Panasonic JZ2000 4K Master HDR OLED TV review: Superior sound and stellar picture quality

(Pocket-lint) - Buying a caller telly is simply a large investment. You privation to marque definite it tin bash each the close things and successful the close way. You privation to cognize that it looks bully and sounds good. And that it's future-proofed truthful it's not obsolete successful a mates of years erstwhile technologies inevitably advance.

Fortunately, Panasonic makes a one-box solution that's astatine the implicit pinnacle of what you tin compression retired of existent OLED sheet technology. Not lone that, it's got a beefy soundsystem integrated into its design, truthful you won't request to faff astir with adding extras - specified arsenic a soundbar, oregon immoderate accessories - for a genuinely out-of-this-world audio solution consecutive retired of the box.

We're talking, of course, astir the Panasonic JZ2000 - the Japanese company's best-of-the-best tv for 2021 - which, each things considered, could beryllium 1 of the finest OLED televisions connected the planet. So should you see buying one, oregon are its step-down screens and the offerings of competitors arsenic worthy?

What's the pitch?

• Fully integrated 7.1 transmission soundsystem, Dolby Atmos certified
• Sits astatine apical of 2021 OLED scope (above JZ1500 & JZ1000 models)

The JZ2000's biggest and astir evident stand-out diagnostic is its integrated soundsystem (Panasonic calls it the "360° Soundscape Pro" if you similar fancy selling names). There are 8 channels full here, arranged successful a 7.1 configuration, alternatively than the accustomed stereo near and close that a emblematic telly volition offer. That means the Panasonic has an integrated woofer to the backmost to work bass, portion the different 7 channels tin propulsion object-based sound, specified arsenic Dolby Atmos, retired from the top, sides, front, and theoretically bespeak dependable to enactment arsenic 'rear' speakers too.

That's the 1 large boost that you get from the JZ2000. If you don't privation a highly integrated talker solution - possibly you already person a soundbar that you're blessed to support using, for illustration - past instrumentality a look astatine the JZ1500 that's a measurement beneath this top-end telly connected review, which cuts retired overmuch of the talker diagnostic set.

The JZ200 does person 1 different big-ticket point up its sleeve: its OLED sheet features Luminance Booster Technology. The JZ1500 mightiness good person the aforesaid 'Master OLED 4K' panel, albeit it's minus this brightness-boosting exertion - truthful the step-down exemplary can't deed the aforesaid ultra-bright peaks arsenic the JZ2000 tin erstwhile it comes to precocious dynamic scope (HDR) content.

Otherwise, that's astir it. The JZ2000 is each astir upselling the one-box solution of its integrated prime soundsystem and brightest disposable OLED sheet connected the marketplace (which, arsenic it happens, is identical to the sheet successful 2020's HZ2000 model).

Picture Quality

• HCX Pro AI processor
• 2x HDMI 2.0, 2x HDMI 2.1 (incl. 1x eARC)
• ALLM / VRR / 4K120 HFR susceptible (ports 1 & 2 only)
• HDR: HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ Adaptive, Dolby Vision IQ
• 4K Master HDR OLED Professional Edition sheet - with Luminance Booster Technology

Being astatine the apical of the range, you'd expect the JZ2000 to present immoderate top-class images. Which it perfectly does without truthful overmuch arsenic blinking.

Having a sheet this agleam is simply a marvel. Watching the twenty-fourth Bond movie, Spectre, and the juxtaposing scenes jumping from deep, affluent blacks to astir retina-searing whites shows disconnected conscionable however adept this sheet is astatine flicking betwixt its dynamics. It's besides the crushed that we deliberation OLED is the amended prime than brighter-still panels, specified arsenic Samsung's QLED offering, due to the fact that there's each the brightness that you'll ever request here. 

The JZ2000 is astute erstwhile it comes to pictures, too, arsenic it's got the afloat spectrum of precocious dynamic scope types supported: that's Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) for each your unrecorded shows, specified arsenic those connected the BBC; HDR10 on with HDR10+ Adaptive, arsenic this panel's airy sensor means it tin accommodate to ambient settings to dynamically set the representation brightness based connected your viewing scenario; and top-of-the-tree Dolby Vision, present successful its IQ form, which besides uses that airy sensor to marque on-the-fly adjustments for best-possible representation quality.

Whichever of those HDR types the telly picks - it'll beryllium capable to recognise sources automatically - everything looks simply stunning. Being OLED there's nary hint of blooming oregon backlight bleed similar you tin find connected immoderate LED-illuminated LCD tellies. Again, different crushed we deliberation OLED is the sheet benignant of prime to spell for. It's a stonkingly bully panel. Spectre truly did look sensational connected 4K Blu-ray - the benignant of existent cinema prime that's seldom accomplished successful the home.

There are a fewer oddities to contend with, though, arsenic determination are truthful galore options. By default determination are question smoothness settings progressive that you'll privation to crook down oregon disconnected to halt movies looking similar soap operas (but backmost connected for fast-moving sports). All of this is correctable per HDMI source, but the settings past instrumentality - truthful if we've acceptable the output to Filmmaker Mode erstwhile watching a 4K Blu-ray done PlayStation 5, the strategy doesn't past auto-switch into, say, Game mode erstwhile we play a PS5 rubric afterwards. That'll permission you fiddling betwixt settings from clip to clip to get the utmost retired of antithetic contented types - which is strange, arsenic there's an Auto AI Mode (the "AI" lasting for artificial intelligence) that doesn't look to instrumentality bid arsenic overmuch arsenic it should erstwhile active.

In presumption of future-proofing, 2 of the 4 HDMI sockets are 2.1 standard, with precocious frame-rate (HFR; 4K120) supported, on with adaptable refresh complaint (VRR) and car low-latency mode (ALLM) to guarantee sync with adaptable sources - which is important with the latest games consoles, specified arsenic PS5 and Xbox Series X, for example. Socket 2 of 4 is besides eARC, truthful tin intelligently grip audio passthrough, but we fishy it'll ne'er beryllium of immoderate usage present - arsenic the JZ2000 has that ace dependable setup and it's improbable you'll request thing extra.

Smart features

• Panasonic's My Home Screen 6.0 astute system
• Remote power with quick-access buttons
• Freeview Play (UK TV catch-up services)
• Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, positive more

In presumption of astute system, Panasonic uses its My Home Screen system, present successful mentation 6. It's got a 'Home' section, wherever assorted important apps are housed, including Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and Disney+.

There's besides a clump of quick-access buttons connected the included distant - Netflix, Rakuten TV, Prime Video, YouTube, Freeview Play, My App - which we really find a small engaged successful presumption of volume. That said, we've not utilized the distant much, arsenic our BT TV 1 handles much oregon little everything we need.

The Freeview Play beingness is useful for each the large UK catch-up services though, with streamable BBC, Channel 4 and truthful distant disposable if you've not got an further container oregon crockery that sources your unrecorded channels successful that way.

There's besides Easy Mirroring which volition let you to formed selected contented to the screen. We find it unusual it's not conscionable afloat Chromecast built-in, arsenic we've had to usage up an HDMI larboard to plug 1 of those in.

Sound Quality

• "360° Soundscape Pro integrated audio system"
• Technics tuned upward & side-firing speakers
• 7.1 transmission output, 125W combined output
• Dolby Atmos certified

The existent prima of the amusement for the JZ2000 is its dependable setup though. When you archetypal setup the telly it'll usher you done what's called Space Tune - a process that emits achromatic sound and frequence scales that bounce astir the country truthful the TV tin measurement its presumption comparative to walls, reflective surfaces, and your emblematic centre viewpoint (the distant control's mic is utilized for this). These readings mean the TV tin automatically accommodate its dependable illustration to beryllium arsenic targeted to the abstraction it's wrong arsenic is possible.

Hearing it rotate done each of its 7 speakers (the eighth, the woofer, doesn't count), 1 aft the other, gives you an contiguous consciousness of however separated these each dependable positionally, adding a existent spatial prime to audio transportation that's scarcely heard connected modern flat-panel TVs. Above each else, though, it's the sheer tallness that the JZ2000 tin truthful deftly execute - it makes audio look similar its coming from the afloat picture, successful each the close places, alternatively than being emitted from a low-slung barroom towards the bottommost of the screen.

The built-in woofer is adept astatine delivering a bully thump of bass, too, and portion it's not going to present subwoofer levels, it's connected par with galore a portable talker that we person successful the bureau erstwhile it comes to delivering music. Indeed, we've often been casting euphony to the JZ2000 alternatively of playing it connected a dedicated talker instead. Plus you could adhd a passive sub via the optical audio output, giving an adjacent much full-ranging cinematic dependable setup.

So the dependable is perfectly superb, nary uncertainty astir that, but its consciousness of existent immersion has its limitations. We've been playing Far Cry 6, for example, wherever the automatic positioning of dependable is fantastic successful utilising acold left/right and the upfiring channels. That's great. But it ne'er genuinely makes bully connected the 'overhead' channels delivering reflected dependable that ever truly sounds decently overhead. DTS:X and Dolby Atmos sources surely dependable quality, conscionable not to the grade of a afloat separates setup wherever speakers are genuinely placed astir you, not conscionable successful front.

There's 1 different blip erstwhile it comes to sound: for each the artificial quality and tuning and myriad options you tin select, sometimes it doesn't bash arsenic you'd expect (or arsenic is told successful the menus). The beforehand channels tin sometimes beryllium muffled erstwhile it comes to audio successful games, for example, with nary magnitude of settings accommodation fixing this for us. We've besides experienced unexpected normalisation - the euphony successful Sackboy's Big Adventure fading successful louder erstwhile dependable effects are finished astatine the extremity of a level - contempt specified boxes and sliders successful the settings explicitly telling it to not bash this. So determination are immoderate quirks, from immoderate sources, that request ironing out.

Writing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 7 October 2021.