Panasonic FZ series (802 & 952) OLED Owners Thread

johnny777

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Just heard from my dealer that my TX65FZ802B is arriving on Friday. Pre-ordered it a while ago. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Too early to start an owners thread?
 
Just heard from my dealer that my TX65FZ802B is arriving on Friday. Pre-ordered it a while ago. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Too early to start an owners thread?

So, what do you think!?
 
So.......initial thoughts (and apologies for delay in posting).

Coming from a VT65, I was already used to something special, but this is a completely different level. To be honest, following the that eager anticipation, my initial impressions following set-up left me a little underwealmed. I think this was due to it flashing up with Freeview SD BBC1 and also not having tweaked any settings. This initial feeling very quickly changed after I had taken a breath.

Highlights so far:-
- Colours and definition is outstanding. HD material looks even more HD....guess combination of the OLED and upscaling capabilities all contribute.
- I had heard about blacks being so much better than plasma, but I didn’t realise how much better. It’s like going from grey to proper darkness. Can’t really put into words, but it’s pretty amazing.
- UHD - So not top end I know, but first UHD watch was Blacklist on Sky. It has an almost 3D like quality, good example being a wine bottle in the foreground with Raymond Reddington standing behind it. The picture has so much depth and detail to it. Yes, I like it!!
- UHD Blu-Ray - Tried the Martian, which is a real step up again from Sky. It’s all about detail, clarity and depth. So impressive. Also treated myself to Planet Earth II. Only expression I can use is ‘jaw dropping’......and yes, I am aware that some of the shots drop down to 1080p, so I’m referring to the UHD stuff.

I’m still playing with settings, so far used Cinema and Pro Setting (with some tweaks). Need to look into getting the set properly set-up.

So far nothing negative to say. I’m over the moon with the purchase and it’s a big step up from my VT65. Realise the above is a bit of a ramble......if anyone has any specific questions etc, happy to try to answer.
 
In your opinion how does it handle motion(without IFC) compared to the VT65?

Tried any gaming?
 
In your opinion how does it handle motion(without IFC) compared to the VT65?

Tried any gaming?
Not tried any gaming as yet. Also not seen any motion issues. Watched England game on Saturday (HD via Sky box) and there was nothing that bothered me.

Different sort of motion observation, but it definitely handles the rolling text at the bottom of Sky News properly, where as the VT65 didn’t. Very smooth and clear where as on the VT65, I could detect the odd stutter, although it was subtle.
 
Thanks for the the observations, glad you're enjoying it!

How much brighter is it compared with the VT?

Also, what's 'my home screen 3.0' like? Is it easy to use?
 
my TX65FZ802B is arriving on Friday
I'm delighted that you already have your 802 from Hylands, but surprised that neither RS nor JL are even listing them yet. I really thought they'd be top of the delivery list, but perhaps each is waiting to see what the other's opening price will be!
 
I raised a question in the 'Pricing Revealed' thread about the removal (or at least non-existence now) of a reference to the HDR modes (HLG, HDR10+) on the UK 802/952 specs from Panasonic, though these are clearly shown for the German versions (FZW804/954) on Panasonic.de.
Are you able to confirm whether these are already onboard with your 802, or are they waiting for a firmware upgrade?
 
How much brighter is it compared with the VT?
- Difficult to put into words, and the VT had no brightness issues. OLED is cleaner, better defined and certainly brighter and no issues in daylight etc from what I’ve seen so far.

Also, what's 'my home screen 3.0' like? Is it easy to use?
- Not played too much with this yet. Give me a couple of days and will post some comments and maybe a couple of pics.

I'm delighted that you already have your 802 from Hylands, but surprised that neither RS nor JL are even listing them yet. I really thought they'd be top of the delivery list, but perhaps each is waiting to see what the other's opening price will be!
- I paid a £200 deposit about 2 months ago. Karl has been so helpful and is very knowledgable. Kept me up to date on news via email too. He kept an eye on the situation with regards to arrival date from Panasonic and he secured stock as soon as he could. I know I had the very first one Hylands shipped out. Can’t recommend them highly enough.
 
Re my question in post #9 regarding HDR on the 802s, I have just had an online 'chat' with 'Simon' at Panasonic on this.
It seems that neither HLG nor HDR10+ are available on any 802s at this time. He said:
"I would like to inform that HLG and HDR 10+ modes for the TX-65FZ802 model are scheduled for certification. Most probably this update will be released at the end of June."
He could not comment on the fact that the German website states that both modes are available.
On that basis I think I will definitely wait until the updates are out in the wild, and proven to work.
 
Re my question in post #9 regarding HDR on the 802s, I have just had an online 'chat' with 'Simon' at Panasonic on this.
It seems that neither HLG nor HDR10+ are available on any 802s at this time. He said:
"I would like to inform that HLG and HDR 10+ modes for the TX-65FZ802 model are scheduled for certification. Most probably this update will be released at the end of June."
He could not comment on the fact that the German website states that both modes are available.
On that basis I think I will definitely wait until the updates are out in the wild, and proven to work.
So does this mean the new range for 2018 is unable to receive HLG, so our new owner Johnny can't watch the World Cup on the BBC Iplayer in glorious 4K HDR:eek:
 
Well, it might be up and running for the second half of the tournament (the important part!), but I wouldn't hold my breath. In the meantime I guess it would be SDR 4K on iPlayer.
Disappointing - I thought with Panasonic being so late to the 2018 party, they'd have had all this HDR stuff sorted by their release date. They haven't even had to negotiate with Dolby!
 
Yes, I've seen those (also at RS), but on this thread we're talking about the 802s.
I phoned RS Brighton yesterday about the 802s, and after some delay they phoned me back to say that had no defined delivery date for these yet.
 
Well, it might be up and running for the second half of the tournament (the important part!), but I wouldn't hold my breath. In the meantime I guess it would be SDR 4K on iPlayer.
Disappointing - I thought with Panasonic being so late to the 2018 party, they'd have had all this HDR stuff sorted by their release date. They haven't even had to negotiate with Dolby!
It's shocking that a 2018 high end model does not have HLG out of the box, as more and more HLG content would be released on Iplayer. You're right that we don't know when for sure Panasonic would release a fix, and going by what Sony did with DV promise, you can't trust them.
 
@johnny777 are you able to view any of the HLG footage on the iPlayer beta app?
 
- Not played too much with this yet. Give me a couple of days and will post some comments and maybe a couple of pics.


- I paid a £200 deposit about 2 months ago. Karl has been so helpful and is very knowledgable. Kept me up to date on news via email too. He kept an eye on the situation with regards to arrival date from Panasonic and he secured stock as soon as he could. I know I had the very first one Hylands shipped out. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

Karl at Hylands is great, I would highly recommend them.
I purchased the new Samsung 65Q9 from them last month and the level of service and being kept informed on stock and delivery etc was fantastic.
 
It's shocking that a 2018 high end model does not have HLG out of the box, as more and more HLG content would be released on Iplayer. You're right that we don't know when for sure Panasonic would release a fix, and going by what Sony did with DV promise, you can't trust them.

Sorry, so this TV doesn't support HLG? :confused: Looks like LG OLED is the only TV out there that is almost fully spec'ed.
 
Well, it's not fully spec'd yet, but in theory (!) only about 3 weeks away.
As anxious as I am to see a review from AVForums, I do rather hope they will wait until this update is 'out there', and can include testing of its HDR10+ and HLG performance.
 
Just another observation of the 802. HDMI recognisies the different sound iterations (DTS etc) and allows passthrough via ARC etc. My VT65 would on,y recognise PCM. Glad they sorted this as it irritated me.

Also, more I’m watching it, more I’m appreciating the improvements over my old plasma, superb as it was. People moan about stuttering on OLED, which I haven’t noticed yet, but the plasma had a habit of sometimes artifacting in very dar’ scenes (possibly source sometimes) and the Sky News text was never smooth, which was an example of limitations.

Anyway, really enjoying the new set.
 
Just another observation of the 802. HDMI recognisies the different sound iterations (DTS etc) and allows passthrough via ARC etc. My VT65 would on,y recognise PCM. Glad they sorted this as it irritated me.

Also, more I’m watching it, more I’m appreciating the improvements over my old plasma, superb as it was. People moan about stuttering on OLED, which I haven’t noticed yet, but the plasma had a habit of sometimes artifacting in very dar’ scenes (possibly source sometimes) and the Sky News text was never smooth, which was an example of limitations.

Anyway, really enjoying the new set.

Glad your still enjoying it and not finding any issues, particularly with regards to motion.

Are you able to check the iPlayer beta app to see if you can watch anything in HLGA? Assuming theres still something on there of course!
 
I see RS are now showing this. It's not coming up via the 'OLED' filter (another RS website problem!), but you can search on '802' and get to:
Panasonic TX65FZ802B & DPUB320
Only offered with a UB320 for £3598, and they are prioritising call-in customers, so short supply.
There must be a better offer in the wings, especially with the C8 flying off the shelves at under 3 grand after cashback.
 
With all the references in this thread to the 952 series, I'm wondering whether it should be re-titled "FZ Owners' Thread", to broaden its relevance. Though my personal interest is in the 65" 802, I'm sure many of the discussion topics will be applicable to both models and both sizes.
 

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