Panasonic, one of the oldest Japanese tech companies, stopped shipping TVs to the U.S. market more than eight years ago. Now, it’s back to selling TVs in North America, a harder task than when it left. It’s starting small with its Z85A and Z95A OLEDs plus the W95A mini-LED. So, what has Panasonic been up to in the past decade? Training in Siberia like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV?

Obviously, nothing as extreme as that. Judging solely by the W95A 4K mini-LED TV, Panasonic has managed to keep up with the times as it sold its TVs in Europe and Asian markets, but you shouldn’t expect a shining example of pure viewing bliss. It’s solid, and if it hits your price point, then I wouldn’t feel you need to look too far in another direction for a bright, colorful, easy-to-use TV.

Our review unit of the 55-inch W95A stands up to this year’s other mid-range mini-LED offerings, though it’s not as flashy as the Z95A with built-in 360 sound. It’s also not as pricey or high-falutin as quantum dot LED TVs like Samsung’s 4K NEO QLEDs, LG’s QNED, or Sony’s Bravia 7. Unlike its competitors, I did not have to do nearly as much fiddling in settings to get a picture that felt true to the intended cinema experience. There were occasions I started watching, and “Intelligent Frame Creation” would automatically offer that awful soap opera smoothing effect. My suggestion is to turn it off completely. The base “Standard” picture mode was good enough for watching films, though I found you had fewer options when playing games.

But if you’re not a big fan of Fire TVs, you won’t appreciate Amazon’s wholesale takeover of Panasonic’s latest TV slate. That being said, if you can bear the software, you may still not have find the right TV for your specific living setup. The W95A has the widest variety of screen sizes for the company’s U.S. slate, going from 55 inches up to 85 inches. The lower-end Z85A OLED can do 55 or 65 inches, while the flagship Z95A can only do 65 inches. 

It’s clear Panasonic is just getting started with its newfound interest in the U.S. This is a very good first offering. They’re not true budget TVs, but at $1,300 for the 55-inch mini-LED or $1,800 for the 65-inch model, they accomplish everything they need for their price.

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Panasonic W95A Review: Build Quality and Usability

Panasonic’s mini-LED TV wasn’t exactly easy to put together. The feet need to screw into the back panel, so make sure you have a friend nearby able to help you lift it onto the TV cabinet. As mentioned, the W95A has Fire TV built-in, so once you’re done setting it up with your Amazon account, there’s not much extra setup needed other than downloading your favorite streaming apps. If you hate Amazon, sorry, it’s the only way to access your favorite content unless you plug in a separate streaming box.

There was not much I needed to do to get the best viewing experience. There are plenty of picture settings, from “Dynamic” to “Auto AI” through to your usual slate of “True Cinema” and professional viewing modes. Compared to an LG TV, I was most satisfied with “Normal.” There’s an optional “Clear Motion” that adds black frames and creates a more cinematic 24 FPS look for video shown at higher frame rates. It works well enough if you can’t stand the look of a typical sports broadcast or other 60 FPS media. 

There are plenty of automatic AI-based settings, such as the previously mentioned “Intelligent Frame Creation.” Turn that off for a more consistent viewing experience, but I left all the other options on as it didn’t impact anything noticeable. There is a full gamut of current HDR options, including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The TV automatically turns to that mode if the content supports Dolby Vision. Fair enough; that’s what I would do anyway.

If you are a big gamer looking for all those extra settings you get with modern smart TVs, Panasonic’s offerings are far more subdued than a Samsung TV. There is no quick access to the Game Control Board. Instead, you have to dig through the settings and then find it under Display Features. From there, you can change the picture mode, turn on VRR, or increase dark visibility if you feel like getting one over on campers in online shooters. You can also quickly choose the HDR tone mapping.

It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. I was also not thrilled with the “True Game Mode” picture that made everything look too dark for any game on my PlayStation 5. The good news is you have plenty of HDMI 2.1 ports for up to two consoles or PCs for 4K and 144 Hz refresh rates. It supports up to 144 HZ, though you don’t have access to Nvidia G-Sync on the mini-LED. That’s only available to Panasonic’s OLED options, so you’re limited to AMD Freesync.

The one confusing aspect of the W95A is how the TV doesn’t automatically recognize inputs. The main screen lets you switch easily and rename your inputs, but unlike other smart TVs, it won’t automatically detect if it’s a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Does it really matter? No, not really. It’s a small oversight that seems easy to correct in the future. 

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Panasonic W95A Review: Picture Quality and Sound

Does it look any worse than other mini-LED TVs sporting all that quantum goodness for a higher price? For my money, not really. Panasonic said it avoids quantum dots in its OLEDs in favor of a microlens array for brightness. Being that it’s mini-LED, the display is still slightly cheaper than those more expensive brands’ QLEDs, though perhaps around the same price as a QLED from a brand like TCL.

The W95A has some of the best viewing angles I’ve recently experienced on 2024’s TV slate, even from some of the biggest companies sporting QLED displays. From what I could tell, I could get 45 degrees before the view faded. 

I watched a lot of Disney+, including several episodes of The Acolyte and Agatha All Along, without complaint. For 4K, I turned to a Blu-ray of George Miller’s entirely underrated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The beautiful greens stood out at the beginning of the movie just as much as the blue sky contrasted with the bare rocky ground in the middle portions. I didn’t notice any haloing or other issues from bright scenes. 

I wasn’t as thrilled in darker scenes. The black levels are largely fine, though not nearly as Inky as an OLED: not gray, but not great. Night or darker scenes tended to look slightly more washed out than how they looked in theater. That might also be due to the screen reflection. Even without direct sunlight, the W95A tended to catch glares very easily. 

It’s a much better viewing experience in a shaded room. Still, even a little bit of light can create a distracting glare. I had so few issues other than the glare that it stuck out as a bigger problem than it may be on other similar screens.

Sound-wise, this TV does the job adequately. It’s loud, just not soundbar quality like its older brother, the Z95A. It does the job for a time if you don’t want to pay extra for the sound setup, but if you can afford it, you’ll want something that offers deeper bass and directional audio.

Panasonic W95A Review: Verdict

I understand why many folks would hesitate to buy anything with Amazon’s name attached to it. Fire TV isn’t hard to use, and Panasonic’s implementation is easy for anybody with minimal TV experience. You can use the TV offline or with a separate streaming box or stick, but setting it up requires signing in to an Amazon account. 

If you get over or ignore Amazon’s role in your viewing experience, the Panasonic W95A is straightforward and solid. It lacks those small software flourishes like automatic console detection or a specific gaming tab, but those hardly matter in the grand scheme. The display is what you’re here for. In that way, Panasonic is on the right track.

Update 09/21/24 at 5:25 p.m. ET: this post was updated to correct the point of quantum dot technology with the W95A.

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