Panasonic TX-50DX802B review: A superb 4K HDR TV

Sound quality

The bundled 40W soundbar does a decent job at making your movies sound just as epic as they look, too. While it won’t replace a proper surround-sound system, it certainly has much more heft and bass presence than your traditional set of built-in TV speakers. That’s partly because, unlike most built-in speakers, which often fire straight down, the DX802’s audio drivers are all facing toward you, allowing you to get the full brunt of the soundscape.

In Batman vs Superman, for instance, punching-heavy fight scenes and Batman’s rumbling helicopter had plenty of weight to them on the Standard sound profile. Even if the balance isn’t to your taste, though, you can always adjust the bass and treble in the main settings menu. Dialogue was loud and clear at all times, and it has more than enough volume to fill a room.

Firefox OS, Smart Apps and Freeview Play

Panasonic has significantly improved its suite of smart apps in recent years, making the DX802 just as flexible as its Samsung rivals. Enter the Apps menu, for instance, and you’ll find Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 all present and correct, as well as YouTube, BBC Sport and a Firebox internet browser. You can also download TuneIn Radio, Deezer, Vimeo, Wuaki and Twitter for free from Panasonic’s built-in app store. The only real omission is Now TV, but considering a Now TV box will only set you back around £15, it’s certainly not a very costly problem to rectify.

Panasonic’s Firefox OS interface remains a joy to use. Hit the Home button, for instance, and you’ll be presented with three easy shortcuts that let you go straight to live TV, your apps and a list of currently connected devices. You can also use the Option button to pin other apps, channels, sources and browser bookmarks to the Home menu, making it a system you can tailor to your own tastes.

The main advantage of opting for the DX802 over its rivals, however, is that it comes with both Freetime and Freeview Play built-in, allowing consumers of both satellite and terrestrial TV to scroll through the EPG to find shows they missed from the past seven days. This is arguably much easier than opening up individual catch-up apps, as you can see many more shows at a glance, giving you more room to browse in a familiar TV guide layout than having to contend with searching for individual shows in various app formats.

Ports and connections

When you’re not watching TV, you’ve got plenty of options for connecting external devices to the TV as well. There are four HDMI 2 ports in total, all of which are HDCP 2.2 compliant, and one of them can be used as an audio return channel (ARC) as well. You also get a USB 3 port and two USB 2 ports, an Ethernet port, component and composite inputs, optical S/PDIF output and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Verdict

The Panasonic TX-50DX802B might not be quite as bright as its UHD Premium rivals, but this is still a fantastic TV in its own right that caters to both satellite and terrestrial TV watchers alike. Picture quality is superb across the board and it also requires little to no fine-tuning once you’ve got it set up.

The only downside is the UHD Premium-certified Samsung’s 49in KS7000 is cheaper than the 50in DX802 at the moment, making it a bit of a tough sell for those after the most eye-popping piece home cinema experience. You certainly won’t be disappointed by the DX802 once you get it home, but at this price it has to remain as a Recommended rather than a Best Buy.