Panasonic HZ2000 Flagship OLED TV Review & Comments

..No matter what some LG fans say, side by side this tv looks better, that's from the mouth of a local calibrator i have known since long. For a movie buff, it would be immaterial that a C9 beat the GZ2000 in a shootout because that is weighing in the gaming aspect which is not relevant to movie watchers,
To be fair this is true. I personally witnessed this at the last Panasonic shootout. The Panasonic was better than the LG for picture quality etc. But it's simply not hundreds of quid better, especially when not only can get very close to it with a GZ950, but for HDR the new Phillips is not far off. So although it's not a bang for buck TV, it's just not good enough to justify the price as a value proposition, high end or not.

I don't have a metaphorical dog in the race because I'm happy with my LED, but if I was looking for an OLED TV (and had the money), I don't think I could justify this as a purchase.

As a side note, at the same shootout the LG wiped the floor with the other TVs for HDR gaming. It wasn't even close. I'm not a regular gamer but if LG used that in a showroom then I could imagine a few people being swayed.
 
I don't understand why this is so contentious.

With any technology there's always a law of diminishing returns. You'll never see a linear relationship between price and performance. The further north you head in price terms, the more incremental the improvements you'll experience.

The only relevant question is "where's your sweet spot?" The answer to that question will differ from person to person, based on a range of considerations. This is fine.

Decide what works for you and act accordingly. Trying to persuade others that your sweet spot is the only acceptable place to reside gets us nowhere.
 
I don't understand why this is so contentious.

With any technology there's always a law of diminishing returns. You'll never see a linear relationship between price and performance. The further north you head in price terms, the more incremental the improvements you'll experience.

The only relevant question is "where's your sweet spot?" The answer to that question will differ from person to person, based on a range of considerations. This is fine.

Decide what works for you and act accordingly. Trying to persuade others that your sweet spot is the only acceptable place to reside gets us nowhere.
Yep it's just like speakers, a pair of speakers costing 10000 bucks vs another costing 5000 bucks. The leap in the 10000 pair wont be huge , it would be incremental at best and won't show an advantage with sound all the time, the 5000 pair would be considered better value. But doesnt mean there wont be an audiophile market for the 10000 speakers.
It's sort of similar with the HZ2000 and the cheaper oleds. You aren't getting the best value with the HZ2000 but the best picture, even though only incrementally better, that videophiles to whom price is not the primary factor would be interested to have.
 
Yep it's just like speakers, a pair of speakers costing 10000 bucks vs another costing 5000 bucks. The leap in the 10000 pair wont be huge , it would be incremental at best and won't show an advantage with sound all the time, the 5000 pair would be considered better value. But doesnt mean there wont be an audiophile market for the 10000 speakers.
It's sort of similar with the HZ2000 and the cheaper oleds. You aren't getting the best value with the HZ2000 but the best picture, even though only incrementally better, that videophiles to whom price is not the primary factor would be interested to buy.

Yep.

I know where my sweet spot is, but it's pointless me telling others they're wrong if they disagree. They'll have made their own assessment(s) about what works for them, based on their own priorities.
 
People come into a HZ2000 review thread to read that the CX is a much better value? This is not a comparison thread, read the thread title again.
And i already have my opinion, im not here to seek help from people on what to buy. The calibrator who's told me the 2000 looks better than CX SBS is ISF level III, that's all i need. The HZ2000, just like the GZ2000, is not a 'bang for the buck' kind of tv as you are complaining, it's not targetted at that market by panasonic in the first place.

I've read it cheers! I can only assume you are buying one at some point :D I hope you enjoy it.

Oh and BTW I was advocating buying the HZ1000 over this, for people that don't want the audio, it's an infinitely better buy.
 
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Most people actually prefer LG OLED TVs and they get just as good reviews as this Panasonic.
I think you're probably looking at the overall consensus across the internet, of which most vocal consumers and publications typically are US-based. If you factor in that Panasonic is not selling their TV's in the US - then you can see why that might be a little one sided.

I can only speak to LG and Panasonic 2018 OLED's as that's all I've had. LG was great primarily for the remote and smart platform, but Panasonic provides a better image that is accurate out of the box.

I'd have been happy with the LG were it not for the chrominance overshoot that was plaguing streamed content at the time of my owning a C8. Since then I moved to the FZ802, where this flashing overshoot issue is mostly resolved. The combo of Apple TV 4K and a Harmony Elite resolves Panasonic's weakest aspect for me, which is their dated UI and exceptionally dated remote.

Naturally the 2000 range from either the GZ or HZ years is the closest thing to a perfect TV that money can buy. Like others I share the sentiment that a TV of this price range has a specific enthusiast audience, as such the cost for included Atmos speakers contradicts this. While some will want the added convenience of inbuilt Atmos speakers there's no doubt that they would be in the minority for what is already a niché product.
 
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As far as I remember, the Gz2000 had the same launch price as the Hz2000. I don't remember the Gz2000 being 5k at any time in the UK.

I remember buying my gz2000 for 4.3k then a week later it dropping to 3.5k which I got currys to refund 800.

Other than BFI there wont be much difference, filmaker mode is nothing to write home about.

Hz2000 will be a stunning tv but not much better vs other sets around,and in some instances it will be inferior to the latest sets
£4299 i believe .. Just to say if it's an improvement on my GZ2000 ah well more than happy with it and my next planned upgrade will be to a yet unknown tv tech .
 
I think there needs to be a wider conversation about hdmi 2.1..is there a shortage in parts? Does hdmi 2.1 cost significantly more to produce than hdmi 2.0b, does it increase the price of av products because it has to do more? Im still baffled by the reluctance of manufacturers to install hdmi 2.1, and im talking about future proofing before anyone jumps in, and says you dont need it as there nothing to connect to. Most cant upgrade our TV every year, and would likely keep it for 3 /5 years and that's my reason. Its been out a few years now and other than mainly the LGs...it just hasn't materialised

Its a shame Panasonic isn't able to get there lag down and also fit at least one full hdmi 2.1 with VRR 4k/ 120, as they could market there tv Best for Movies AND gaming because lets be honest hdmi 2 1 currently is about gaming with the PS5 and XBox series X on the horizon

Thanks for the review Phil, excellent and fair as always...one other point, panasonic in recent years have had issues with framerates, i know my 4 year old DX902 caused stutter in my oppo as at one point was forcing a 24 fps image on a 23.976 4k bluray, im hoping they have solved issues like that in this tv.
And in comparison to the HZ1500 how close are they and what are the differences?
Why you always baffled regarding HDMI 2.1?
It was stated on the podcast by Phil from Sound United that they if wanted to they could add multiple 2.1 ports but it’s due to cost.
If they can’t justify the costs considering how big they are, the same applies to Panasonic/Sony/Samsung tv’s.
It’s that simple its cost reduction.
Same with LG reducing there 2.1ports to 40gbps also no DTS pass through via internal apps.

There’s no conspiracy.!
 
Does the HZ2000 support 10-bit colour? If so, how is it enabled?
 
I think you're probably looking at the overall consensus across the internet, of which most vocal consumers and publications typically are US-based. If you factor in that Panasonic is not selling their TV's in the US - then you can see why that might be a little one sided.

I can only speak to LG and Panasonic 2018 OLED's as that's all I've had. LG was great primarily for the remote and smart platform, but Panasonic provides a better image that is accurate out of the box.

I'd have been happy with the LG were it not for the chrominance overshoot that was plaguing streamed content at the time of my owning a C8. Since then I moved to the FZ802, where this flashing overshoot issue is mostly resolved. The combo of Apple TV 4K and a Harmony Elite resolves Panasonic's weakest aspect for me, which is their dated UI and exceptionally dated remote.

Naturally the 2000 range from either the GZ or HZ years is the closest thing to a perfect TV that money can buy. Like others I share the sentiment that a TV of this price range has a specific enthusiast audience, as such the cost for included Atmos speakers contradicts this. While some will want the added convenience of inbuilt Atmos speakers there's no doubt that they would be in the minority for what is already a niché product.
Then how come Phil the writer of this review and Steve Withers always buy LG OLED TVs then?
 
Then how come Phil the writer of this review and Steve Withers always buy LG OLED TVs then?
At a guess I would assume it's because they can calibrate their own TV without paying someone else hundreds to do it for them. Another factor is they review AV equipment, so they need the latest features like eARC and such to be able to properly test compatibility with receivers/sounbars which they may wish to cover in their product reviews.
 
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All this rant about price. Come on fellas, deep in your heart you want this TV but the price is putting you off lol.
 
All this rant about price. Come on fellas, deep in your heart you want this TV but the price is putting you off lol.
Wait a while and it will be down to £2799 for the 65 inch .. that's what i paid.
 
Excellent review Phil.

Don't think an OLED TV could ever reach to One Thousand Nits, in its most accurate picture mode, which shows the limitation of the technology even after several generations of OLED panels.

Even next year, it will focus on better near black performance and better motion. You can forget about increases in brightness.

For people who care about ultimate in picture quality AND have deep pockets, would buy this TV.

I would buy the models in the lower in the range of Panasonic..next year:).
 
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Recent podcast chat about this TV mentioned Panasonic reckon majority of buyers want the sound system as it’s basically ticking the “I want the best TV for picture & sound” box for high-end customers.

As much as we gripe about doing a panel-only version for enthusiasts, there aren’t enough of us to warrant them making another model.

Sound system also helps them justify the price tag.
 
And here was me thinking you had 2 in your office space still. Have you got a projector now?
Oh, I have lot's of TVs around here at the moment, but they don't belong to me ;)
 
All this rant about price. Come on fellas, deep in your heart you want this TV but the price is putting you off lol.


Heh this is very true. In the past it was much easier justifying premium prices. The Kuros were about twice as much as the Panasonic offerings but they were in a completely different class. Even then people would debate the "is the Kuro twice as good?" on forums but no where near as much today since today all of the TVs are roughly the same but the premium difference is in a custom panel so it's no where near as defined as it was back over a decade ago.

I would say this is actually a good thing for consumers pointing out that it's so difficult for manufactures to stand out that they need to resort to custom solutions for incremental improvements. Basically any TV gets you there whereas years ago there were much more obvious differences. The downside is you pay a lot to get smaller improvements but it's a good first world problem to have.
 
Why you always baffled regarding HDMI 2.1?
It was stated on the podcast by Phil from Sound United that they if wanted to they could add multiple 2.1 ports but it’s due to cost.
If they can’t justify the costs considering how big they are, the same applies to Panasonic/Sony/Samsung tv’s.
It’s that simple its cost reduction.
Same with LG reducing there 2.1ports to 40gbps also no DTS pass through via internal apps.

There’s no conspiracy.!
Phil, hdmi has been around for a few years now, it shouldn't be a problem putting the into a £4,500 telly!!! I didn't say there was a conspiracy!!!
 
Everyone in this forum hurt because they want it but can't afford it :laugh:. Thats life some times guys

Its like saying a "LaFerrari £1,000,000 I can get 4 Ferrari F8s for that price" .... yeh but its not a LaFerrari is it

This model is clearly priced to compete with the WX OLEDs (£4799) and 950TS 8K QLEDs (£5399) of the world

WX has a lifestyle premium with identical picture to CX, 950TS has quality control issues/inherent LED limitations (from form users) despite what Phil's review said.

For the money I would expect a step change in picture quality for all 3 not just a marginal gain from the base models.

It's more AMG bodykit on a base model Merc, than a Ferrari
 
So you already bought the HZ2000? I've discussed with you on avsforum.com (that's you right), but you don't post there anymore? I'm still waiting on HZ2000, the pricing is out of bounds for me , as this would be a bedroom tv and there is a limit how much i can spend for that. My dealer told there is no chance of a price drop till december, and if it doesnt happen in december, then have to wait till mid next year (i'm talking of official manufacturer price drop). So I am waiting, even if i have to until the next year but eventually i'll hopefully buy this panasonic. I still have my sony A9G to watch.

Hmm I have been in the hz2000 thread on avs yes but since it's so few people talking about em I like it here better, go europe ;) It probably was me then, don't remember but I have been researching for a while and was torn between the 1000 and 2000 but have settled now. Just to know I will have the tv 3-5 years I wanted the best and go back to panasonic and the wife pitch in 50% so why not :D Have it delivered in two weeks when we move to a new apartment, can't wait!!

And for me that don't care about the OS/apps since I run everything on appletv4k and through a oppo203 I think this years panasonic will be perfect. Look forward to see how IFC min + BFI min (vincent recommendation for plasma like movement) on SDR compared to my 2018 sony that have great motion.

And just to have something visually "almost" perfect out of the box like this review says is worth a few punds so there you have £200-300 right off.
 
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Well unfortunately for Panasonic price is a issue, this tv is for movies..more than anything else.!
It’s not isolated to Panasonic other TV brands are in a similar position.
If 2.1HDMI is a must have then it’s LG, It’s the best overall OLED for 2020.
 

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