Panasonic’s bombshell announcement of its return to the US TV market earlier this week was met with ample excitement. Leading the charge of its return is the flagship Panasonic Z95A OLED TV, a high-end display built for some serious gaming.
The game might not be The Empire Strikes Back, but Panasonic's OLED made Outlaws feel like a true cinematic adventure.
It's this very reason why I had to give Star Wars Outlaws a run for its credits on Panasonic’s latest OLED TV — and boy was it wizard. Panasonic’s leveraging of the second-generation MLA panel made by LG Display makes all the difference, gifting the display inky blacks and plasmatic reds. The game might not be The Empire Strikes Back, but Panasonic's OLED made Outlaws feel like a true cinematic adventure.
I played Outlaws on my trusty PS5 as opposed to pairing the new Panasonic OLED with one of the best gaming PCs. Although that comes with some drawbacks (PS5 and the Xbox Series X only support video output of up to 120Hz in 4K via HDMI 2.1), this didn't hinder the experience one bit.
Can the Panasonic Z95A rank among the best gaming TVs in the market? I traveled to a galaxy far, far away to find out.
Like shooting womp rats in a T16
What stood out the most for me when playing Star Wars Outlaws on the Z95A was the fact that the PS5 HDR looked absolutely breathtaking. It’s interesting because the colors are often pretty wonky on alternative sets, namely Mini-LED models like the Hisense U7K and the Roku Pro Series.
This and many more of its amazing features were automatically applied the moment I plugged the PS5 into the TV, thanks to handy “Game Mode Extreme” function on the Panasonic Z95A OLED. I did have to enable 60Hz refresh mode to get the best coverage, plus its only two HDMI 2.1 ports (Inputs 1 and 2) means you'll have have to pick and choose your devices wisely — especially if you aim to use one of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars with it.
Speaking of audio, this is one of the few TVs where I'd recommend sticking with the base speaker system. The Z95A packs quite a wallop in its 160W speaker built on a 7-channel system. This is unheard of in the TV industry and made my time with Star Wars Outlaws all the more memorable and bombastic. The TV even has two distinct game mode sounds in FPS and RPG, which allows audio crispness and realness depending on the type of game you're playing.
The immaculate video combined with the Z95A's killer sound system delivered an incredible level of immersion.
The immaculate video combined with the Z95A's killer sound system delivered an incredible level of immersion. The sleek, nearly bezel-less OLED panel in tandem with its jaw-dropping colors really popped, and it was easy to get sucked into Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars adventure.
What struck me most was that Outlaw's fast-paced space-based gameplay looked like they were designed specifically for this OLED TV. OLEDs are known for delivering deep and gorgeous black levels; it's one of the main reasons buyers turn to the best OLED TVs in the first place and the Z95A delivers them in spades.
The dark side of the Z95A OLED
Of course, if Star Wars taught me anything, it's that there's a hero and villain inside all of us. Despite an overwhelmingly heroic performance, the Panasonic Z95A still has some areas where the dark side has taken ahold. Remember: the Panasonic Z95A OLED TV only has two ports compatible with VRR and both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync.
This drawback automatically drops the Panasonic Z95A OLED out of the running for best HDMI 2.1 TVs, as we like to see four when it comes to this designation. To be clear, this isn't a major drag on the TV by any means, it just limits the amount of modern consoles and devices, like the best computers, you can use with the Z95A and get the best performance out of them.
Add to that the fact that the second HDMI port with 2.1 certification is also its only source for eARC compatible connections, and you're really left with just one input. As I said previously, the Z95A's advanced speaker system definitely makes up for this oversight given how good it is, but the dearth of full-spec ports is something to be aware of.
Another potential drawback for the Z95A is that it's only available in a 65-inch configuration. While you can instead go with the Panasonic Z85A range, this too only comes in 55-inch and 65-inch, which locks out some buyers who might want a smaller OLED TV to use as their main PC display. I replaced my PC monitor with a 42-inch LG C4 OLED recently, and that, too was an awesome experience. Because the Z95A doesn't come in anything other than 65-inch screen size, pairing it with a PC that's located outside of your living room is going to be next to impossible.
Don't get me wrong, I could spend all day taking in the sights and sounds of the Star Wars galaxy, but when the blasters come out, I need that ultra-fast refresh rate to give me an advantage.
And while not exactly a stain on the Z95A's image, I would love to see more TV makers adopt what TCL is doing with its so-called Game Accelerator 240. More commonly witnessed on the best gaming monitors, this function allows the TV or monitor to switch resolutions to improve frame rates. (In TCL's case, you can drop from a 4K resolution to 1080p to jump from a 120Hz display to a 240Hz one.) Don't get me wrong, I could spend all day taking in the sights and sounds of the Star Wars galaxy, but when the blasters come out, I need that ultra-fast refresh rate to give me an advantage.
Overall, these are minor complaints about an otherwise transcendental experience. Yes, the TV is pricey, as are the PS5 and the $70 Star Wars game, but the feeling of feeling totally immersed in a galaxy far, far away was worth the price of admission.
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