Panasonic 58 inch JX850BZ 4K LED HDR Smart TV Dolby Vision/Atmos

Product Information

Picture wise, the HX800 has a lot to live up to. Last year’s GX800 was a brilliant performer for the price. As it happens, little has changed. There’s the same sophistication to the HX800’s imagery, which belies its edge-lit LED specification.

Panasonic does cinematic sheen better than anyone. There’s a lushness to the HX800’s pictures which is immediately engaging. The image doesn’t prioritise LED brightness, but it’s all the more cinematic for that. Colour fidelity is excellent. Even the catch-all Normal viewing mode trades glare for big-screen glamour.Energy consumption XYZ kWh per year, based on the power consumption of the television operating 4 hours per day for 365 days. The actual energy consumption will depend on how the television is used. As with the JZ2000, these sets benefit from the colour tuning of Stefan Sonnenfeld, Founder and CEO of Company 3, and a trusted collaborator of some of the world’s best filmmakers. Combined with Panasonic technical colour accuracy, these new OLED TVs will set the benchmark for watching cinematic and premium content.

Inevitably, motion artefacts are more evident on the Mid and Max settings. If you’re watching movies from Blu-ray (at 24 frames per second) our advice remains to switch IFC off. This eliminates all motion artefacts, but you’ll have to live with a level of panning judder. True to Panasonic’s philosophy of delivering immersive true-to-life experiences, the design of the 2021 line-up is simple and minimal so as to allow viewers to be fully focused on their favourite content. The set’s HCX image processor may not come with any AI-enhanced picture processing, but it remains an accomplished image engine. Native 4K generally looks excellent, with blistering levels of detail and texture, and it does a competent job upscaling HD resolution sources too. Sound Quality is also very good for the TV #although I read a few complaints#. I run the movies through my home theater system for sound #it makes a huge difference regardless of any TV you use#, but when I’m not or watching late at night, the sound the TV provides is more than adequate.The Home screen is easily customised, so you can add a favourite streaming service to the default button trio of Apps, Devices and Live TV, or put a connected physical device front and centre. This fuss-free approach can easily be enjoyed by family members simply looking for an easy life. Clearly aimed at discerning film fans, the HX800 combines Multi-HDR support (by which we mean it covers both Dolby Vision and HDR10+, as well as Sky Q-friendly HLG) with image tuning that’s passed muster with leading Hollywood colourist Stefan Sonnenfeld. However, while this is good overall for sets in this kind of value range, the brightness is notably lower than the brightness of the Philips OLED754, which has the double advantage of being an OLED set, so handles contrast much better than this TV, meaning HDR performance is much better overall. The (UK & Europe-only) 55-inch OLED754 is around the same price, so is the single biggest competitor here, and has the edge when it comes to HDR image performance overall. Opt for the low impact Minimum setting and you’ll get the benefits of smooth motion and retained detail, without overly intrusive artefacts. Michael Bay’s madcap Netflix Original 6 Underground is awash with fast action and busy scenes, but the HX800 has no problem keeping sequences clear and lucid. Panasonic’s brighter Master HDR OLED Professional Edition panel now utilised across two OLED series – JZ2000 and JZ1500

One exciting new feature is the ability to connect two devices over Bluetooth to the set, meaning you can pair two over-ear headphones, or perhaps a mouse for navigating the screen. Other new features include HDMI Signal Power Link which enables automatic power on from standby and input switching, even for devices such a PCs, which are not CEC compatible. Panasonic has always been a great TV brand for HDR format support, and we know the JZ2000 will get support for HDR10+ Adaptive, which is a new feature that enhances HDR10+ content by responding to the level of ambient light in the TV’s environment – much like Dolby Vision IQ, which launched in 2019, and is also found on Panasonic TVs. Two things immediately spring to mind when watching 4K Blu-rays on this set: the colour depth is extraordinary, and detail is gorgeously depicted.Panasonic’s connected platform, My Home Screen, often referred to just as Home, is now in its fifth iteration. If you’re looking for a smart OS that does little more than make it easy to stream stuff and connect your gear, it’ll hold plenty of appeal.

Picture presets comprise Dynamic, Normal, Cinema, True Cinema, Custom and Sport. For most content, the Normal mode shows the panel off to best advantage. For movies, we’d suggest True Cinema over the regular Cinema preset, which is just too muted for its own good. Dual Bluetooth Connection allows the TV to transmit sound to two separate Bluetooth devices simultaneously, meaning that, for example, both you and your spouse can listen to a film late at night via Bluetooth headphones without disturbing your children’s sleep. Panasonic’s edge-lit LEDs still sometimes leak a bit of light close to the edge of the frame and the whole panel could be a little better shielded from its light source. This is simply the shortcoming of mid-range, edge-lit TVs, though. The only way to get beyond that with Panasonic is to make the significant step up to the company’s OLED range. The fact that this is the only place we notice the compromise is credit to what Panasonic has done here.

The divinely slim Panasonic HX800 series provides a jumping on point for multi-HDR support in Japanese brand’s 2020 edge-lit LED TV range. The set’s mid-range status is evidenced by the rear panel connections. We get just a trio of HDMIs, plus two USBs ports, digital optical audio out, component AV and Ethernet. There’s also a CI slot for those that need it.