Podcast #1216: TV Brightness Isn't Everything

On this week’s show we look at an article from What Hi-Fi titled “I just tested one of 2025's best small OLEDs – and it proves most companies are focusing on the wrong thing”. And that thing is brightness. We look at what would make a perfect TV. We also read your emails and take a look at the week’s news.

News:

• Major TV streaming service abruptly hikes prices 33%
• Everything you need to know about new ESPN streamer
• You Don't Actually Own That Movie You Just “Bought.”

Brightness Isn't Everything

We saw an article over at What Hi-Fi titled “I just tested one of 2025's best small OLEDs – and it proves most companies are focusing on the wrong thing” and thought there is a lot of truth to what the author is saying. So today will expand on this article with the HT Guys take. 

The author argues that TV manufacturers like LG, Samsung, and Sony focus too much on making OLED TVs brighter to compete with Mini LED sets. After testing 2025’s top small OLED TVs, he believes brightness isn’t the key to a great viewing experience. Instead, authenticity, color accuracy, and balanced performance are more important for delivering a cinematic experience true to the director’s vision. Here are six takeaways from the article:

The Brightness Obsession: A Misguided Priority?

The What Hi-Fi? article criticizes the TV industry's focus on maximizing brightness, which can harm picture quality. In tests comparing 48-inch OLEDs (LG C5, Samsung S90F, Panasonic Z90B), brighter screens often lost subtle details and immersion. For instance, in Dune: Part Two's desert scene, an overly bright TV turned nuanced red and orange dune shades into stark white, flattening the image.

OLED TVs were historically dimmer than LED TVs, but new tech like Micro Lens Array and QD-OLED has boosted their brightness to 2000-3000 nits, closing the gap. However, the focus on brightness often overshadows OLED’s strengths—precise light control, deep blacks, and vibrant colors. The What Hi-Fi? review notes that manufacturers prioritize specs over overall picture quality, while the Panasonic Z90B shows a better balance.

The Panasonic Z90B: A Lesson in Balance

The 48-inch Panasonic Z90B excels in cinematic authenticity, prioritizing accurate colors and contrast over exaggerated brightness. In Civil War, it delivers precise highlights in dark scenes, and in Oppenheimer, it maintains natural skin tones and subtle details in low light, outperforming competitors that lose color depth.

Panasonic’s approach aligns with what serious movie fans crave: a picture that immerses you in the story, not one that distracts with exaggerated brightness. The Z90B’s ability to retain detail in both bright and dark scenes, like the sparkling desert dunes or the intricate chandelier in a White House scene, shows that controlled brightness—used only where needed—creates a more three-dimensional, authentic image. This echoes sentiments from TechRadar, which praises Panasonic’s focus on “filmmaker-approved” accuracy over flashy specs, a philosophy rooted in the brand’s collaboration with Hollywood colorists to tune its TVs for true-to-life visuals.

The Small OLED Advantage: Why Size Matters

Small OLEDs, like the 48-inch models tested, are often overlooked in a market obsessed with supersized screens. Yet, as What Hi-Fi? notes, these TVs are “severely underrated” for their versatility. They’re ideal for space-constrained homes, secondary rooms like bedrooms, or even as high-end gaming monitors thanks to their dense pixel structure, which delivers sharper images. The LG C5, for instance, boasts four HDMI 2.1 ports supporting 4K/144Hz gaming, making it a powerhouse for both movies and interactive entertainment.

However, small OLEDs face unique challenges. Their denser pixel layouts generate more heat, which can limit brightness and risk burn-in if not managed properly. What Hi-Fi? suggests that adding heatsinks, as seen in some larger models, could unlock more brightness headroom for 42- and 48-inch sets without sacrificing quality. This could make small OLEDs even more competitive, offering flagship-level performance in compact packages.

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