Televisions

I measured HDR peak brightness at around 500 nits using a 10 per cent HDR test window, which is impressive for this calibre of TV. There is a significant caveat, however, when it comes to this performance.

It transpires that HDR peak brightness is only achievable using the Dynamic preset – and the Dynamic setting generally wouldn't be my first viewing mode choice when it comes to kicking back on the sofa. If you switch to Normal or Cinema modes, specular highlights drop to around 400 nits. Despite this, I still found myself gravitating to the Normal mode when watching HDR10 content.

Furthermore, I doubt many would even notice the HDR difference during everyday viewing. Panasonic gets the overall balance and punch consistently right.

Importantly, the set also looks vivacious with regular SDR material (and you'll still be watching more of that than UHD for some time to come). Even if your content sources are still primarily HD (maybe regular Blu-ray, and a streamer like the Now TV box), there's still a compelling reason to invest. The set's colour fidelity is so good, an afternoon cooking show had me positively salivating.

Screen uniformity is surprisingly fine for an edge-lit model. This isn't an OLED, so by definition can't deliver true blacks, and consequently letterbox movie bars veer towards grey. But you can mitigate against this by not viewing in a fully dark room, as a modicum of ambient light improves the subjective black level.

Panasonic should also be applauded for the improvements it's seemingly made to motion handling. Proprietary Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC) processing (here rated 1600Hz BMR in Panasonic's confusing marketing speak) has always been aggressive, but the Min setting works well. There are more obvious motion artefacts on the Mid and Max options. Still, if you're after smooth panning, that's certainly what you get.

For sports, I'd advise leaving IFC turned on, but with movies quickly opted to switch it off, happy to suffer mild panning judder in return for a more filmic image.

The TX-50GX800's audio quality is passable, even impressive, considering just how thin the TV is. The onboard 2 x 10W sound system proves fine for casual listening. However, given that the set's compatible with Dolby Atmos, it makes sense to bitstream Netflix or Amazon Prime Dolby Atmos audio out to an external sound system/soundbar to make the most of it.

HDR Humdinger
Panasonic's TX-50GX800 is a humdinger of a 4K UHD screen. Reasonably priced, it offers a top-flight specification with fan-friendly multi-HDR compatibility, Dolby Atmos audio (remember there's no shortage of Dolby Vision and Atmos available now from Netflix, Rakuten and others) and solid network functionality. Overall, I rate it a brilliant buy.

HCC Verdict

Panasonic TX-50GX800

Price:  £800
www.panasonic.co.uk

We say: With multi-HDR, Dolby Atmos support and a consistent picture presentation, this no-compromise mid-range 4K screen ticks all the right home cinephile boxes.

Performance: 4.5/5
Features: 5/5
Design: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

Specification

3D: No
4K: Yes. 3,840 x 2,160
HDR: Yes. HDR10; HDR10+; Dolby Vision; HLG
Tuner: Yes. Freeview Play
Connections: 3 x HDMI inputs; 2 x USB; composite/AV input; digital optical audio output; Ethernet; headphone output
Sound (CLAIMED): 2 x 10W
Brightness (Claimed): N/A
Contrast ratio (CLAIMED): 'Brilliant Contrast'
Dimensions (off stand): 1,120(w) x 708(h) x 236(d)mm
Weight (off stand): N/A

Features: Built-in Wi-Fi; USB multimedia playback; HCX processing engine; Dolby Atmos audio support; My Home Screen v4.0 smart portal; two-way Bluetooth; local dimming; Dynamic, Normal, Cinema, True Cinema and more presets