55ST50 is at bestbuy now. Wow, Panasonic really needs to hire someone to help with their bezel design. I wouldn't say it was ugly, but the style definitely looks about 2-3 years old (again). They had it sitting between two LED sets (a 2011 Samsung and a really sharp looking 2012 LG IPS panel) and right around the corner from a new 2012 LG plasma-- the Panasonic just looked dated by comparison.
Of course, picture quality was impossible to discern under the bright store lighting. I was actually able to fumble through the menus a bit but it never looked anything but dim and washed out. Blacks were surprisingly mediocre despite the louvre filter. Of course, these problems go away once you get the set home but considering the contrast and color that the LG sitting right besides it was able to achieve in the same environment it's no wonder plasma sales are flagging at the big-box-retailers. LED was made for the store environment!
Of course, picture quality was impossible to discern under the bright store lighting. I was actually able to fumble through the menus a bit but it never looked anything but dim and washed out. Blacks were surprisingly mediocre despite the louvre filter. Of course, these problems go away once you get the set home but considering the contrast and color that the LG sitting right besides it was able to achieve in the same environment it's no wonder plasma sales are flagging at the big-box-retailers. LED was made for the store environment!



















