Panasonic GZ1500 (TX-55GZ1500B) 4K OLED TV Review & Comments

I do not understand why Panasonic TVs have hardwired power cords. Having seen the picture improvements on my parents's modest Samsung 40' MU6400 when I changed the power cord to an 2m £100 entry level one, honestly, it is unbelievable that you can not do that on a Panasonic one.
£100 for a 2m cord or am I missing something?
 
I've always had the same from the Norwich RS, but interestingly this time around when i went in a few weeks back they were advising me strongly against OLED, whatever my uses of the tv. They were so against it, in the end i bought from the Norwich JL... good luck though...

Did they give a reason why ? :)
 
Would of liked more info on the inbuilt soundbar quality tbh, also no mention of the Amazon Prime bug (are Panasonic ever going to fix this !), as some one else says no mention of the lack of a 7 day epg now it now longer supports freesat and no mention of what audio codecs the ne Panasonic can and cannot play.
Am I losing the plot here? probably yes. "lack of a 7 day epg now it now longer supports freesat"
I found odd there is no 7day EPG but why not? What has it got to do with freesat. I use a standalone sat receiver, VU+, and that has a 7 day epg for all channels freesat and others.
 
Am I losing the plot here? probably yes. "lack of a 7 day epg now it now longer supports freesat"
I found odd there is no 7day EPG but why not? What has it got to do with freesat. I use a standalone sat receiver, VU+, and that has a 7 day epg for all channels freesat and others.

Previous generations of Panasonic Oled had inbuilt Freesat, thereby allowing easy and quick access to channels and there respective 7 day epg.....this years GZ series do not have Freesat so the most you will get from a satellite connection re Epg will be now and next info.

Yes people work around this by using Sky, Virgin, Freesat receiver or like yourself an enigma 2 VU+ box, i myself have a 4k Vu+zero box but thoose boxes aren't the quickest to boot up (up to 5 mins from deep standby) and it becomes a pita if you just wanted to check whats on tv at that moment.

On LG's Oleds the inbuilt Freesat is a very usual feature and much quicker and easier to use than other alternatives.
 
Burn in really - and reckoning there were other key advantages of QLED over OLED, like brightness etc... I didnt feel these issues were really an issue for me - but I felt was getting very unbalanced advice...

The same advice i got from John Lewis,i guess the big thing is with burn in,no manufacturer will g/tee it won't happen,and i suppose it's the shops who have to deal with the customer if by chance it does.
 
I’m on my 3rd OLED and never had any burn in. In fact my original eg960v from about 4 or 5 years ago it’s sole purpose now is in the games room for PS4 for the kids and that’s got no burn in.

Then again I dont use my OLED like a torch (as much as you can) and have them calibrated. If you run an OLED in vivid mode or over bright then Probably there is more risk and should consider why you are getting one. Your settings preferences are as much a part of the equation as the content you watch IMhO
 
The same advice i got from John Lewis,i guess the big thing is with burn in,no manufacturer will g/tee it won't happen,and i suppose it's the shops who have to deal with the customer if by chance it does.
I'd say thunderbugs on a lcd is more common than burn in on an oled, can burn in happen, yes it can..... But it generally depends on your viewing habits and how often you do a compensation cycle, I've had 3 oleds and none of them have had burn in, where as I've got 2 Panasonic dx902's and both have thunderbugs in them as the panels are not sealed like they are in oleds
 
I'd say thunderbugs on a lcd is more common than burn in on an oled, can burn in happen, yes it can..... But it generally depends on your viewing habits and how often you do a compensation cycle, I've had 3 oleds and none of them have had burn in, where as I've got 2 Panasonic dx902's and both have thunderbugs in them as the panels are not sealed like they are in oleds

Thanks,i've not heard of thunderbugs ?,but just spoken to my local richer sounds,and they say with my viewing habits,as others have said i shouldn't have a problem with burn in,as the the pixel will be switched off when watching 2.35.1 movies.
Decision,do i stick with what i got my Panasonic 902 for a few more years,or go for an OLED now,or wait till Samsung Q90 drop in price :eek::D.

PS,Found out about thunderbugs,not had that problem :)
 
do i stick with what i got my Panasonic 902 for a few more years,or go for an OLED
I've got the 902 and keen to get an OLED. I've deviced to go with a LGC8. I won't go back to Panasonic after some very poor after sales experience, and one firmware update in 3 years for the 902 says it all really.
 
I've got the 902 and keen to get an OLED. I've deviced to go with a LGC8. I won't go back to Panasonic after some very poor after sales experience, and one firmware update in 3 years for the 902 says it all really.

I have been keen as well,yep not to many updates for the Panasonic 902,but to be fair not really had to many problems :)
 
I have been keen as well,yep not to many updates for the Panasonic 902,but to be fair not really had to many problems :)
That's true. The black smearing issue I suppose is a hardware limitation, but the OS is a little antiquated and miles behind WebOS I'd say.
 
bought the ez952 in a 55 in some ways regret not going bigger but be interesting the difference between the ez952 and newer models..

Doh!

We told you at the time to go for the 65", but you wouldn't listen to us!:facepalm:;)

In fairness to you, you agonised over your decision and you did say your viewing distance was so short that you would have to physically turn your head to following any panning shots across the screen.

Does 55" feel too small now or have you made changes to your room to accommodate 65"?
 
Hdmi 2.1 on TV for 8K with Sony X Reality upscale for gaming make eye candy sense.
Be better than 4K native presentation and be retinal pin sharp at any viewing distance and screen size.
For 4K gaming 60fps is the sheer limit for console games in 2019/20.
2.1 hdmi is a too big a pipe for current console gaming.
Not having 2.1 hdmi is not really a TV deal breaker!
2020 when it will be a real issue.
 
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Dream world? My first plasma was a panasonic , no speaker, no apps, nothing. Bloody brilliant. You want apps? Buy a box like me..sound? Use the amps etc we all buy...a panel alone would be so much better than all these fully loaded tv. Imagine how good a panel would be that concentrated totally on pictures not gagets
 
I've got the 902 and keen to get an OLED. I've deviced to go with a LGC8. I won't go back to Panasonic after some very poor after sales experience, and one firmware update in 3 years for the 902 says it all really.
While we can all throw criticism at their dated OS, besides this, is the lack of Panasonic updates really a negative?

While LG can be applauded for acting on user reported issues and rectifying them after half a year... at least with regards to the flashing/chrominance overshoot fiasco, several journalists have recently reported that Panasonic nipped this in the bud even before they released the 2018 FZ series. That's an update before we even knew we needed an update!

In contrast to LG, I was forced to return my C8 as LG were refusing to acknowledge the issue at the time. Still, props to them for eventually seeing it through with an update and putting it right for others. There was also a dimming HDR bug just before that, which that too got patched, so a positive, but they seemed to have a lot of issues initially that impacted owners for a significant amount of time.

I can't praise Panny too much, as it's clear their new GZ range is facing some issues with the TV's audio - it may be telling to see just how quick/slow Panasonic act to get this resolved.

I would expect it's a matter of weeks rather than several months though, time will tell.
 
Previous generations of Panasonic Oled had inbuilt Freesat, thereby allowing easy and quick access to channels and there respective 7 day epg.....this years GZ series do not have Freesat so the most you will get from a satellite connection re Epg will be now and next info.

Yes people work around this by using Sky, Virgin, Freesat receiver or like yourself an enigma 2 VU+ box, i myself have a 4k Vu+zero box but thoose boxes aren't the quickest to boot up (up to 5 mins from deep standby) and it becomes a pita if you just wanted to check whats on tv at that moment.

On LG's Oleds the inbuilt Freesat is a very usual feature and much quicker and easier to use than other alternatives.
This is a shame as I don’t have an aerial (yes I can get one but involves knocking thought brick walls ie...not going to happen), my LG uses oddly the freeviewplay UI when I manually tuned in satellite (didn’t want Freesat as they binned C4HD).
I wonder does the Panasonic have a manual sat tuning, so not Freesat, Astra 19.2E and if it then (like the LG) uses the freeview play guide?

Below is a Satellite manual tuning on the LG but it shows freeview play UI - odd but a good workaround for CH4 HD
720B0144-66AE-458C-B81B-2CD9800DA38E.jpeg
 
Cracking review Phil, 23+ mins...are you sure it’s easier than the written review ;)
Love it though - appreciate all the work!

Looks like Panasonic are heading for the Best Buy for the GZ950 going by the GZ1500 review, given the 950 is cheaper than LGs offering, it’s looking like a bargain (in AV members terms ££).

Very much looking forward to the flagship review, from what forum members have shown so far, uniformity is excellent, something I shouldn’t have to, but am prepared to pay for with my next tv.

Can you bend the ears of the Panasonic reps at IFA, a good few of us want the custom panel without the audio additions - hopefully next year along with the new 2.1 chipset!

I think ALLM is a good call, the games industry is bigger than the film industry (or so I believe), many of us love film, but also games. The 950 is looking like the 2019 bargain, so for gamers it’s certainly tempting. Ever since I heard about the concept on last years Samsung, it was a must for me.
 
Previous generations of Panasonic Oled had inbuilt Freesat, thereby allowing easy and quick access to channels and there respective 7 day epg.....this years GZ series do not have Freesat so the most you will get from a satellite connection re Epg will be now and next info.

Yes people work around this by using Sky, Virgin, Freesat receiver or like yourself an enigma 2 VU+ box, i myself have a 4k Vu+zero box but thoose boxes aren't the quickest to boot up (up to 5 mins from deep standby) and it becomes a pita if you just wanted to check whats on tv at that moment.

On LG's Oleds the inbuilt Freesat is a very usual feature and much quicker and easier to use than other alternatives.
My VU+ box is fine seems to be quick to get its act together instant epg.
 
This is a shame as I don’t have an aerial (yes I can get one but involves knocking thought brick walls ie...not going to happen), my LG uses oddly the freeviewplay UI when I manually tuned in satellite (didn’t want Freesat as they binned C4HD).
I wonder does the Panasonic have a manual sat tuning, so not Freesat, Astra 19.2E and if it then (like the LG) uses the freeview play guide?

Below is a Satellite manual tuning on the LG but it shows freeview play UI - odd but a good workaround for CH4 HD
View attachment 1183728

Yes the Panasonic GZ's have 2 satellite inputs for manual sat tuning, the epg apperently only shows now and next though....i dont normally use Freeview as the PQ is poor though using there Epg might be a workaround for using as a quick tv guide.
 
Dream world? My first plasma was a panasonic , no speaker, no apps, nothing. Bloody brilliant. You want apps? Buy a box like me..sound? Use the amps etc we all buy...a panel alone would be so much better than all these fully loaded tv. Imagine how good a panel would be that concentrated totally on pictures not gagets
Like I said, removing the speakers and the OS wouldn't make the panel any better. And it's not 10 years ago, you can't sell a television with no smarts. No smarts would mean no software updates. How many enthusiasts would risk buying a television with that limitation?
 
Like I said, removing the speakers and the OS wouldn't make the panel any better. And it's not 10 years ago, you can't sell a television with no smarts. No smarts would mean no software updates. How many enthusiasts would risk buying a television with that limitation?
Usb? Any way it’s irrelevant.
 
Panasonic have always received negative review feedback regarding their epg (looks like the same one that’s been used for over a decade). Is this their way of removing that feedback - simply dropping it..
 

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