Customer reviews from Panasonic
Panasonic - 55 inch OLED 4K Ultra HD Smart Fire TV (2024) TV-55Z85AP
Average customer rating
4.8
(5 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 5 reviews
5 Stars
4
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
100%of customers recommend this product.
(
5 out of
5)
Customer Reviews for Panasonic - 55 inch OLED 4K Ultra HD Smart Fire TV (2024) TV-55Z85AP
Customer Rating
5
Panasonic is back!
on May 26, 2025
Posted by: Anonymous
Gender:Male
I bought this TV last week after seeing the one my parents purchased a week before. The image is stunning and I knew I needed one for myself as soon as I saw theirs, I ordered one on the spot to replace my now 15 year old 720p Panasonic Plasma as my main TV, that 15 year old Plasma is still loved and going strong so I hope this OLED will have a long life too!
Picture
All content looks absolutely incredible in the default AI mode, this is the first TV I've bought that didn't require me to fiddle with settings for hours to get a good picture. Only tweaks I had to make from the jump were turning off all the motion smoothing including the "Accurate IFC" setting, I found that setting tends to cause a mild soap opera effect overall and jumpiness randomly on content that has 3:2 pulldown. The image is much more consistent in panning shots with it set to off, took me a few days to figure that one out. The TV info on the menu shows that the TV automatically switches to the appropriate refresh rate on apps to match the frame rate of movies anyways so that AIFC option was not really necessary for the smart apps, RTINGs noted in their review it's more so made for external devices that don't natively play 24p content and the TV automatically applies a dejudder even with AIFC off.
All content looks absolutely incredible in the default AI mode, this is the first TV I've bought that didn't require me to fiddle with settings for hours to get a good picture. Only tweaks I had to make from the jump were turning off all the motion smoothing including the "Accurate IFC" setting, I found that setting tends to cause a mild soap opera effect overall and jumpiness randomly on content that has 3:2 pulldown. The image is much more consistent in panning shots with it set to off, took me a few days to figure that one out. The TV info on the menu shows that the TV automatically switches to the appropriate refresh rate on apps to match the frame rate of movies anyways so that AIFC option was not really necessary for the smart apps, RTINGs noted in their review it's more so made for external devices that don't natively play 24p content and the TV automatically applies a dejudder even with AIFC off.
Other tweaks I made was lowering the black level by 1 click which helps hide pesky compression artifacts that are inherent in streaming video, and changing "adaptive gamma control" to 5, as the default of 8 made dark scenes far too bright at times (this was especially noticeable on a Silent Hill DVD around 17 minutes in where the gamma would brighten so high it would reveal a wall corner that had no color info on the dvd which looked quite goofy as a giant blob of black surrounded by brown bricks). A setting of 5 gives some room for those dark scenes to become more visible without overdoing it and revealing things in the shadows that were never meant to be seen.
Colors really pop in HD on this display and 4K obviously looks incredible. Blurays all look better than I'd ever seen, and the 4K streaming I watched was mindblowing.
The major surprise is SD content. On other modern TVs SD content has looked passable at best and unwatchable at worst, but on the Z85 some sort of upscaling witchcraft is at play. I'm not sure if it's the AI or what but some of the DVDs I played on this set have looked HD at a glance, some notable DVDs that looked stunning are Yellowjackets, Twin Peaks, and the Twilight Zone (2019). I never thought a DVD could look this great until I saw them played on this screen. Now this is a case by case basis so not every DVD will look as incredible as the ones I mentioned, but they all do look better than they have on any other TV I've ever played them on. DVDs that looked blurry and a bit washed out on my last TV are now razor sharp and vibrant, like I said it's witchcraft.
Only downside I've with image quality so far is grey uniformity, in dark scenes that aren't quite black I can see some patterns, a large line on the lower half of the screen that's a bit darker than the rest is my main annoyance. I understand this is inherent with the technology though. It does seem to be getting better over time, so fingers crossed that it will even out perfectly once I get a 100hrs or so in.
Sound
I never thought I'd sing praises to a modern TV's built in speakers but here we are. My old Panasonic Plasma had very good sound for being stereo, very warm. When I first heard the Z85 OLED's sound I was initially unimpressed, as voices weren't as warm as I was used to with my old TV. My ears quickly got used to it though and to my surprise I could hear bass sounds that I never heard on my old TV and they felt as if they were filling the room. I turned the volume down, afraid I'd blow the small built in speakers and quickly checked the specs on the TV. Turns out this TV is equipped with a built in subwoofer! No need for a soundbar on this set, a basic stereo soundbar would actually be a downgrade from the 2.1 channel built in speakers. If you want to upgrade best to save for a proper 5.1 or 7.1 setup because this TV already does a splendid job with stereo.
I never thought I'd sing praises to a modern TV's built in speakers but here we are. My old Panasonic Plasma had very good sound for being stereo, very warm. When I first heard the Z85 OLED's sound I was initially unimpressed, as voices weren't as warm as I was used to with my old TV. My ears quickly got used to it though and to my surprise I could hear bass sounds that I never heard on my old TV and they felt as if they were filling the room. I turned the volume down, afraid I'd blow the small built in speakers and quickly checked the specs on the TV. Turns out this TV is equipped with a built in subwoofer! No need for a soundbar on this set, a basic stereo soundbar would actually be a downgrade from the 2.1 channel built in speakers. If you want to upgrade best to save for a proper 5.1 or 7.1 setup because this TV already does a splendid job with stereo.
Voices are clear and stand out from the music in films, likely due to the way they have been tuned to output in a more midrange eq than some other speakers. They're very present but never harsh on the ears, very well balanced. This isn't to say they are better than a proper high end center channel, of course they aren't, but for built in speakers they get the job done well. There's also an option in the ATSC 3.0 settings to enhance Dialogue if you would like to make the dialogue even more prominent.
I haven't had to turn this TV's volume above 50% yet despite my AC and fans in the room being loud, so I reckon rhis TV's built in speakers can get quite loud if you like your movies blaring.
Minor gripe. When my parent's bought their Z85 I was tasked with setting it up for them and my major problem that took hours to solve was getting their 4.1 soundbar hooked up. I couldn't get sound through EARC for some reason on amazon prime video apps or their Dish Network Hopper. After hours of struggling I found out the fix was to go into the sound settings within the Fire UI and change it from Auto to Dolby Digital. This immediately fixed all sound issues, I'm assuming there was some sort of compatibility issue between their old soundbar and the TV where the auto function wasn't sending a compatible audio codec.
Smart interface
It's Amazon Fire, I'm very familiar with it so it's a cinch to get around. The ads are a bit annoying but that's Amazon's doing. Overall it feels snappier than my firestick 4K. My only issue so far has been the programmable button on the remote which randomly stops working until the TV is restarted from the FireTV menu, this is likely an Amazon Fire bug and hopefully it will get squashed eventually.
It's Amazon Fire, I'm very familiar with it so it's a cinch to get around. The ads are a bit annoying but that's Amazon's doing. Overall it feels snappier than my firestick 4K. My only issue so far has been the programmable button on the remote which randomly stops working until the TV is restarted from the FireTV menu, this is likely an Amazon Fire bug and hopefully it will get squashed eventually.
So far I am extremely happy with this TV. I had tried a few different brands of LED TVs over the years but none of them were as good as my now ancient 720p Panasonic Plasma, the Z85 is the first TV I've owned that has blown that old plasma away in image and sound quality. I'm hoping it will last me another 15 years and I hope Panasonic keeps making them because I'd like to eventually have a few of these in the house. Other TV manufacturers just don't have the same quality as Panasonic, I was sad when they left the TV business years ago and I'm ecstatic they've returned. Once you go Panasonic it's hard to settle for other brands.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from PanasonicBy Team Panasonic - S, Team Panasonic, May 27, 2025
Hello there! Thank you so much for this fantastic and thorough review! We’re thrilled to hear the Z85 OLED has made such a positive impression, from the stunning picture and impressive upscaling to the surprisingly powerful built-in sound system. Your insights on settings and real-world use are incredibly helpful, and we appreciate you sharing your experiences so openly. We know how special your old Panasonic Plasma was, and it means a lot that the Z85 is living up to and even exceeding those high standards. We’re committed to continuing our tradition of quality and innovation, and your support encourages us to keep pushing forward. Enjoy your new TV and happy watching!
Written by a customer while visiting Panasonic
Customer Rating
5
Awesome TV!
on March 26, 2025
Posted by: RyanH
from Gig Harbor, Wa
Gender:Male
Love this TV. Didn’t think I would get my feet wet with OLED yet, but Panasonic made it happen. Happy Panasonic is back in the US TV market. Was looking at a Bravia 8 really hard until I found this gem. Stunning detail and vivid colors. Makes want to rewatch movies to see the differences. OS works smooth and I’ve been using Firetv sticks for a while now so I didn’t have to relearn how to use the TV.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from PanasonicBy Team Panasonic-C, Team Panasonic, March 27, 2025
Hello! We are excited to hear that the TV has surpassed your expectations! Thank you for sharing your experience and highlighting its stunning detail and vivid colors. It’s fantastic to know that the transition to Panasonic was a smooth and rewarding one for you. We deeply appreciate your feedback and are thrilled that you’re enjoying your new TV—re-watching movies sounds like the perfect way to appreciate those improvements! Thank you again for your thoughtful review and for supporting Panasonic’s return to the US market!
Written by a customer while visiting Panasonic
Customer Rating
5
Love it!
on June 15, 2025
Posted by: Edie
from Connecticut
Gender:Female
Bought 2 weeks ago. Beautiful tv. Easy set up, great sound & picture is great. We are in our 70s & we were a little nervous buying a new TV that has so much new technology, but it has worked out fine.
Is there away to get another remote? I can't find one on line?
Is there away to get another remote? I can't find one on line?
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from PanasonicBy Team Panasonic - F, Team Panasonic, June 16, 2025
Hello Edie! Thank you for your wonderful 5-stars review! We're delighted to hear that you're enjoying your new Panasonic TV. It's fantastic that the setup was straightforward and that the picture and sound quality are meeting your expectations. Yes you can buy a second remote for this TV, the part number for the TV remote to buy it separately is N2QBYA000083. Thank you again for your great review!
Written by a customer while visiting Panasonic
Customer Rating
4
TV goes above and beyond my expectations.
on March 1, 2025
Posted by: MW1239
from Bronx, NY
Gender:Male
I'm really glad I bought a Z85A for my bedroom setup.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from PanasonicBy Team Panasonic-C, Team Panasonic, March 4, 2025
Hi there! We are glad to hear that you are enjoying the product, thank you for sharing your experience with us and the community! -C
Written by a customer while visiting Panasonic
Customer Rating
5
Best BANG for the BUCK out there!!!
on July 13, 2025
Posted by: JDM
from PVBch FL
Gender:Male
I've only had this 55" Z85 OLED TV a few days, but WOW, I'm impressed!!!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from PanasonicBy Team Panasonic - F, Team Panasonic, July 15, 2025
Hello there! Thank you for the fantastic 5-star rating! We're glad to hear that your new 55" Z85 OLED TV is already making such a big impression. We packed it with premium features at a price that punches way above its weight, so it’s great to know it’s delivering that "WOW" factor! Here's to many more unforgettable viewing experiences!
Written by a customer while visiting Panasonic