Expert review of the Panasonic JXW944

For this review, I test the 55-inch version of the JXW944. The installation is very easy. To mount the 2 leg stands on the TV, I don't need a screwdriver. I can easily slide the leg stands into the bottom of the TV till I hear it click. The TV isn't very heavy, so you can easily put it on the TV cabinet with 2 people. After the short installation, I open Netflix with one press of a button and start a documentary about nature right away.

Especially in scenes with bright clear colors, I notice the TV has a pretty high brightness. This makes colorful images look lively. I can see various bright purple tones in a coral reef. Thanks to the IPS screen, the JXW944 has a wide viewing angle. When I sit across the TV at an angle, I notice the brightness and color representation remain the same. This is useful when you watch TV with a larger group of people, during a soccer game, for example.

The JXW944 has a refresh rate of 100Hz. This means the screen refreshes a 100 times per second. Fast-moving images look smooth and sharp thanks to this. A fast hunting fish in a documentary about nature isn't a blue haze, but displayed detailed and sharply. The smart HCX Pro AI processor generates images between the existing frames of the video signal, so the image isn't jerky. Thanks to these properties, the JXW944 is also suitable for watching sports. A Formula 1 car or cyclist is always clearly visible.

In terms of contrast, the Panasonic JXW944 falls short. The television uses edge lit local dimming. This means that the bezels of the screen have rows of LED lights that dim with dark images. Because this happens near the edge of the screen, it doesn't have a large effect on the entire image. I still see a glow around the earth on a dark sky. Black parts of the image aren't really black, but often gray.

The JXW944 also offers a couple of advantages for gamers. First, the TV has an input lag of 10 milliseconds. Thanks to this, the delay between the controller and the screen is at a minimum. In addition, you can connect a new console to the HDMI 2.1 ports for 4K images with a refresh rate of 100Hz. I didn't test this function, but the specifications promise a smooth gaming experience.

With 2 speakers but no subwoofers, the sound of the JXW944 doesn't sound very powerful or rich. But it's good enough for regular use. When I watch the news, for example, the voices are clearly audible. I barely hear distortion of the sound when I turn the volume up. But the sound isn't enough for a good watching experience of movies or series or an intense gaming experience. I recommend a separate soundbar for this.

The remote of the Panasonic JXW944 looks more luxurious than the one of last year. The matte black finish gives a nice touch to it. Even though the remote is pretty long, I find it easy to use. The length has one disadvantage. Sometimes, I have to move the remote in my hand to be able to use the buttons at the top. Unfortunately, these buttons are the shortcuts to different streaming apps.

The My Home Screen smart menu doesn't differ much from its predecessors in terms of appearance. The apps appear as a row of circles at the bottom of the screen, so I can continue to watch whatever I was watching. When I stay on an app like Netflix, a row of suggestions for movies and series appears. The menu responds quickly enough and the most important apps are already installed, like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. Unfortunately, Panasonic's smart platform doesn't support Spotify and Disney+ yet.