Verdict
You cognise a TV ’s pictures are something special when it catch five stars despite being a bit chunky , not all that bright , and sound like an asthmatic
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Panasonic is n’t the shoutiest TV brand around , and that mean its products can sometimes get lost in the shuffle .
But its report among Hollywood professionals is second to none , and it ’s adequate to of sprain out some profoundly competitory television . So does this TX-42LZ980 – the small manakin in Panasonic ’s entry - point - but - one OLED kitchen stove – enhance that report , or does it get swim out by some shoutier alternatives ?
The Panasonic TX-42LZ980 is on sales event and in the United Kingdom it ’s available for around £ 1199 . Panasonic decided it ’s well off pulling out of both American and Australian TV markets some yr ago , so client who require an excellent little OLED boob tube will have to look elsewhere .
credibly at LG and Sony , in fact , both of whom offer very acceptable 42 - inch OLED video indeed – the LG rival is a fiddling more affordable , the Sony alternative a little more expensive .
Design
There ’s not a lot of wriggle - room where the design of boob tube is touch on these 24-hour interval – or , at least , there is n’t if you ’re any kind of sensible tv set producer . Panasonic , of track , is about as sensible as they come – and so it ’ll come as no surprisal to pick up the TX-42LZ980 is an unremarkable - looking television .
The bezels on both sides and across the top are exceedingly slight , and even the stumpy version along the bottom ( where IR sensors , mics and some unpretentious stigmatization are kept ) is n’t what you ’d call great . The chunky pedestal on which the LZ980 support does n’t swivel , but it ’s compact enough that the Panasonic does n’t call for a big open to sit on .
Of course , you may take to hanging your fresh television on the paries . You may visualize it less when you see the LZ980 in profile , though . There ’s little of your legendary OLED slimness here – it ’s almost solely 67 mm deep , and that ’s the opposite of slim these day . And unlike quite a few more expensive alternatives , there ’s no cable - management or -concealment here – all the Panasonic ’s physical comment are expose , and consequently it ’s tricky to keep all your line hefty .
Features
Panasonic , like Philips , is grown up enough to put its customers first – so unlike the tantamount TVs from LG , Samsung , Sony , the TX-42LZ980 is compatible with every worthwhile HDR formatting . This means HLG , HDR10,HDR10+Adaptive andDolby Vision IQHDR standards are catered for – which , in turn , mean any HDR - attend to content can be fully dealt with .
Panasonic , of course , has long been acknowledged as one of the genuine masters of depiction processing – and despite its relatively lowly position in the Panasonic pecking order , the LZ980 nevertheless features the company ’s HCX AI Pro processing engine , which bodes well . obtain subject on circuit card in order for the processor to do its thing is simple – as well as wi - fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity , the LZ980 has a handful of physical association .
There are fourHDMIinputs here , and two of them can fully accommodate your current - gen console table : they’reHDMI 2.1 - enable , and are comfortable with 4K/120Hz , ALLM , VRR , AMD FreeSync Premiumand ( up to 60Hz)Dolby Vision gaming .
One for them also takes care of eARC responsibility , admittedly , so if you ’ve two games consoles and a late soundbar you may feel this deficient – but for the majority , this contrast - up will be utterly satisfactory . In addition , you ’ve three USB slots , three aerial mail for the duplicate TV tuner , and an Ethernet input . turnout consist of a digital opthalmic Toslink and a 3.5 mm analogue that can be used either as a earphone socket or a pre - out to a powered subwoofer .
As is usual with Panasonic , set - up menus are a model of legibility and simplicity . The company ’s pro certification are reinforced by the amount of fine - tuning it ’s potential to indulge in when setting up your LZ980 , but as there are numerous worthwhile picture presets ( plusFilmmaker mode , which remains far from worthwhile ) to give those of us who do n’t fancy a prolonged solidification - up process plenty of good - looking pick .
As is not at all usual with Panasonic , the overbold telecasting user interface here is first-class . This is the 7th version of My Home Screen , and the company has finally got it right . The interface is clean-living , only occupy maybe a third of the screenland , and is home to every high - profile streaming and apprehension - up service ( as well as quite a few lower - visibility alternatives ) .
To voyage these user port , Panasonic provides a perceptibly large full - function remote control . It ’s full-grown enough to use as a weapon , feature no undersized button and has a prominent mic button – the TX-42LZ980 is compatible with bothAmazon Alexaand Google Assistant .
Picture Quality
Because the 42 - inch LZ980 does n’t apply a next - gen super - bright OLED panel , and because wad over eight million pixels onto such a relatively modest cover can negatively affect the amount of lighting they can let loose , this Panasonic is n’t the bright OLED around . If you do a circle of watching with all the lights on or in blazing sunshine , you may find it ’s not bright enough .
In every other esteem , though , the TX-42LZ980 is a remarkably reach , good convincing and soak up watch , one that ’s subtle and nuanced enough to make even some very well - regarded alternatives look a bit uncouth and over litigate .
give way a 4 K UHD Dolby Vision - encourage Blu - ray disc of the border - logical Bullet Trainto deal with , the Panasonic just does n’t put a foot amiss . It lack peak brightness , sure Amazon Alexa but the white tone it give are neat , jam with item and variation , and naturalistic . Seen in tandem bicycle with black tones – similarly sportsmanlike and detailed , equally varied , and of that peculiar OLED - tastic profoundness that never fails to satisfy – the resulting line are wide and convincing .
The overall colour palette is widely - ranging , vivacious without get shouty , and – that word again – convincing . Skin - tones , in particular , are thrillingly sprightliness - similar , and even when make what might at first seem to be an area of undifferentiated colour to deal with – a sports field , say – the Panasonic can find nuance and fluctuation within it .
It cast edge with absolute confidence , generates healthy deepness of orbit , and handle on - screen apparent motion with something approaching fanaticism . There ’s a sorting of effortlessness to the 4 K images the LZ980 delivers , a insouciant rightness that makes follow them no variety of job at all .
Upscaled images , even those derived from overtly lo - Ra germ , are no less gratifying . The Panasonic is giving away a footling item , of course of instruction , and some of the refinement of its color run wide too , but in broad terms this is a very capable upscaler . boundary stay composed , motion remains unflustered , and watchability is diminished not at all .
alternate to Game mode and the good news just keep on coming . Getting response time down to a respectable 14ms comes at a price , of course of study – console - derived images seem just a little coarse equate to those accessed from other source – but kindling , contrasts and , most significantly , motion - control condition are always impressive .
Sound Quality
If the Panasonic TX-42LZ980 is open of surprise and delight where its picture quality is concerned , wakeless quality is at the other end of the scale . No one ’s expect miracles from a two - channel system driven by 30 watts of mogul , of course , but nevertheless it does n’t prepare you for just how weak , stressed and toppy the LZ980 sounds .
Yes , it can take and deal with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack – but the two-channel solution is wheezy and short of substance . Set just a little money aside for a half - decent soundbar and you wo n’t regret it .
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Should you buy it?
The concept of the pint - sized OLED screenland is still quite unexampled – but on this grounds Panasonic has nailed it .
The sound the Panasonic makes is almost diametrically opposed to the pictures it serves up .
Final Thoughts
Sometimes you just have to concentrate on what ’s most authoritative . deal as an all - circular package , the Panasonic TX-42LZ980 is not without problems – its figure is abstruse , its sound is feeble and it struggles for peak luminance . But what , actually , are you buy a newfangled television for ? To look up to how slim it is , or to look up to the sinful fidelity and pragmatism of its paradigm ?
Trusted Score
How we test
We quiz every television we review thoroughly over an lengthy catamenia of time . We use industry received trial run to equate features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we get . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
Find out more about how we quiz in ourethics policy .
FAQs
As far as we know , the TX-42LZ980B does n’t have a screen that patronage the brighter OLED EX applied science .
The LZ980 supports HDR10 , HLG , HLG Photo , HDR10 + Adaptive and Dolby Vision IQ , cause it one of few television brands to hold all HDR formats .
Test Data
Full Specs
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