Panasonic GZ OLED Series Owners Thread

Yeah, the ones on the UHD player, Shield, and FireTV are all bright and usually worse than the paused video.

At least the TV screensaver kicks in when the missus pauses the YouTube app for 20 mins while in the other room :confused:
The one on the ATV is pretty bright, although that goes to sleep after a short while.

To be honest, I'm normally the one that walks off and leaves it on :(
 
That's been my logical conclusion ?

I've found the same issue on occasion and I'm hard wired with ethernet.

What I did as a work around (and keeps delay time to a minimum) was to go into the Youtube app and quit out as soon as it loads and then the iplayer / itv hub / etc would all load instantly upon return to the app home screen.
 
I've found the same issue on occasion and I'm hard wired with ethernet.

What I did as a work around (and keeps delay time to a minimum) was to go into the Youtube app and quit out as soon as it loads and then the iplayer / itv hub / etc would all load instantly upon return to the app home screen.

Thanks for that. It was working yesterday, but the next time it goes i'll try what you suggest. It is frustrating.
 
Does anyone else have problems with Apps loading BBC Iplayer e.t.c. It's the only thing that constantly annoys me about the 950.

When bringing the TV out of standby it does seem to take a few seconds to establish WiFi connection - if I try and go into iPlayer (or even the programme guide) too quickly it doesn't work. I've just got used to waiting 5-10 seconds before pressing those buttons. 🤷‍♂️

BTW does anyone know if there is any way to NOT have the Freeview Play options bar appear when you turn the TV on to a Freeview channel? I don't particularly like it, and (for the reasons above) many of the options in it don't even work if you click them that soon after turning the TV on anyway! I have not found any way in the menus to turn this off.

Finally - what's the quickest way into iPlayer? It seems like you can't set this app to appear in the Apps menu, or assign it to the remote's app button? It always seems to take about one click too many to launch the thing.
 
When bringing the TV out of standby it does seem to take a few seconds to establish WiFi connection - if I try and go into iPlayer (or even the programme guide) too quickly it doesn't work. I've just got used to waiting 5-10 seconds before pressing those buttons. 🤷‍♂️

I've got my GZ950 connected via ethernet cable and it's exactly the same (you can't access Freeview Play features straight away) so this issue isn't just limited to the wi-fi connection.

I also find occasionally that I can't access Freeview Play at all and I get the 'Sorry, this Freeview Play service is unavailable' error message, despite the TV's network connection apparently being fine. Switching the TV off and on again at the wall usually resolves this issue.

I've yet to establish a pattern for this behaviour but I have been experiencing occasional, random router reboots recently so it's possible that this might be the cause - ie. the router reboots and the TV only re-establishes the connection properly once it is also rebooted. This wouldn't explain the connection status checking out OK though.
 
On my GZ950 i find shadow detail / black level too dark compared to previous Panasonic plasma's, especially with SKY Q.
That will be because your plasma didn't do 'black'. The GZ950 does and represents coming out of black as it should. I.e. dimly.
In what lighting conditions are you watching your GZ?
I am using Gamma 2.2 on pro 1 and have not changed brightness / contrast from default just knocked back OLED Luminance a little.
You don't want to change Brightness at all as it's perfect at default. You'll not gain anything, in the near black response (1% to 10%), by increasing Contrast but, you may want to increase Luminance a smidge, instead of decreasing it. This may not improve near black response but, I find OLED's typically require a higher peak output to look similar to the other screen technologies, with lower outputs.

I realise that this is the sort of thing that a professional calibrator can correctly adjust but keen to have a go to roughly adjust prior to calibration later on.
You might be out of luck as the TV is already performing as it should, where shadow detail/ near black response is concerned. The tools anyone has to improve this are lacking too. The lowest level that can be adjusted, in the White Balance and Gamma 'Advanced' menus is 2.5IRE (should say %) so, you're still missing the adjustment for the darker areas. the 2 point white balance controls may provide the adjustment required though.

So far tried adjusting the Gamma - input signal level under advanced settings by Increasing the gain for IRE 10 & 20

Seems to boost the detail in the darkest areas but was interested if this is the correct method or should this be done using the White Balance IRE input signal level RGB gain.
10 and 20% are a little high to adjust, if you're trying to boost near black response. You should look at the 2.5 and 5% controls instead. And adjust these in the Gamma menu, for your purposes, as the White Balance controls are for just that, balancing the white levels.

Paul
 
It's also worth noting that there's anecdotal evidence of something changing after around the first 200 hours of use. I also came to an EZ from a Panasonic plasma, but my background is in grading for TV. I instinctively felt that the pictures were black crushed, so ended up bumping the brightness up a notch and lowering the gamma to get something that looked more acceptable. However, after around 200 hours I felt that everything was starting to look a little sat-up, so I put the settings back to normal and that's where they've been ever since. I'm not the only person to comment on this.
 
It's also worth noting that there's anecdotal evidence of something changing after around the first 200 hours of use. I also came to an EZ from a Panasonic plasma, but my background is in grading for TV. I instinctively felt that the pictures were black crushed, so ended up bumping the brightness up a notch and lowering the gamma to get something that looked more acceptable. However, after around 200 hours I felt that everything was starting to look a little sat-up, so I put the settings back to normal and that's where they've been ever since. I'm not the only person to comment on this.
Thanks for the reply.
I am up to 600+hours now and indeed did see some changes in the panel tint, brightness etc after 200-300 hours. I have reversed any changes to brightness and colour balance back to defaults now for Pro 1 & 2. The panel seems to need some time to bed in similar to plasma screens. I still see some black crush especially with SKY Q SDR but can see this also in some other sources, but not as pronounced. Will tweak the IRE Gamma low levels to boost near black response.
 
That will be because your plasma didn't do 'black'. The GZ950 does and represents coming out of black as it should. I.e. dimly.
In what lighting conditions are you watching your GZ?


You don't want to change Brightness at all as it's perfect at default. You'll not gain anything, in the near black response (1% to 10%), by increasing Contrast but, you may want to increase Luminance a smidge, instead of decreasing it. This may not improve near black response but, I find OLED's typically require a higher peak output to look similar to the other screen technologies, with lower outputs.



You might be out of luck as the TV is already performing as it should, where shadow detail/ near black response is concerned. The tools anyone has to improve this are lacking too. The lowest level that can be adjusted, in the White Balance and Gamma 'Advanced' menus is 2.5IRE (should say %) so, you're still missing the adjustment for the darker areas. the 2 point white balance controls may provide the adjustment required though.



10 and 20% are a little high to adjust, if you're trying to boost near black response. You should look at the 2.5 and 5% controls instead. And adjust these in the Gamma menu, for your purposes, as the White Balance controls are for just that, balancing the white levels.

Paul
Thank you for the response and explanation/guidance.
I view in a dim/low light setting with almost all viewing in the evening.
I think you are right that as the plasma did not do true black the picture appeared to have more light/detail and that is is in fact a limitation and not displaying correctly.
I mainly see black crush / loss of detail especially with SKY Q SDR but can see this also in some other sources, but not as pronounced.
Will tweak the 2.5 and 5% IRE Gamma low levels to boost near black response as recommended.
Thanks again.
 
Thank you for the response and explanation/guidance.
I view in a dim/low light setting with almost all viewing in the evening.
I think you are right that as the plasma did not do true black the picture appeared to have more light/detail and that is is in fact a limitation and not displaying correctly.
Yes, 'black' on even the best plasma was around 0.02cdm2. On an OLED it's 0cdm2. So coming out of 'black' on the former, near black would always be much brighter than it should be. It's more like coming out of dark grey.

I should also point out that I'm a former Panasonic plasma owner, and have 'messed' with the picture settings on them for hours, when calibrating my own.

The Gamma setting you're using, at 2.2, is the recommendation when viewing with ambient lighting. So that's a good place to start. Try bumping Luminance to 35 to 40. Mine's at 41 (GZ2000), for around 145 nits at peak white.
I mainly see black crush / loss of detail especially with SKY Q SDR but can see this also in some other sources, but not as pronounced.
If you're seeing any crushing of the near black detail, it will be due to the content, assuming you're using a picture mode like Pro 1 or Pro 2 and have default picture settings. It's also worth asking the question of is it supposed to be crushed? Do you know what it's supposed to look like?

The only way you can answer the question of whether it is crushed is to calibrate the TV, to the known standards. That will give you the baseline to answer the question of what it's supposed to look like.

Of course, that's all coming from the point of view of whether you want an accurate representation of what you're watching. If that's not important to you, watch it how you want to watch it.

Paul
 
I have a UB420 (which I no longer use) and a UB450 for use with my GZ950.

Before getting the 450 (for DV) I tested with/without the HDR optimiser on the 420 on a selection of different scenes. I couldn't see it making any difference. I believe the 950 already has the same or better capability and it is therefore not needed on the player.

DV should be a must for anyone with a 950, it looks amazing, some of the best movies (for picture quality) that I've watched on my 950 have been DV discs.

I chose the 450 over the 820 because the 820 doesn't physically fit in my media cabinet (too wide), but the 820 is an overall better player. The 450 is quite basic in terms of features and remote in comparison to the 420 (and therefore 820), despite being newer.

Thanks for the feedback, I have held off buying for the time being and will see what happens in the sales :)
 
Thanks for the feedback, I have held off buying for the time being and will see what happens in the sales :)
I agree with @Fillius

As I understand it, the HDR Optimiser is there for displays that don't tone map as Panasonic displays do. Thus if you have a Panasonic display, the HDR Optimiser is pointless, as it won't do anything. Or more specifically, it may do something but, your display is already tone mapping how Panasonic deem is best, for that display's capabilities. You don't need to change that.

Paul
 
I mainly see black crush / loss of detail especially with SKY Q SDR but can see this also in some other sources, but not as pronounced.

You'll see a whole load of black crush, posterisation, block artefacting, you name it with Sky Q. If you have a tv as good as this then it's fair to point the finger of blame at the broadcast and not the telly 99.9% of the time.

*edit* you can't really term the source Sky Q because its actually the 'platform' and is made up from a multitude of channels all transmitting at varying bitrates. Obviously higher bitrate = better quality. Some channels use a hamster to power their computers...o_O
 
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Dear GZ950 Owners,

I do not want to open flame but:

the "Craklegate" is still present nowdays or it has been eliminated by Panasonic via software upgrade? Does it exist at all?

I am waiting my GZ950 tomorrow, I am a bit shocked about it...should I cancel it and order different model?

and one more bonus question: can the GZ950 compete against my old TX-50CS630 regarding brightness? I just hope it wont be to dim in my living room as for daytime movies... any experiences?

Thanks!
 
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Dear GZ950 Owners,

I do not want to open flame but:

the "Craklegate" is still present nowdays or it has been eliminated by Panasonic via software upgrade? Does it exist at all?

I am waiting my GZ950 tomorrow, I am a bit shocked about it...should I cancel it and order different model?

and one more bonus question: can the GZ950 compete against my old TX-50CS630 regarding brightness? I just hope it wont be to dim in my living room as for daytime movies... any experiences?

Thanks!

I have had no problems and I am using pro 2 for the picture and find it bright enough. I am coming from a Kuro what wasn't the brightest TV I have had.
 
" Cracklegate" is still present nowdays or it has been eliminated by Panasonic via software upgrade? Does it exist at all?

i bought my GZ950 a month ago - it got updated to the latest firmware straight away and I haven't heard any crackling at all. I have it connected to a Yamaha AV amp for audio.

can the GZ950 compete against my old TX-50CS630 regarding brightness? I just hope it wont be to dim in my living room as for daytime movies... any experience ?

On certain settings, the GZ950 is eye-searingly bright ! I find the Pro2 picture mode fine for the majority of my viewing, but I've come to an OLED from plasma and prefer a more natural image.
 
Hi,
so finally I got 65GZ950 and need to say that motion is faaaar better than my former Sony A1 from 2017. Either these 2 years made high progress or is Panasonic motion better than Sony (despite general opinion). During 2 days I found everything I need in settings, only 2 things I would like to ask:

1/ Is it possible to change the name of HDMI inputs?
2/ If I want stream YouTube from my phone, TV must be turned ON. If not, I dont see the icon for streaming on my phone. With Sony A1 was possible to turn the TV ON with streaming from mobile phone. Is there some settings for it to allow my phone to turn the TV ON?

Thanks
David
 
1/ Is it possible to change the name of HDMI inputs?
2/ If I want stream YouTube from my phone, TV must be turned ON. If not, I dont see the icon for streaming on my phone. With Sony A1 was possible to turn the TV ON with streaming from mobile phone. Is there some settings for it to allow my phone to turn the TV ON?
You can assign names to the inputs from the preset list, but I haven't found a way to manually type them.

There's a setting called "Powered on by apps" in the Network->TV Remote App Settings. That might do what you want, but I have it set to off because it means the standby light is always orange. I like to know when the TV is doing it's maintenance cycles.
 
1/ Is it possible to change the name of HDMI inputs?
You can assign names to the inputs from the preset list, but I haven't found a way to manually type them.
Try 'Menu > Setup > Display Settings > Input Labels > User Input'.

I name all mine. One's called Dave, one Claude.... :laugh:

I've just figured out that you can 'skip' the inputs you don't want or use too, so they don't display when you pres the 'AV' button. V useful.

Paul
 
1/ Is it possible to change the name of HDMI inputs?

Yes you can. In the menu, go to Setup - Display Settings - Input Labels and the 'User input' option allows you to enter a name.

IMG_20191126_083559.jpg
 
Hi,
so finally I got 65GZ950 and need to say that motion is faaaar better than my former Sony A1 from 2017. Either these 2 years made high progress or is Panasonic motion better than Sony (despite general opinion). During 2 days I found everything I need in settings, only 2 things I would like to ask:

1/ Is it possible to change the name of HDMI inputs?
2/ If I want stream YouTube from my phone, TV must be turned ON. If not, I dont see the icon for streaming on my phone. With Sony A1 was possible to turn the TV ON with streaming from mobile phone. Is there some settings for it to allow my phone to turn the TV ON?

Thanks
David

Just to add to what @Fillius said, I also like to see when the tv is doing its compensation cycles, so I would just turn the tv on first and then cast YouTube from your phone. It’s a minor issue imho and the casting works very well.

As others have said, there is a User input option, which will allow you to type in the label manually.
 
Hey everyone, long time reader (of this thread) and I've learned a lot so thanks!

I have two questions though: You know the Dynamic HDR effect setting? Should that be on or off? I'm guessing this might be dynamic tone mapping? Please note this is not the Static/Dynamic HDR setting.

My second question:

When I bought the TV I knew it did not have eARC but I've recently discovered Plex. I have my NVIDIA Shield (which is also my Plex Server) connected to a different TV for playing emulated games and I hoped to use my GZ950 as a Plex Client but we all know that the GZ series don't have eARC so I'm unable to pass uncompressed audio formats to my AV receiver (even worse the audio is converted to 2.0).

So my question is: is it even possible for a software upgrade to enable eARC? I ask this stupid question because they've implemented ALLM (a HDMI 2.1 spec feature) without implementing the full HDMI 2.1 spec and other manufacturers have implemented eARC without implementing the full HDMI 2.1 spec. I was wondering if it was a hardware limitation for the GZ series or a software one.

Thanks.
 

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