Panasonic TX-65CZ952 review

Has Panasonic just made the best TV ever?

Panasonic TX-65CZ952
Has Panasonic just made the best TV ever?

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I guess for most of us the 65CZ952's £7,999 price tag makes it nothing more than an AV pipe dream.

While we probably will never be able to own one, though, the 65CZ952 still represents a key moment in the history of television for the way it harnesses Panasonic's processing power and picture quality know-how to take the performance potential of OLED TV to a previously unimagined level.

We liked

In case you haven't picked up on this yet, the 65CZ952's picture quality is incredible.

The depth and evenness of its black level response, its incredible contrast range, its sensational colour and its shadow detailing and tonal accuracy make it a constant joy to behold.

It's easy to use for such a sophisticated TV too, and ogling its mind-bogglingly slim design never grows old.

Panasonic TX-65CZ952

We disliked

The curved nature of the 65CZ952's screen may be divisive, and could cause viewing issues if you have to watch it from a severe angle.

It's a shame the set doesn't get Panasonic's Firefox OS or Freeview Play smart features too, and then there's the small matter of that £7,999 price tag to overcome.

Verdict

While it's great to see LG 'mainstreaming' OLED technology with its latest aggressively priced OLED TVs, it's also brilliant to find a brand like Panasonic willing to take a 'no compromise' approach to this still relatively new screen technology. And it's also vitally important that it's a brand with the TV experience and laudable home cinema obsessions of Panasonic.

So while you probably won't be able to afford to buy a 65CZ952, you simply have no choice but to love it.

John Archer
AV Technology Contributor

John has been writing about home entertainment technology for more than two decades - an especially impressive feat considering he still claims to only be 35 years old (yeah, right). In that time he’s reviewed hundreds if not thousands of TVs, projectors and speakers, and spent frankly far too long sitting by himself in a dark room.