First Impressions: Panasonic TX-65Z95A

Panasonic is partnering with Amazon to offer the Fire TV OS across its 2024 line-up, and the new Z95A OLED makes a great first impression. The set is still recognisably Panasonic, retaining its Game Menu and picture processing options, but comes with a neatly integrated iteration of the Amazon UI. Picture quality is exceptional, with the new MLA panel and processor combo delivering an uplift in brightness and clarity. PC gamers also now get the option of a 144Hz HDMI input. Consider us impressed!

Introduction

Panasonic smart TVs will never look quite the same again. At CES 2024, the Japanese giant unveiled its latest OLED flagship, the Z95A, and announced that it had benched its own connected TV platform, My Home Screen, in favour of Amazon’s Fire TV OS.

We’ve seen plenty of Fire TV tellies over the past 12 months, but this is the first iteration of a truly high-end model running the platform.

Actually, Panasonic took the wraps off two flatscreens at CES, the Z95A and the 77-inch variant, the Z93A. The stablemate Z93A has a different OLED screen, designated Master OLED Pro Cinema. It’s not an MLA panel and lacks light control hardware, but it is 2024 glass and sports the same HCX Pro AI Processor MK II processor.

I went behind the scenes at the Las Vegas tech show, and Amazon Studios in Culver city, to take a closer look at these Panasonic debutants.

Design

• 55- and 65-inch models
• Same design as before

Smart platform aside, the Z95A is a welcome update on last year’s award-winning MZ2000.

Available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes, the screen sits on a central, swivelling pedestal stand and features impeccable build quality.

The MLA (Micro Lens Array) panel has been tweaked for 2024 to edge up overall brightness, and is allied to a proprietary, physical heat management system. This combo is partnered with an HCX Pro AI Processor MK II processor.

Features

• Universal HDR support

HDR support once again is universal, with HDR10+ Adaptive and Dolby Vision IQ Precision Detail leading the way. The latter is an enhancement of the more familiar Dolby Vision IQ mode and works with the screen’s various sensors to draw out detail in specific elements of the frame, without detrimentally boosting overall brightness.

Simply put, whatever your HDR source, the Z95A will make the most of it.

Of course, several Prime Video shows offer both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ Adaptive. In these cases, the Z95A always defaults to the Dolby Vision option.

The screen also has a Netflix Adaptive Calibrated mode but does not sport IMAX Enhanced certification.

Sound Quality

• Dolby Atmos support

The Z95A retains one of the most effective integrated Dolby Atmos sound systems on the market, in the shape of Panasonic’s 360 Soundscape Pro configuration, tuned by Technics. It comprises a forward facing L/C/R soundbar array, side mounted speakers and a pair of Dolby enabled up-firers, powered by 160W of cumulative amplification.

There’s no change to this hardware over 2023’s MZ2000, so I have every reason to expect them to sound as good as last season’s model.

Picture Quality

• Sharp, colourful, and bright images

What’s genuinely impressive about the Z95A is the quality of its images, which are phenomenally sharp with superb near-black shadow detail and excellent colour. Frankly, the Z95A looks gorgeous.

At CES, Panasonic demoed the screen against a non-MLA model from lower down the range, the MZ980, and it clearly outshone that offering, both in terms of dynamic range and overall brightness. I didn’t have a chance to compare the Z93A directly with an MZ2000, but Panasonic suggests a noticeable luminance lift.

The set’s HCX Pro AI Processor MK II processor has also opened the door to better picture quality from streaming sources, courtesy of a 4K Remaster Engine. This applies AI and mathematical algorithms to improve image quality and eliminate banding.

I rate the set’s Hollywood tuned colour as exceptional. Able to mimic a master monitor or offer greater visual pop when seen in a brightly lit living room, it’s well suited for all viewing conditions.

Panasonic Fire TV interface

• Alexa support
• Freeview Play tuner for the UK

So what of the integration of Fire TV OS? Well, this doesn’t appear to be just another cookie-cutter port of the Amazon platform. For one thing, Panasonic has kept its fully featured zapper, without having to compromise with a generic Amazon Fire TV want; the set has a far field mic built in.

It’s also the first third-party Fire TV OS implementation to include an Ambient Experience mode, so you can use the screen to display images and mood enhancing graphics, when not watching the box.

In the UK, the Z95A will feature a Freeview Play tuner. I rather like the way the Fire TV OS integrates linear TV within its interface, presenting live channels as a curated rail.

You can also use the interface as a dashboard for connected Fire compatible devices. Images from a Ring doorbell can be plonked top right (or wherever) and then viewed full screen if the postie is trying to make an Amazon delivery.

The passing of My Home Screen hasn’t impacted Panasonic’s Game Control Board UI. You can still access this via a pinned ‘My App’ shortcut on the remote. Interestingly, both the Z95A and Z93A OLED offer 144Hz refresh rate support, along with full Dolby Vision High Frame Rate support for any games that offer it.