image quality and that of HDR – bright highlights, reflections on water, and moonlight appear clear and impressive.

It’s also worth noting that the LS03F is a QLED television, which translates to solid color saturation. The coverage of the DCI-P3 color space reaches about 92%, allowing for vibrant, intense colors in HDR content. It may not be at the level of top premium models, but for a lifestyle screen, the result truly deserves recognition.

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!

When it comes to image quality right out of the box, even in Filmmaker mode, which is supposed to be the closest to reference, there were issues. In both HD and 4K HDR content, we noticed noticeable deviations in white balance. The image was heavily skewed towards red and blue, giving the screen a characteristic rosy tint. This effect was most visible in bright scenes – for example, in shots with a lot of white, where neutral light should naturally dominate. In such moments, the screen clearly leaned towards pink tones, which can also be seen in the attached comparison photo. As for brightness characteristics – it wasn't as bad as one might expect given such color inaccuracies. Analysis of the gamma curve and EOTF showed a slight brightening of the image compared to the reference, but not enough to drastically affect the perception of the material.

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.

After calibration, the movie mode gained a completely new quality. The issue of pink tint, which had previously been clearly visible, especially in bright scenes, was effectively eliminated. Colors began to look much more natural, and the white balance no longer dominated the rest of the image. It was no longer the same exaggerated “box picture” – everything gained coherence and a cinematic character. Additionally, the tendency of the television to slightly brighten scenes, previously visible in the EOTF curve analysis, was partially corrected. Of course, this was within the limits of what the design allows without local dimming – it’s hard to speak of perfect brightness management here. Nevertheless, the final effect was definitely closer to what one would expect from a mode called Filmmaker.

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.

The LS03F is equipped with the NQ4 processor, which is responsible for improving image quality—especially in lower-quality materials. In practice, it works surprisingly well, particularly with older content and recordings with lower resolution. Activating the "noise reduction" feature yields noticeable effects. The television effectively smooths tonal transitions and removes digital noise that can appear in darker areas of the image. Compared to previous generations, there is a clear improvement—previously, this feature often smoothed everything too much, including details that it shouldn't have removed. In this year's model, the smoothing still occurs, but it is done in a much more acceptable manner. Textures of materials, skin, or fabric details are no longer so heavily muted as before—the image retains more naturalness. However, this does not change the fact that film grain is still removed by the television, which may not be to everyone's liking. On the other hand, it is no longer as aggressive an intervention as in previous models. It is also worth mentioning that the LS03F may struggle with very weak signals—such as recordings from VHS tapes or video in low resolution. In such cases, we noticed slight clipping of the image at the edges—so-called overscan. This can lead to situations where a small part of the image (e.g., subtitles at the bottom edge) gets cut off.

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.

A novelty in The Frame for 2025 is the panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Yes – in a television primarily associated with displaying artwork, you can now not only watch Van Gogh but also comfortably play on a console or follow dynamic sports action. This is a definite step towards greater versatility. In the case of Samsung films, as usual in models with a 120 Hz panel and above, it allows you to adjust motion smoothness according to your own preferences. You can set a more cinematic representation while maintaining frame rate or opt for full motion smoothing. The range of options is wide, allowing you to tailor the effect to your taste – whether the viewing experience is meant to resemble classic cinema or a presentation on a modern theater panel.

*this part of the test refers to the model LS03FAU in sizes 55 and 65 inches, which is equipped with a 144Hz panel; the 43 and 50-inch sizes have 60Hz panels, and therefore perform much worse in terms of motion smoothness.

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.

As we mentioned earlier – although The Frame likely displays images and works of art most of the time, Samsung has recognized that a Van Gogh enthusiast can just as easily be an avid gamer. And it must be admitted that The Frame 2025 has almost everything it needs to become a fully-fledged gaming television.

On board, we find support for ALLM (automatic game mode) and variable refresh rate (VRR) thanks to the implementation of one HDMI 2.1 port. The television handles lower resolutions at higher refresh rates without any issues and features an expanded Game Bar – already known from other Samsung models – which allows for quick previewing and changing of the most important gaming-related settings. For this, it earns additional points from us. The proprietary motion smoother Auto Motion Plus Game also deserves special mention, which – and it's worth emphasizing – works without increasing input lag. Samsung remains the only manufacturer that has managed to implement this feature in a practically noticeable way in terms of delays. The result? Much better fluidity in games, especially those that struggle to maintain stable 60 frames. This solution can realistically improve the gaming experience in more demanding titles – especially on consoles that don’t always manage full fluidity, especially in AAA games.

As for the downsides – the lack of Dolby Vision is already considered standard in Samsung televisions, so there's nothing to particularly complain about here. However, the problem is something entirely different. In the latest version of the Tizen system, the HGiG option has disappeared. Literally – it's not there. This is a significant setback when configuring a console for proper HDR content display in games. It’s hard to understand why such a decision was made, but one thing is certain – this should be fixed as soon as possible. We are talking about a brand that has set standards for gaming on televisions for years. If HGiG comes back – and we hope that it will – The Frame LS03F can confidently aspire to be a true gaming television. Not just as a decoration on the wall, but as equipment that really provides joy in gaming.