Panasonic LED TC-55LE54 *Costco* - Page 2

I purchased the Sams Club version of this TV and so far I love it. Setup was a breeze, and the only thing I don't care for at this point was the sound (but I added an LG 300w Soundbar) to fix that. I've tested several Bluray discs, with the Star Wars Episode 3 looking so stellar it's probably the best BluRay experience I've ever had. We are watching the 55" approx. 8 ft away, which makes it feel almost too big.

I'm using the setting recommended above and the picture looks fantastic. Even the Panasonic Viera remote on my iPhone works great with it. I'm not sure why this is one of the lower end Panasonic (especially since the equivelant non-same non-costco version is $1699 reg). To my eyes - and everyone that has seen it, It looks absolutely fantastic - way better than my 42" LG (which I still love).

The sound leaves a lot to be desired, but in the end, when coupled with a proper sound bar or home theater system, it's pretty incredible for the price. I looked at the Visio 60" and it looked washed out and not nearly as good. The next better picture at Sams Club was a Samsung 60" that was $1600. I think for $890 at Sams, this was a bargain.

how does this compare to the st30 panasonic series

Hi All - I just purchased this set last night from Costco and I must say, I am very impressed with the overall picture. Yes - the out of box picture is terrible. But with some tweaking it is really very good. I went through 2 60" Zizio LED TV's that had dead pixels, blotches and a lip sync issue. I am really glad I purchased this. I don't understand why this set doesn't get more attention. C-Net rated it not well but I am certain they didn't calibrate it fully or give it the time it deserved. Yes, it's not perfect - but is there a perfect HDTV? Maybe if you spend 10K on OLED. I am more than happy picking up this set for $800 at Costco.

I calibrated this morning using Disney WOW - I figured I would share my settings to help:

Picture Mode: Custom
Backlight: +45
Contrast: +100
Brightness: +60
Color: +60
Tint: -6
Sharpness: +40
Color Temp: Normal or Cool (I have cool for the game)
Color Mgmt - Off
A.I. Pic: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off (make sure you turn this off)
Video NR: Off

Advanced Picture:
Block NR: Auto
Mosq NR: Off
Motion Pic Setting: weak
Black Level: Light
3:2 Pulldown: On

Aspect Adjustment: Size 2

I Calibrated on an overcast day and I am very pleased with my settings. I thought about getting a UT50 Plasma and I am very glad I didn't. No break in or Image Retention with this. Just turn it on, adjust and enjoy. I hope this helps. Enjoy and go out and get one of these!!!
Edited by emerito99 - 2/3/13 at 11:00am

emerito99 --

I noticed you have the Aspect Adjustment set to Size 2. Any idea why the Size 1 setting doesn't fill the whole screen? I'm running D* straight to the TV via HDMI and there's a small black bar at the top of the screen. To my eye, the Size 1 setting looks correct, except for the black bar at the top.