Panasonic TX-55LX800B

Verdict

The Panasonic LX800 isn’t fairly the all-round midrange star earlier fashions had been, however should you’re after a 55-inch display that’s good for movie and TV, then the LX800 places in a good image and audio efficiency for lower than £900.

Introduction

We’ve lengthy favored Panasonic’s mid-range 800-series LCD TVs on this web site, the lineage in GX800 and HX800 has been well-regarded, so it augurs nicely for the LX800.

The most important change sees a swap from Panasonic’s My Residence Display interface to Android because the Japanese model courts a much bigger viewers with its extra inexpensive TVs.

Given Panasonic’s know-how within the image division and Android’s suite of options and apps, this must be a match-made in TV paradise.

Design

• Simple to arrange
• Minimalist design
• Edge-lit panel

The Panasonic TX-55LX800 is in keeping with the remainder of Panasonic’s 2022 TVs: well attired, utilitarian in look, and never supposed to hog the limelight.

The display’s depth is slim-ish at 83mm, although should you’re wall mounting it’s value contemplating the underside half of its rear aspect stands proud – not too sensible for many who choose a flush match.

Assembling the TV takes lower than three minutes, which is solely a case of screwing within the toes. The toes are located at both finish, which is much less useful when you’ve got a small piece of furnishings to prop it on.

That includes an edge-lit, VA panel, the very best image efficiency must be head on – colors begin to fade as quickly as I take just a few steps to both aspect. There’s positively a candy spot as distinction can flip from being superb to overdone relying on the place you sit.

That is additionally a TV higher suited to a brightly lit room than a darkish one. Black ranges are higher served – or ought to I say open to much less scrutiny – as ambient mild falls onto the display. In darker rooms the disadvantages of an edge-lit display turn out to be extra noticeable, particularly when watching content material with black bars on the prime and backside.

Android TV interface

• Loads of apps
• Some apps lacking HDR/Atmos
• Sluggish Android interface

The Panasonic TX-55LX800 swaps Panasonic’s personal My Residence Display interface for Android TV, and contemplating this TV is advertising itself to a much bigger viewers, it’s a wise determination.

My Residence Display has all the time been one of many best interfaces to get grips with, however it’s not as feature-packed as others. Android brings the same old large hitters in Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, in addition to extra depth in different areas, together with music which is an space My Residence Display is missing in. Freeview Play is built-in, including all of the UK catch-up and on-demand apps.

Nonetheless, it’s a case of 1 step ahead, half a step again as HDR and Atmos help for the primary video streaming apps isn’t full. All the primary apps help Dolby Imaginative and prescient, however the HDR10+ badge by no means seems whereas watching Prime Video and Disney+ solely helps 5.1 audio.

One other relative disappointment is the interface’s responsiveness. That is essentially the most sluggish model of Android I’ve come throughout lately, and even navigating Panasonic’s personal menus will be sluggish. The distant that comes with the set is large, however nicely laid out and comfy to make use of even when the general responsiveness of the interface is tardy.

Options

• Solely three HDMI inputs
• Chromecast and Google Assistant
• Speedy sport response

Connections cowl three HDMI inputs, one in every of which helps HDMI ARC and all of them help auto low latency mode for gaming. There’s a sport mode (I measured latency at a speedy 10.5ms), however no variable refresh charge help and no 4K / 120Hz efficiency, so if you’re taking a look at a high-end gaming display, I wouldn’t advocate this one.

Two USBs, Ethernet, CI+ 1.4 interface, analogue enter, headphone, and digital optical out make up the remainder of the connections, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth because the wi-fi choices.

For the apps not featured within the Google Play Retailer that do help Chromecast, you’ll be able to solid them from a cell gadget to the LX800. And Google Assistant is offered to assist with any queries, searches, or navigation together with your voice.

Image High quality

• Naturalistic method to colors
• Not essentially the most vivid HDR efficiency
• Stable upscaling with good high quality sources

Panasonic refers back to the LX800’s panel as its HDR Cinema Show, designed to offer a variety of pure colors powered by Panasonic’s HCX processor. All in all, it’s a good picture that’s naturalistic virtually to a fault. It’s a refined-looking picture out of the field, however isn’t essentially the flashiest with HDR content material.

Its Dolby Imaginative and prescient efficiency is a vibrant one watching Prime Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion or streaming Extraordinary on Disney+. The Panasonic delivers reliably good complexions of characters, whether or not it’s the nice and cozy, sun-dappled look of the varied aviators in Maverick, or the various complexions of the solid in Extraordinary.

The LX800’s pumps out constantly good HDR photographs with diverse colors, with much less clipping (lack of element within the brighter components of the picture) than cheaper fashions, high-quality distinction and highlights brilliant sufficient to offer some pop.

It’s value taking part in with the varied Dolby Imaginative and prescient modes should you’re watching content material in that format. Colors in Jurassic World: Dominion are accentuated in a way that’s maybe not correct within the Dolby Imaginative and prescient Vibrant mode, with greens erring in the direction of turquoise and reds a bit of orange/pink within the sequence the place Claire slowly creeps from a Therizinosaurus.

Cinema mode is surprisingly dim (342 nits on a ten% HDR window), with Regular providing 455 nits and Filmmaker mode 507 nits on a ten% HDR window. Dynamic naturally gives the brightest efficiency at 647 nits however colors aren’t as correct.

Black ranges are a weaker facet of the LX800’s skillset. They’re high-quality in daylight circumstances, however should you’re after a cinema expertise then the backlight management is weaker than the TCL Roku RP630, with backlight bleed (the sunshine emitted from the backlight) famous across the edges of the display, lowering the depth of blacks.

The final chunk of Jurassic World: Dominion takes place at night time and whereas distinction will be fairly spectacular, there’s a blue-ish tint within the black bars on the prime and backside of the display that may detract from the dimensions of visuals on display.

Panasonic’s Clever Body Creation (IFC) doesn’t make it to this Android mannequin, being substituted with the Clear Movement function, and so far as I can inform it has little affect. It doesn’t change something in 1917 or Scott Pilgrim vs the World aside from make the picture darker. If it’s turned on, I’d recommend turning it off.

Different options to be turned off with 4K HDR content material (or video games) are Noise Discount, MPEG Remaster and Decision Remaster. Turning these off ends in a clearer, much less noisy picture; although in terms of upscaling less-than 4K sources you could need to mess around. With Gran Turismo 7 particularly, automobiles in entrance of me had jagged edges and appeared much less outlined with these settings on.

Upscaling of 1080p content material is nice. Put apart the marginally processed look of The Social Community and there are high-quality ranges of element, strong black ranges and colors that lend themselves to a natural-looking look.

The Revenant seems to be sharper, presenting the movie’s color palette in a pure method. The Panasonic LX800 reveals plenty of element, particularly within the beards of characters and their scraggy, soiled faces, in addition to within the panorama of the movie’s ‘units’. Give the Panasonic a high-quality HD supply and it proves to be loads revealing.

Shuffling all the way down to DVD and Terence Malick’s Tree of Life is decently served by the LX800’s HCX Processor. There’s noise, in fact, and it’s not the sharpest picture both. The quantity of guessing and upscaling the LX800 is having to do ends in edges being delicate and a slight haze as characters transfer about.

However to repeat myself, there’s good replica of the colors which have a really pure look, and close-ups of the actors’ faces maintain up fairly nicely to scrutiny, with loads of facial element on the likes of Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain’s faces to make out.

The Panasonic LX800 does as greatest it could possibly with the data offered in any scene, so whereas it gained’t work miracles, the upscaling is a step-up on quite a few cheaper manufacturers out there. You’d should consider whether or not that’s essentially definitely worth the worth distinction.

Sound High quality

• Spacious with Atmos tracks
• Good stability throughout the frequency vary
• Respectable bass for a flatscreen

Outfitted with a 20W audio system, you may presume the Panasonic TX-55LX800’s audio system is a let-down, however I wouldn’t say so.

With Prime Gun: Maverick, the Panasonic presents the area check flight sequence at the beginning of the movie in a spacious method, dialogue is obvious and there’s some strong panning of results such because the jet zooms throughout the display.

The atmosphere of the scene is nicely managed too and there’s depth to the soundscape as nicely – this TV hardly ever sounds cramped or cluttered when coping with Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

I’d give the Dialogue Enhancer a skip, because it impacts the tone of voices in The Social Community and The Revenant, making them sound skinny and unnatural.

Bass is first rate, although wanting what a compact soundbar can describe with the bar brawl in Alita: Battle Angel. Nonetheless the midrange is obvious and dynamic and the treble is sharp and clear. Elevate the amount and whereas the Panasonic can get loud there’s a ceiling it knocks on after some time that borders on sibilance. However when required, it could possibly produce some first rate affect to hard-hitting sounds.

Take into account a soundbar for certain, however this sound system is a grade up from the same old fare, although the shortage of eARC is a disappointment given its RRP.

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