Panasonic MZ2000 OLED TV: Yes, it IS that good!

Last year, I wondered if the folks at Panasonic had managed to improve on their already excellent OLED TV with the then-new OLED LZ2000 (see my review here). After another journey around the sun, and a year later, Panasonic’s latest OLED TV has me asking the same question. The MZ2000 carries the weight of huge expectations on its ample 65″ shoulders (erm, bezels). It is part of Panasonic’s ‘Master OLED’ lineup and is the first from the company to feature an OLED EX panel. In short, the MZ2000 packs some hefty upgrades over the LZ series, so is it all that and a bag of chips?

Given the substantial speaker setup baked into the MZ2000, Panasonic has done an amazing job keeping it compact. While it is nowhere near as svelte as Samsung’s S95C (see my review here) or LG’s G3 (see my review here), the MZ2000 isn’t a chubber by any means, and its slight extra bulk may denote extra strength.

Around the front is a tiny bezel, and it isn’t until you look at its rear that you realise it comes with a sizeable audio setup, which puts out a rather astonishing sound.

The MZ2000 has a solid, oval-shaped black metal stand and silicone earthquake straps (a good thing in Wellington), making the TV on the cabinet stand feel super solid. As a bonus, it can also swivel, allowing for better adjustment if placed in a corner or when dealing with glare. The design letdown with the MZ2000 is its supplied remote, which given the flagship nature of the panel felt surprisingly lo-fi.

The big news is the inclusion of MLA technology. In non-geek speak, MLA equates to microscopic lenses placed above each OLED pixel. These millions of microscopic lenses help combat one of the few weaknesses of OLED: they allow more light from the screen to reach your eyes. The upshot is that you get super sharp contrast levels and rich, lush colours, and the MZ2000’s screen is bright enough to do double duty as a sun tanning studio.

If you’re a gamer, there’s plenty to keep you happy. Aside from its 4K resolution, you also get 120Hz refresh rates for silky-smooth on-screen action, VRR, ALLM, AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia G-Sync, and Dolby Vision gaming from its two HDMI 2.1 ports. The cherry on top is the baked-in Game Mode, which handily gives you access to an easy-to-read game bar on the bottom of the screen for plenty of tweaking. The only gotcha here is that you are limited to just two ports for HDMI 2.1 connectivity (which, unless you have more than two consoles, is a non-issue).

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As I mentioned briefly before, the sound that the MZ2000 cranks out is nothing short of astonishing. Like the LZ2000, the MZ2000 has an in-built 5.1.2 speaker configuration rated at 150W. Included in this setup are two upward-firing speakers for delivering Atmos effects. I’ve long been sceptical of faux Atmos, but this clever utilization of the technology has made a convert out of me. Helping you wring the best audio possible from the panel in your viewing space is a mode Panasonic call Space Tune. While you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was a Pink Floyd track newly tweaked by Peter Jackson, it’s a calibration tool that uses the remote’s built-in mic to analyse the acoustics of your room. While most Witchdoctor readers will slap the audio signals through a home theatre amp, the built-in audio delivered by this miraculous Panny is sufficiently impressive, making it ideal for locations where adding additional audio gear isn’t practical.

As with previous OLED tellies from Panasonic, the new panel uses Panasonic’s proprietary smart TV platform. While most smart TVs use a home screen, apps appear along the bottom of the MZ2000’s screen. It also comes with a decent selection of apps pre-installed. These include Freeview, ThreeNow, TVNZ+, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix and more. A well-stocked App Store is built-in, too.

Panasonic has put considerable effort into the MZ2000, aiming to deliver the best video capabilities its OLED can crank out. To this end, they’ve done a remarkable job.

After playing with the many picture presets and tweaks available, I settled on the Filmmaker mode, which, with HDR10 content, delivered stunning results. That said, Standard and True Cinema modes both looked impressive too. While both live TV and streaming looked great, I was blown away by how good HD and 4K content looked. It also did a great job of Upscaling HD (1080p and 720p) video, which was both crisp and detailed.

With HDR 4K UHD Blu-ray discs and streamed content, the visuals really popped. The DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage in Filmmaker mode delivered a stellar 99.45%, which explains how accurate and life-like on-screen images were.

Watching the first episode of Secret Invasion (Disney+), I put black levels, contrast, and shadow detail to the test.  (And never watched another episode again; yes, Secret Invasion is THAT bad!) As Fury pootled about night-time Moscow, shadows were inky black and deep, yet richly detailed. On-screen contrast levels were fantastic, with searingly bright explosions (aided by MLA OED goodness). Speaking of peak HDR brightness levels, the panel delivered an impressive 1,481 nits in Filmmaker mode, placing it right up with the LG’s G3.

If the picture quality wowed, the MZ2000’s Sound quality floored me. The ultra-slim design of most OLED TVs usually also translates into anaemic audio. Not the MZ2000, though. Its 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos speaker configuration and a plethora of sound modes meant I was able to tailor the Panasonic’s  output to suit. The bass was rich, high clear and mids clean. Switching to Theatre mode saw it delivering a surprisingly accurate soundstage.

The Dolby Digital audio mix of the original Matrix movie shone as Neo kicked the living shit out of agents amongst a sea of flying bullets. The MZ2000’s Bass output easily matched that of my Theophany sub.

The MZ2000 also supports Dolby Atmos, and while I scoff when the oft-overused Atmos claim is bandied about, Panny proved me wrong. The two in-built, upward-firing speakers rendered exquisite Dolby Atmos height effects in the 2021 Dune remake. During the sandstorm scene, I almost felt the sand whipping against the ceiling of my lounge. It’s pretty impressive, considering my home theatre amp was not powered on or connected.

As a flagship TV, the MZ2000 delivers exceptionally rich and detailed 4K video accompanied by astonishing audio. All this AV goodness commands a price premium ($4999.99 for the 55-inch model), which makes the MZ2000 a premium option. But then, it really is that good. If you’re after a TV capable of dishing out eye-popping visuals and don’t want to splash additional cash on audio gear, the MZ2000 should be your go-to option.

https://www.panasonic.com/nz/consumer/television-audio/televisions/4k-oled-tvs/th-65mz2000z.html