2025 is shaping up to be an excellent year for TVs, particularly for flagship OLED models. LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic have all released superb OLEDs that scored at least 4.5 out of 5 stars in our reviews, mainly for their stunning picture quality.
We were fortunate enough to have the LG G5, Samsung S95F, Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II, all under one roof in the TechRadar testing room, so we naturally had to compare them, pitting some of the best TVs of 2025 against one another.
We first held a blind OLED TV showdown with a group of casual viewers, and in that test, the Samsung S95F and LG G5 emerged as the top performers. In that showdown, we judged the TVs based on the following categories: dark scenes, color, action, upscaling and sports.
Around the same time, Value Electronics, a major US retailer, held its own blind OLED showdown using the same four TVs, but in that test, they were judged on SDR and HDR accuracy using a blend of test patterns and real-world content. The results between the two showdowns were very different (though there were similarities), with the Sony Bravia 8 II being crowned the winner in the Value Electronics test.
With the four TVs still remaining from TechRadar’s test, I decided to do my own showdown, but this time focusing mainly on movies and dark room, home theater-type viewing.
The setup
For my showdown, I put all four models in Filmmaker Mode (Professional on the Sony Bravia 8 II), but still used the out-of-the-box settings as we did in the Techradar blind showdown. As in that test, brightness optimization for each TV was turned off.
I judged the TVs on the following categories: color, brightness, shadow detail/contrast, bright room viewing and upscaling. I also used 4K discs and movie scenes that I regularly use when reviewing TVs.
In all photos, the order of the TVs from left to right is as follows: Panasonic Z95B, Sony Bravia 8 II, Samsung S95F and LG G5.
Color
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To test color on the TV, I used the Wicked 4K Blu-ray, particularly the Wizard & I musical scene, as it showcases bold, vibrant colors, particularly when Elphaba stands underneath a pink tree.
This was the closest-fought category in my whole showdown. All four TVs delivered excellent colors that were not only punchy but true-to-life as well. However, the Samsung S95F had the boldest colors, doing the best job of displaying the pink flowers, Elphaba’s green skin, and blue details on the wall behind her.
Colors appeared more natural on the Sony Bravia 8 II than the other models, and I could see strong highlights in the pink flowers and Elphaba’s green skin. Colors on the Sony appeared a little more flat, with less depth than the other sets, however.
Although the S95F’s colors had the most pop, I also found myself drawn to the Panasonic Z95B and LG G5, two TVs that share the same Primary Tandem RGB OLED panel. On both, colors still had a vivid quality plus gorgeous depth. The Z95B and G5 arguably had the better balance between dark and light colors as well.
This was a tight contest between four of the best OLED TVs I’ve seen, but for my money, the Z95B delivered the best color, balancing depth and detail with a more natural profile.
Shadow detail/contrast
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To test shadow detail and contrast, I used my reference 4K Blu-ray of The Batman, primarily the opening crime scene in Mayor Mitchell’s house. With low mastered brightness (400 nits compared to the industry standard of 1,000 nits), The Batman can be a real torture test for some TVs. Even on OLEDs, blacks can look washed out, and black crush (a loss of detail in dark areas) can rear its ugly head.
Viewed in dimmed lighting conditions, all four TVs demonstrated very good contrast, with a good balance between lamps and torches and the dark areas in the picture. The LG G5 and Samsung S95F had powerful contrast in this scene, while contrast on the Panasonic Z95B and Sony Bravia 8 II was more natural looking.
All these TVs demonstrated strong shadow detail, maintaining textures in dark areas of the picture, such as the paintings on the wall and Batman’s eye and logo as he faces away from the light. I did find that the Sony Bravia 8 II and LG G5’s black levels looked raised in places, taking on a more gray tone and the S95F exhibited some minor black crush.
In pitch black viewing conditions, all TVs once again demonstrated excellent black levels. I watched scenes from both The Batman and Alien: Romulus, and the G5’s black levels appeared more raised compared to the other sets. Of the four, the Panasonic Z95B drew my eye the most, maintaining the best contrast and black levels.
Brightness
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For brightness, I watched the same Wicked scene I used for color, along with later shots where Elphaba runs through a wheat field under bright sunlight. I also used demo footage from the Spears & Munsil UHD Benchmark 4K Blu-ray.
Despite their brightness differences in HDR Filmmaker Mode (in their default settings the G5 measured 2,268 nits, the S95F 2,132 nits, the Bravia 8 II 1,439 nits and the Z95B 992 nits), all four sets displayed strong highlights. With their higher peak brightness, the S95F and G5 clearly had the advantage in both Wicked and Spears and Munsil, especially in shots with the sun on a horizon, but the Bravia 8 II, which struggled on this test when set to Cinema mode in TechRadar’s blind showdown, did a very good job too.
Shots of a snow-covered field from the Spears and Munsil disc again showed that all four TVs could handle bright whites without losing detail. As Elphaba ran across the field in Wicked, the beige hues were accurate on all four sets, though my eye was more drawn to the S95F and G5 in brighter scenes.
Bright room viewing
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For bright room viewing tests, I used a darker movie, Alien: Romulus, to see how these OLEDs handled bright lighting conditions in our testing lab. I picked two scenes: one early on, where the crew takes off into space, and a second in a dark hallway near the Alien nest.
The S95F was the best at eliminating mirror-like reflections thanks to its Glare Free screen, but the Bravia 8 II also did a very good job of eliminating them. The Z95B and G5 both suffered from mirror-like reflections, with objects in our testing lab visible on screen in any darker scenes of space in Alien: Romulus.
Despite this, I found the Z95B and G5 delivered the richest black levels and most accurate contrast in bright lighting, showing a good balance between the orange of the planet and the black of space in Alien: Romulus. Black level accuracy of the S95F and Bravia 8 II, on the other hand, was impacted by the bright room lighting conditions.
Upscaling
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For my final test, upscaling, I used the same The Amazing Spider-Man DVD from TechRadar’s blind OLED TV showdown.
All the sets did an excellent job of upscaling, giving the movie a detailed and 3D-like look. But the G5’s picture was significantly brighter and more eye-catching than the other TVs when displaying this DVD. The Z95B and Bravia 8 II’s upscaling did appear to be the most precise, however.
It’s worth noting that the G5 has its SDR brightness set to 80 of 100 by default in Filmmaker Mode, whereas the other TVs have much lower default brightness in that mode. Upping the brightness on the other TVs is possible, but it does affect picture accuracy. Bottom line: I found the LG G5 best for watching lower-resolution content like DVDs.
Final thoughts
It’s interesting to see how much of a picture quality difference changing a TV’s picture mode can make. In TechRadar’s blind showdown, with all TVs set to Cinema mode, the Samsung S95F and LG G5 triumphed. But in my own showdown, with the TVs in Filmmaker Mode, I was most drawn to the Panasonic Z95B’s accuracy, rich contrast, and refined detail.
That’s not to say the other TVs are bad. In fact, all of them are superb. If you’re on the hunt for a premium OLED TV in 2025, you really are spoilt for choice.
Each TV in this test has its own strength: brightness and detail with the LG G5; brightness, color, and bright room viewing with the Samsung S95F; picture accuracy and refinement with the Sony Bravia 8 II. But for my personal test, which was mostly conducted in dim, home theater room lighting conditions, the Panasonic Z95B was the winner.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
