If you’re looking for a new top-end OLED TV this Black Friday and have cutting edge specifications and authentic picture quality as essential items on your wish list then there’s only one TV I’d recommend: the Panasonic Z95A.
Why? First because both the 55-inch and 65-inch versions have had another hefty discount over the weekend.
Rewards members can buy the 55-inch Panasonic Z95A for £1899 at Sevenoaks Sound and Vision. That’s a £1000 discount on its pre-Black Friday price and the best we’ve ever seen it sell for.
If you need something bigger, rewards members can currently buy the 65-inch Panasonic Z95A for £2599 at Sevenoaks. That is an even larger £1100 saving on its standard price and also the cheapest we’ve ever seen it retail for.
If you're not on Sevenoaks' rewards scheme, don't worry. You just have to sign up for a free account on the store's site to unlock the discount.
The second reason I’m recommending it is pretty simple: as one of the team of reviewers who tested it and gave it a perfect five-star rating earlier this year I can confirm it is THE best option for any movie fan that values realism and authenticity true to the director’s intention.
OLED TVs are generally awesome, thanks to their ability to produce perfect blacks – something no LED, even Mini LED, can do. But the Z95A is one of the latest sets to feature brightness boosting micro lens array (MLA) that let the sets go much brighter than rival, basic OLED sets, including the award-winning LG C4 and Sony Bravia 8.
What makes the Z95A special, even compared to rival sets with MLA such as the LG G4 and Philips OLED909, is that it manages to miraculously take advantage of the tech’s brightness boosting capabilities, without losing Panasonic’s famous control and precision.
During testing I found this makes it a rare beast in the top end of the market and is a key reason, for my tastes specifically, it’s the best option right now – especially with its current Black Friday sale price.
Skin tones and light control are two areas that the Z95A really stands out. Watching a desert battle in Dune: Part 2 the added brightness MLA brings let the sand sparkle and explosions boom with a bloom of extra detail missing on the LG C4 and Bravia 8. But despite this, the characters' skin tones looked warm, but never overbaked and maintained a sense of realism. Competing MLA sets looked a little too warm and "in your face" by comparison.
Moving to the brooding Gotham City locale of The Batman, this Z95A maintained its balance, with a heated car chase retaining shadow detail despite the rapid shifts between bright and dark areas as the Bat Mobile weaved through city lights and explosions.
Trust me, it’s a pretty spectacular experience. Which is why myself and the team hold to our Panasonic Z95A reviews’ conclusion:
“Thanks to Panasonic’s continued focus on delivering an authentic, controlled and balanced picture, the set uses the added brightness in a way that truly improves rather than distracts from what’s happening on screen. If you want a balanced 'as the director intended' movie-watching experience, we’d strongly recommend the Z95A.”
But, before you part with your cash and grab one, be warned, the reason I keeping saying “me” rather than What Hi-Fi? or the royal we, is that this recommendation is specific to cinephiles with similar tastes.
The Z95A is great for us, but if we were to go for the best OLED for most people, we’d stick to our Product of the Year Award winner, the Sony Bravia 8.
Though it can’t match the Z95A’s peak brightness, thanks to its lack of MLA, it is still an amazing performer, based on our testing. It also is a lot cheaper, which is why we generally think most regular movie fans will be better off with it. This especially true right now where you can buy the 55-inch Sony Bravia 8 for £1499 at Amazon (save £500).
As I said when I recommended the Panasonic after its first Black Friday discount last week, the Z95A is for much more focussed viewers with deeper pockets.
MORE:
These are the best 55-inch TVs we’ve tested
We rate the best 65-inch TVs
Our picks of the best Black Friday OLED TV deals
