1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best high-end
4. Best mid-range
5. How to choose
6. FAQ
7. How we test
8. Recent updates
If you want a taste of Hollywood right in your lounge, choosing a TV made by Panasonic is a good place to start. Why? Because the company enlists some of the film industry’s top studios and colourists to ensure that its TVs deliver a picture that’s as close to the director’s vision as possible.
But which one do you go for? That’s where we come in. Every year we test the latest Panasonic sets to find the ones most worthy of an Oscar (or, more likely, an equally highly coveted What Hi-Fi? Award). Every TV on this list has been thoroughly evaluated by our team of experts, who judge each one based on picture performance, sound quality, general usability and features. Only the products that score highest in those areas make it onto one of our Best Buy lists like this one you're reading right now, and you can read more about the testing process at the bottom of this page.
One of Panasonic’s longest-standing collaborators is Stefan Sonnenfeld, described by NPR as "the da Vinci of the movies", so if you want a TV that’ll take your film nights to the next level, take a look below at our current favourites.
I'm What Hi-Fi?'s TV and AV Editor, and in the 16 years that I’ve been testing home cinema products I’ve learned a lot about what makes a good TV. I’m also a bit of a movie buff, so Panasonic’s connections with Hollywood really appeal to me. I’ve been known to put in the odd lap or 50 on Forza Motorsport, too, so I know what to look for when it comes to gaming features and performance as well.
Recent updates
29th May 2024: Added an FAQ section.
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The quick list
Best overall
This affordable OLED is the most appealing TV in Panasonic’s range for most people.
Best high-end
Panasonic’s flagship OLED has a built-in soundbar and delivers a brilliantly bright picture.
Best mid-range
Bypass the built-in speakers and this mid-ranger is capable of putting in a very decent performance.
The best Panasonic TV overall
The Panasonic MZ1500 is the latest rival to the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Sony A80L as the best OLED for most people. With subtle but accurate picture quality, it's the best performance-per-pound model in the firm's latest OLED range.
The built-in speaker will be a godsend to some, but a pain to those looking to add their own soundbar. The MZ1500 misses out on the dedicated up- and side-firing drivers of the flagship MZ2000. But last year's swivel stand makes a welcome return – this makes it easy to place and angle the TV, as well as to access the rear ports.
The MZ1500 has the same OLED EX panel as the LG C3, so it's in good company. But Panasonic has tuned and optimised it to boost the brightness and colour accuracy – hence the Master OLED Pro branding. This is all powered by the same HCX Pro AI processor as seen in the MZ2000 (below).
Gamers will be pleased by the True Game Mode and Dolby Vision gaming support, but less so with the two HDMI 2.1 ports (LG's C3 has four). And while the app selection is good, it does have some holes – you only get Apple TV+ instead of the full Apple TV app, and there's no GeForce Now, Xbox or Steam Link.
Filmmaker Mode provides a suitably accurate picture that's really authentic. Skin tones are warm, motion smooth and the picture is bursting with detail. That's the MZ1500 all over – it favours a subtle, authentic performance over the garish 'pop' of some rivals.
As for the built-in speaker bar, it is better than most TVs' integrated speakers, but that's not saying much. There's more bass than most TVs manage, but it soon starts rattling, and it can't place sounds with as much accuracy as the Sony A80L. As we always say: get a soundbar.
But for the money, this is the best TV Panasonic currently offers.
Read the full Panasonic MZ1500 review
The best high-end Panasonic TV
Panasonic's flagship OLED TV brings MLA tech (also used by LG's G3) to up the brightness. But that's not the only trick up its sleeve – its built-in sound system has the same speaker bar as the MZ1500, but with added side-firing and up-firing drivers.
The excellent Filmmaker Mode can adjust to your room's ambient lighting conditions, not only for brightness but colour temperature, too. The MZ2000 is one of the few TVs to play nice with every current format of HDR, but it is missing some apps like Now and Discovery+ (which is home to TNT Sports and the UEFA Champions League). Gamers are well served by True Game Mode, 4K/120Hz, VRR (Freesync, G-Sync and ‘standard’) and ALLM. But it's not all good news: the Dolby Vision game mode tops out at 60Hz rather than the full 120Hz, and you only get two HDMI 2.1 ports to the LG C3's four.
The picture is noticeably brighter and more impactful than the non-MLA MZ1500, and it digs up plenty of detail. Colours are subtle and nuanced, with plenty of room for manoeuvre between the inky blacks and stark whites. Motion is also excellent.
Sonically, it's more heavyweight than its rivals, thanks to the built-in speaker bar. But again, it struggles with placement, and the overall sound lacks crispness and definition. If you have the money, and can add your own home cinema system, this flagship is definitely one for the shortlist.
Read the full Panasonic MZ2000 review
The best mid-range Panasonic TV
Panasonic's more affordable 2023 OLED TV follows the Award-winning LZ980. But times have changed, with Sony's A80L the current Award-winner in the same price category.
The MZ980 still holds its own. You get a more basic stand than the MZ1500 or MZ2000 (it doesn't swivel), and there's no built-in speaker bar, which does make a separate soundbar a more practical choice. The screen panel also hasn't been tuned like those of Panny's pricier models. But it features the same processor, though it does suffer from the same app omissions as its pricier stablemates.
It gives a similarly balanced picture as the MZ1500, with fantastic detail, but it's not as bright as the middle child in Panasonic's OLED range. The knock-on effect is a narrower colour range. But skin tones remain very authentic and lifelike, and the level of shadow detail is impressive for a TV this price.
Sonically, it leaves a lot to be desired. The speakers rattle even at moderate volumes, and any injection of bass prompts some distortion. As ever, we advise a soundbar.
Overall, Sony's A80L is the better TV at this price. But if it's a Panasonic you're after, the MZ980 is still a very good option.
Read the full Panasonic MZ980 review
How to choose the best Panasonic TV for you
It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by how many people don’t take screen size into consideration when shopping for a new TV. While a big TV might physically fit into the space you have available, you also have to think about the size of your room and how far away from the screen you’ll be sitting. If you haven’t bought a new TV for a while, bear in mind that screen bezels tend to be slimmer than before, so you might be able to accommodate something larger than you’ve currently got.
Panasonic still makes a few HD TVs, but everything on our list is 4K, so there’s no need to make a choice over resolution. The company hasn’t joined Samsung and LG on the 8K bandwagon either, so you don’t have to think about whether you want to futureproof yourself despite the lack of 8K content, and with most modern Panasonic TVs supporting all of the major HDR codecs (HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision), there’s no danger of being denied seeing certain content at its best.
From a technical point of view the biggest question you’ll probably need to ask yourself is whether you want an OLED or LCD model. We only have the former on the list above, because Panasonic's OLEDs are among the best you can buy from any manufacturer, and we always recommended spending the extra cash on one if you can afford it. The improvements they offer in picture quality are very much worth it.
Panasonic TV FAQ
What is Filmmaker Mode?
Modern TVs are packed with modes and settings that are designed to make the picture look better, but plenty of Hollywood hotshots have complained in the past that they actually do the opposite. Panasonic solves that issue by including Filmmaker Mode, which overrides any processing features and ensures that the aspect ratio, frame rate and colour settings make the movie look exactly as the director intended.
Filmmaker Mode isn’t exclusive to Panasonic TVs, it was developed by the UHD Alliance, which also includes Samsung, LG, and Hisense, but it’s definitely something worth taking into account when you’re shopping for a new TV. You can read more about how Filmmaker Mode came about here.
Why are there so many different HDR formats?
The AV industry is no stranger to a format war – remember VHS vs Betamax, or Blu-ray vs HD DVD? – and HDR is no different, although this conflict is definitely on the colder side. There are four main HDR codecs, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision, and while they're developed by different companies they all do largely the same thing, just in slightly different ways.
Fortunately, a single TV can support more than one, and all three Panasonic TVs above work with the full quartet of codecs. Having so many different options only really serves to confuse the consumer, hence articles like this one that fully explain the differences, but if you buy one of these Panasonic TVs you’ll know you're good to watch all of them.
What’s so special about HDMI 2.1?
How bothered you need to be about HDMI 2.1 right now depends largely on whether you’re a big gamer or not. HDMI 2.1 supports Dynamic HDR at 4K/120fps, and while most films are shown in 24fps, and TV shows tend to be either 25fps or 30fps, current-gen games consoles can pump out much higher frame rates, so you need at least one HDMI 2.1 socket on your TV to get the best out of them.
One thing to be wary of is that one of the HDMI 2.1 ports is sometimes the one you’ll need to use if you have a soundbar that works over eARC, so if you own both an Xbox Series X and a PS5, and don’t want to constantly be messing about with your HDMI cables, you’ll need enough compatible sockets to accommodate all your kit.
How we test the best Panasonic TVs
Every TV we review at What Hi-Fi?, no matter whether it’s made by Panasonic or one of the other manufacturers, is put through the same rigorous testing process. But what exactly does that involve?
You can read a full breakdown of what happens behind the doors of our world-class testing facilities in London, Bath and Reading, but the short version is that having these dedicated facilities allows our team of expert reviewers to have complete control over the environment, ensuring the testing conditions are always the same.
All of the Panasonic TVs listed above were tested on their own for dedicated reviews, but all products we test are also put up against rival products in the same price category so we can make informed decisions about which ones are the very best, not just those that impress in isolation.
From all of those reviews our team compiles Best Buy guides like this one, using over 100 years of combined testing and writing experience to ensure that only the most deserving products make the cut. That means if you choose something from this list, or any of the others like it, you can be sure you’ve got a What Hi-Fi?-approved product heading your way.
Recent updates
- May 2024: Revised the 'Intro', 'How to Choose', and 'How We Test' blocks. Added a new FAQ section, picture galleries and 'Author' block.
- Our pick of the best LG TVs available
- And the best Sony TVs