Get absorbed in the picture: PANASONIC TX-48MZ980B 48-inch Smart 4K OLED TV review

Utter immersion at its finest, the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B is one of the best TVs of the year, and is a masterclass of midrange OLED technology, leaving no stone unturned when it comes to features, quality and overall excellence.

A next-generation television truly worth celebrating, I had the absolute pleasure of delving into the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B's features, rooting through menus, cracking out the ultra-HD Blu-Ray player and gawking at one of Panasonic's latest and greatest televisions to date.

Panasonic's successor to last year's LZ980B, which was met with considerable critical acclaim, has turned plenty of heads on account of its midrange affordability, excellent brightness, and high framerate capabilities, but does the Panasonic TX-MZ980B meet our expectations?

To explore potentially one of the best Panasonic TVs ever made, TV tech expert Ryan Houghton explores the true power of OLED panelling, the potential for next-generation gaming enthusiasts, and its overall immersion - read on to reveal what makes this OLED television truly special.

First impressions...

Out of the box, upon unearthing the MZ980B from its polystyrene shell, I was immediately struck by the MZ980B's truly elegant design, which made any sort of assembly admittedly more terrifying than any other television I've had. Composed of a fairly thick back which quickly tapers into a screen that's barely 4mm thick, I found the design of the screen to be immediately alluring.

In my mind, I recalled my dad bringing home a 42-inch LCD flatscreen "thin enough to hang on the wall" and being simply amazed at just how thin it was, it seems that times have changed in these past 15 or so years.

Once positioned and tightened on the TV stand, in a nerve-wracking few moments, I could finally observe the screen's delightfully thin metal bezels that subtly skirt the edges of this particularly appealing screen.

Handling the remote itself, I found its quality to be good, but not great by any means. Having owned even low-end Samsung smart TVs, I've found their remotes to be comfortably designed, snappy and precise - with a great weighty feel that oozes quality. The remote from the TX-48MZ980B, however, just feels normal, with some slightly questionable placement of the volume and programme buttons, which are bizarrely low on the remote itself.

Plugging in, switching on and kicking back, I eagerly tucked into a selection of films, TV shows and games in order to truly experience what the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B had to offer.

Settings and tweaks: what works well?

Opening the settings menu, you're quickly greeted with a whole host of sliding bars and AI options to toy with, which is a film buff's dream. Quickly rushing to tweak picture settings, I began to flick through picture presets, with many of them having an air of uniqueness to them.

For getting the most out of the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B, however, you cannot beat 'Dynamic' viewing mode. Colours pop, contrasts are sharp and details can truly be appreciated. There's also an Auto AI picture setting, which rapidly improves images in real-time.

A particularly brilliant option, especially for those in bright rooms, is the Panasonic's Ambient Sensor mode, which boosts brightness to reduce glare, giving you the best viewing experience whatever the weather. Of course, there's also HDR on this OLED television, which isn't entirely necessary, but it is a must for getting the most out of your screen. HDR dramatically increases the contrast between the dark and light colours on the screen, giving you the deepest blacks and the brightest white tones for absolute contrast.

As for sound settings, there's plenty to tweak in the voluminous sound settings, with the option for preset modes once again, which are perfect for those who just can't quite get the perfect sound on their own.

Many options in the sound menu are fantastic; the option to tweak treble, bass, and balance with sound field creation is unquestionably cool, however, there are some not-so-great settings buried within. Panasonic's Dialogue Enhancer, in particular, I found to have barely any effect on voices and dialogue at all.

Performance

A truly modern smart TV, the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B bursts with exquisite visual detail and plenty of brightness despite OLED televisions being notoriously dull compared to their QLED counterparts.

With around 700 nits of average brightness, this mid-range OLED television does not disappoint, regardless of your entertainment preferences.

During testing, I decided to sink my teeth wholeheartedly into a range of films and television shows across my streaming app roster. Yes, app streaming isn't exactly native 4K, but for all intents and purposes - they're still particularly high-quality.

My testing began with a binge-watch of Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan's 2008 gorgeously shot masterpiece which was a great place to begin testing the TX-48MZ980B's brightness.

Taking place in the arid, sun-filled desert climate of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the TX-48MZ980B was put through its paces in portraying an array of bright blue desert skies, and dark, gritty street corners which permeate throughout the show's duration.

With a small, yet diverse collection of TV presets to toy with, I found 'Dynamic' mode to accentuate the colours of Breaking Bad best. Shot on 35mm film, Gilligan's magnum opus has plenty of grain and warmth, which may not appear as truly sharp as something more current, but nevertheless proves to look beautiful on the TX-48MZ980B.

Brimming with shady dealings in the desert, with great mountain ranges jutting from the horizon - the TX-48MZ980B capably brings shows such as Breaking Bad to live with pure spectacle.

I was particularly awe-struck with the way Panasonic's TX-48MZ980B handles faces, with Walt's often bruised face, the mottled purple hues, deep weathered wrinkles and cold stare looking positively stirring in several scenes. The TX-48MZ980B's onboard AI processing from both Dolby Vision IQ and Panasonic's patented HCX AI processor provides real-time colour correction and sharpening, teasing out every smattering of detail to excite and immerse viewers wholeheartedly.

Native 4K: the ultimate OLED experience

Where native 4K is concerned, what better film to test on one of Panasonic's finest OLED televisions than Kubrick's sci-fi classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Quite easily one of the most visually stunning films of all time, Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey looks as if it was made to be viewed on Panasonic's TX-48MZ980B OLED TV.

Shot on 70mm film, 2001 often strikes a balance between absolute sharpness and occasionally noticeable grain which is in no small part thanks to technological limitations back in 1968. 2001's opening scene, 'The Dawn of Man', which depicts humanity's ancestors discovering tools, is a particularly striking and vibrant depiction of a barely recognizable Earth.

In those masterful orange and pink skies, bursting sun-filled landscapes and barren tundra, I was dazzled by the TX-48MZ980B's depth, the deep black shadows of the rocks, and the absolute contrast of the burning sun: this powerful cinematic moment is truly given justice by Panasonic's OLED technology.

And then there's the famous 'Space Waltz', a graceful display of a passenger shuttle docking onto a space station to the tune of Johann Strauss's The Blue Danube. The black infinity of space set against Earth whilst spaceships soar by is striking.

Despite the limitations of OLED television's brightness, it is clear that this technology is bound only to get better. Gone are the dark days of dreary OLED TVs, barely reaching the brightness of a standard LED TV.

Once again, with the assistance of some seriously brilliant AI upscaling and sharpening, there's rarely a detail lost to the TX-48MZ980B. I was particularly impressed with just how much detail the surface of Space Station V had, its centrifugal design filled with minuscule lights, metal beams and the cascading light upon its surface.

User interface: how does My Home Screen 8.0 perform?

Using the latest iteration of Panasonic's own My Home Screen, browsing and app access is simple and clear, all without being marred by blaring advertisements seemingly designed to shock you out of your skin. Clean, intuitive and razor-fast thanks to the TX-48MZ980B's HCX AI processor, which dramatically boosts simple browsing for a seamless experience.

My Home Screen's settings menu, however, isn't quite as appealing. There's a particularly useless help menu which often proved useless whenever I couldn't find a setting I wanted to tweak. That being said, these are minor nitpicks in what is otherwise a seamless user experience

Ports and connectivity

On the side of the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B, as well as underneath, there are a good amount of ports for multi-device connectivity. In total, there are four HDMI 2.1 ports, two of which are equipped with 120Hz support, which is particularly exciting for next-generation console gamers.

Some users argue that two HDMI ports with 120Hz just isn't enough, but for most it's perfectly acceptable, unless you have more than a few consoles that can support 120Hz, it's not very necessary to have anymore in my opinion. There are also plenty of USB ports for USB sticks or other streaming devices, which is handy when you've got lots of external devices to power.

The layout of the ports themselves is perfect for simple cable management. The TX-48MZ980B's ports are accessible and are even ideal for wall mounting, despite just how thin the design is.

Value

If you're not quite familiar with the term 'OLED', then you might not know why such a screen is so expensive and is still considered midrange, so here's the explanation.

OLED, or Organic Light Emitting Diodes, is a type of panel technology which, unlike ordinary smart televisions, doesn't use a backlight to produce an image. Instead, the television's screen is composed of self-lighting diodes, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is.

No backlight means instantaneous response times, allowing gamers to play at 120Hz, double the refresh rate of a standard TV. A higher refresh rate equates to more smoothness, and so gaming becomes silky-smooth in a heartbeat.

But that's not all, there's also the television's contrast, which allows for truly rich, detailed and life-like scenes in your favourite forms of entertainment. Night scenes in particular become engulfed in a true-to-life darkness, not a greyish black but a true black tone, and the result is phenomenal.

But it isn't just the sheer quality of the visuals that makes the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B worth the money, there's also its otherworldly build quality. Yes, the remote may be fairly standard, but the actual television itself has a design that is simply beautiful.

All in all, the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B earns its £1,299 price point with ease, and considering it as a mid-range OLED television (which sounds crazy at its price, but you'll find plenty more that are drastically more expensive) - it's certainly earned its hard-to-swallow price tag.

Any downsides?

So what's the downside to this brilliant smart TV? Although it's particularly difficult to pick faults with this otherwise perfect Panasonic television, there certainly are areas that can be improved. The first weakness that the TX-48MZ980B presented was the fairly standard remote. Having used TVs that are a fraction of the price produced by Samsung, the remote of this £1,299 television feels cheap. Buttons work fine, but there isn't the tactile hand-feel you'd expect from a television at this price.

Next, there's the UI menu and the settings - both of which are serviceable, but aren't as seamless as they could be. The settings and home menu are dull-looking, despite being easy to use, with the settings being particularly tiresome to scroll through.

I also ran into some internet connectivity issues during setup, which happened on multiple occasions - the Panasonic TX-48MZ980B would recognise a stable internet connection, but it just couldn't connect. After multiple factory resets, titled 'shipping condition' in the settings, leading to some confusion in finding it, I became accustomed to having to factory reset every few days or so. Whether this is a widespread issue with TX-48MZ980B models or a particular problem with mine, I couldn't say.

After some time, however, the TX-48MZ980B simply snapped out of its connectivity issues, which was both mindboggling and a significant relief to my daily downtime.

The Panasonic MZ980B is a truly exceptional OLED television with more than enough to offer true lovers of film and television.

With deep, rich colours, smooth and seamless frame rates, and plenty of customisation options for those who enjoy tweaking their picture perfectly, it's a television that is more than worth buying for the dedicated cinema fan. The sound of the MZ980B is solid and dependable but lacks the depth of a dedicated soundbar. I found some settings and options to be excellent in enhancing sound, and others to be utterly useless, which certainly does leave room for improvement for Panasonic in their next OLED iterations.

Despite some minor issues I've personally had, in particular some issues with internet connectivity as well as a cheap-feeling remote, I believe the MZ980B is perhaps one of the best OLED televisions of the year, certainly giving LG a run for its money.

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Ryan Houghton is a commercial content writer for What’s The Best, known best for his expertise in gaming, with a particular soft spot for PC gaming, audio tech, televisions and smartphones.

Diligently writing for What’s The Best for almost two years, there are very few tech products Ryan hasn’t had his hands on to review; televisions, headphones, folding phones and even LEGO, if it’s nerdy, he’ll be there.

His well-versed history as one of the resident techies at What’s The Best has kept him keen to uncover the very best deals, savings and offers for those in need of a cracking deal to upgrade their setup.

In his downtime, Ryan most likely has his nose buried in a fantasy book, or his eyes glued to a screen whilst playing a tough-as-nails Soulslike or leisurely RPG, indulging in most forms of escapism where possible.

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