Advice on this Panasonic TV?

Forums › Gaming › Advice on this Panasonic TV?

MarkCerny

75 posts

Master Geek

#270401 7-May-2020 16:38

Hey, I am looking for a 4k tv to use with my PS4 and PS5 when that releases...

I found this Panasonic on JB Hifi and wondered if anyone can give me advice on whether it will do a good job.

https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/panasonic/panasonic-gx700z-40-4k-uhd-smart-led-tv/365150/

It says the refresh rate is 100mhz MRR. I don't know what the MRR means and google isn't too helpful.

Cheers

ShinyChrome

849 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#2478813 7-May-2020 17:03

I think this is a case of it is what it it is for the price, most other TV's around that price-point will be much of a muchness. The processor isn't too bad and supports both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, but the panel is probably a cheap and cheerful edge/frame lit IPS. It will probably be fine for bright content if you aren't picky, but it will look terrible for anything dark. I imagine it probably will not look great with HDR content either and the contrast will probably suck.

MRR is probably just their marketing name for fake higher frame rates, given other names by different OEMs. It's probably actually a 60hz panel. Which is ok if you are playing at 4k, since most games struggle to make 60fps at that resolution, but obviously won't be able to take advantage of any of the higher feature-set of a PS5, since it can't display high frame rates nor does it have HDMI 2.1 ports.

Are you specifically looking at 40" TVs or is that what your budget limit is?

MarkCerny

75 posts

Master Geek

#2478843 7-May-2020 18:09

Thanks for your help, I was looking at 40" or 43" seems like that is the price of that size at least on JB Hifi. Just really looking for a 4K tv with good price/performance.

ShinyChrome

849 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#2479044 8-May-2020 09:01

Unfortunately the <55" TV segment is pretty weak and usually reserved for cheap entry level TVs in NZ, so 55" is where most mid/high-ranges start. Budget aside, about the only decent gaming TV in that segment I know of would be the new 48" LG CX, but you will be expecting to pay $2-3k for it, and it's not listed on LG NZ's site, so who knows if we will actually get it. With that, you get a 4k 120hz OLED with all of the HDMI 2.1 features, so would be perfect match for the PS5.

Stepping up to a 55", you can start to get half-decent entry level TVs like the Samsung RU8000. I'm not a huge fan of Samsung TV's, but for the price, it seems to review well, and has a 120hz VA panel, which will have better contrast for movies and gaming at the expense of less viewing angle. It is also FreeSync compatible, which I will presume the PS5 will have. If your budget can stomach it, the best TV under $2k currently would be the Sony X950g. It reviews highly, and has a great 120hz VA FALD panel, which is about as good as you will get without going to OLEDs, like the HDMI 2.1 equipped LG B9. The X950g also uses Android TV as an OS as well, so it is a bit more customization friendly. I think that it is worth the price, but obviously YMMV depending on how picky you are about picture quality and how much you want to budget for a TV. The Samsung Q70R is another TV at the same price-point that is worth a look as well, and rates quite highly for gaming.

Personally, if you aren't in a massive hurry to get a TV, I would wait until Black Friday (November) this year. We are supposed to be getting more HDMI 2.1 equipped TVs available on the market (as well as more firm specs about the PS5), and by then they should actually reach a reasonable price. I am interested to see how much the Sony X900H is launching for, since that looks like a perfect match for the PS5 (4k 120hz VA FALD panel and HDMI 2.1 feature-set at a reasonable price).

Dingbatt

4421 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2479071 8-May-2020 10:15

We have the 2018 version of the 43” TV you linked. It was originally in our Family Room. Because it is edge lit, I found that to get it bright enough for viewing in a sunny room, I had to crank the brightness up to the point where it washed out the colours. Blacks became very grey.

So that TV got relegated to the bedroom and replaced with a 43” Samsung “Frame” TV. I had been sceptical of the claims made by Samsung about their QLED technology, but the colour, brightness, contrast and viewing angles are all way superior to the Panasonic. I can’t comment on its gaming performance as it’s not used for that. It did cost twice as much however ($1500 on special).

Areas of Geek interest: Home Theatre, HTPC, Android Tablets & Phones, iProducts.

ShinyChrome

849 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#2479144 8-May-2020 10:56

Dingbatt:

We have the 2018 version of the 43” TV you linked. It was originally in our Family Room. Because it is edge lit, I found that to get it bright enough for viewing in a sunny room, I had to crank the brightness up to the point where it washed out the colours. Blacks became very grey.

So that TV got relegated to the bedroom and replaced with a 43” Samsung “Frame” TV. I had been sceptical of the claims made by Samsung about their QLED technology, but the colour, brightness, contrast and viewing angles are all way superior to the Panasonic. I can’t comment on its gaming performance as it’s not used for that. It did cost twice as much however ($1500 on special).

Quantum dot tech is great for increasing color gamut and brightness on LCD-LED TVs, but Samsung's intentionally consumer-confusing QLED marketing to compete with OLED was a real dick move, especially when they could have competed. LG has the same tech under the NanoCell name, but they don't have to try and compete with OLED obviously. Samsung's QD-BOLED tech could be an interesting competitor to WOLED, guess we will see when it reaches prime-time.

If I am remembering correctly, the Frame is based on a Q60, no?

shk292

1876 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2479211 8-May-2020 12:41

The problem with threads like this and being slightly bored WFH is that I now want to buy a new TV. Those 55@ OLEDs look seriously nice