Panasonic TC-P55ST60

• Average user rating: 5.0 stars out of 4 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 10 stars

  An Outstanding TV for the 99%

  by Roland-Arnold on April 20, 2013

  Pros: + Superb colors and black level
  + Extensive pro-level calibration settings
  + User interface is impressive and easy to navigate
  + 2 free pair of 3D glasses included
  + Great price

  Cons: - TV inputs are in a weird position close to the left edge of the TV and could cause certain stiff HDMI/etc cables to be noticeable

  Summary: I am definitely not a videophile but am a techie. So when searching for a TV to replace our twenty year old Sony tube (which is still great) I was ...

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  Summary: I am definitely not a videophile but am a techie. So when searching for a TV to replace our twenty year old Sony tube (which is still great) I was able to catch on pretty quickly to new features. Our list was fairly simple: light TV viewing, medium movie viewing, light video game usage, light web and apps usage, $1500 or less and 50+ inches.
  
  As my daughter and I drove to Costco she poured over the March 2013 Consumer Reports and had concluded that we should get a Panasonic plasma. I like Panasonic but has reservations about plasma based on vague anecdotes about short life spans and energy use. We arrived at Costco and were lucky enough to quickly find their electronics guru. I described our criteria and he firmly recommended the Panasonic ST and VT plasma's but said Costco did not carry them.
  
  We looked around Costco's impressive selection and asked for guidance. Features aside, our eyes easily picked out the sharpest pictures and they were the Samsung Smart TVs in the $1550 - $2800 range (we didn't bother to look at the more expensive sets). The $1550 Samsung did not have 3D, had a plain plastic bezel and was at the high end of our price range so we were at an impasse. The friendly guru reminded us that in his estimation, the Panasonic ST50 (exactly the one Consumer Reports raved about) or the 2013 version, ST60, was his first choice by far in our price range. We left empty-handed.
  
  That evening we researched the Panasonic and found that it really was in a class by itself for the price, underscored by CNET's 5-star rave review. So we headed to a local video store the next night and checked out their selection and came to the same conclusion: Samsung Smart TVs and a couple others had outstanding pictures. But the Panasonic Viera 55" ST60, at nearly half the price, stood fearlessly among the best. The decision was easy. Not surprisingly, the store was fully stocked on Friday but by Monday night had only one left in the region so we had to drive further to selfishly snag it.
  
  We've barely scratched the surface but setup was easy and the remote is fine though not universal. The picture is jaw-dropping and is plenty bright in our fairly sunny living room. The user interface is impressive and easy to navigate (Netflix, YouTube, web, etc.). On a humorous note, my daughter downloaded the Panasonic app for her iPhone and commandeered the TV, rendering my remote useless. Then, with a flick of her fingers, swiped a picture from her iPhone onto the TV screen. We will send in the rebate to order a touch pen that allows drawing on-screen and, apparently, is free.
  
  Worth noting: because the TV's processing power is so robust, it is prone to something called the "Soap Opera Effect" (Google it). This is not unique to Panasonic. The TV interpolates frames to make the picture as smooth as possible. In most contexts this is probably desirable. But watching a movie I immediately sensed something bothersome. The movie lost a certain richness and didn't look like film, but more a nicely produced PBS British serial. Fortunately, a quick Googling provided guidance: simply turn down / off motion smoothing. In the ST60's case, it's a menu option called "Motion Smooth." Upon turning it off, we were instantly dropped into the front row of a grand cinema.
  
  For great place to buy this TV, I suggest at: Amazon.com/dp/B00AVRJK76/?tag=cnetamz-offers-20
  
  I hope this review is helpful.

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  8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  Extremely Impressive Plasma

  by jrt-thx on April 14, 2013

  Pros: Terrific picture quality, attractive design, great feature set, and oh, did I mention the picture.

  Cons: Absolutely none so far.

  Summary: I bought the 65" version of set last weekend just in time for the NCAA tournament final four. It was barely in stock anywhere...I didn't quite realize how ...

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  Summary: I bought the 65" version of set last weekend just in time for the NCAA tournament final four. It was barely in stock anywhere...I didn't quite realize how new the set was, I just knew that last years version was highly rated and I'm a plasma fan. This is my third Panasonic plasma and the previous two have been solid sets with no problems at all...so no hesitancy with plasma or Pana. I was replacing the 7 year old 58" unit in my family room...an unnecessary upgrade according to my wife, and I'll admit feeling a little guilty about the indulgence until I plugged it in.
  
  Wow, immediately the difference in picture jumped out at me. Seriously, 15 seconds and I was hooked. Greater contrast and depth of field, much deeper blacks, great brightness, better fast motion handling. Just terrific.
  
  The default picture settings are pretty solid, but seem set for a dark room. My family room is quite bright so I used the custom picture mode and brought up the brightness and lowered the sharpening a bit and that was it. Good to go.
  
  Speaking of a bright room, the other improvement is that this screen is better at handling room glare than the old one. It certainly doesn't eliminate the plasma-glare problem, but It's notably better than before.
  
  The set comes with 2 sets of 3D glasses. Additional ones from Pana are almost $70. I bought 4 more compatible but slightly less ergonomic ones from Samsung (SSG-4100GB) for $18 each. All work very well. I really didn't (don't) expect to spend a lot of time with 3D content but of course had to try it out. I'm pretty impressed though. I'm wishing I had ESPN3D on my satellite package. I still probably wont use this feature a ton and the 2D-3D conversion feature is hit or miss depending on the composition of any given scene being viewed.
  
  I'm not a huge fan either of all the smart TV functions the manufacturers are pushing out. I have good streaming and apps for other devices in my home theater setup... I didn't need more. I wish they would offer a version of the set that's Just a TV and save us all a few bucks.
  
  So in summary, tell your wife it's a real upgrade and worth every penny and then go buy it.

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  4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 10 stars

  This is the TV you've been waiting for

  by ECpackers on May 10, 2013

  Pros: Insane Picture quality
  nice aesthetics
  ...3d is WAY better than they'd lead you to believe

  Cons: input lag, i don't have enough time to watch this tv enough!

  Summary: I temporarily had a Panasonic tcp65gt50 last year, and i couldn't wait to hand over money to keep it....what an amazing set, after watching 2 minutes of avatar ...

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  Summary: I temporarily had a Panasonic tcp65gt50 last year, and i couldn't wait to hand over money to keep it....what an amazing set, after watching 2 minutes of avatar i was hooked, after watching avatar in 3d for the 10th time i was excited...at the last second i backed out.
  
  and im SO GLAD I DID. Because going with this set, i have a tv that IMO has an even better picture than the GT 50 series did, and it saved me a bunch of money.
  
  also, worth noting, if you read enough reviews on this TV you'll notice some say "3d is not great"...*** does that mean? the 3d is eye popping and amazing. i've only seen 3d on maybe 5 or 6 different sets, but this is as good as the gt50 i had last year, so thats good enough for me.
  
  
  gamers beware....there's a 66ms input lag. there will be no epic combos in SF... sorry

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• 10 stars

  Amazing picture quality, even better price

  by monkmojo22 on May 9, 2013

  Pros: -Deep black levels
  -Vibrant Colors
  -Plenty of customization
  -Filtered screen to help with reflections and glare
  -Very wide viewing angle
  -Fairly thin overall

  Cons: -Some input lag for gamers
  -3D is not great
  -Sound is poor

  Summary: I'm very, very happy with this TV. The size and the images I've seen from it are ridiculous, and I'm pinching myself over the price. The display ...

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  Summary: I'm very, very happy with this TV. The size and the images I've seen from it are ridiculous, and I'm pinching myself over the price. The display did take a little adjusting out of the box (I prefer Home Theater mode, with a few tweaks), but once those were set, I was good to go. The picture settings can be changed between input sources, which could be a very nice feature for those using gaming consoles, Apple TV/Roku's, and Blu-ray players. I personally turned off the motion features to avoid the soap opera effect, and I would recommend doing so as well. The sound also needed to be adjusted as it offers a fairly feeble attempt at surround sound, but you can turn that feature off if you don't have a sound system like me.
  
  Addressing my other cons, the input lag is fairly noticeable for gamers. After I plugged in the Xbox and fired it up, I definitely had to turn on Game Mode in the Advanced Settings (under "Picture" in the TV menu). That helped, but there's still a slight lag. If you are a hardcore gamer, you will probably care about this one a lot and might want to look for a different TV. Regarding 3D, I had low expectations after reading user and expert reviews when I fired up "Prometheus" in 3D. I was not wowed by the images, but I was not terribly disappointed either. To me, 3D is gimmicky and something I will use occasionally (if at all). To that extent, the 3D is adequate. If you're looking for an amazing 3D experience, again, another TV might be better for you.
  
  Overall, I'm in love with this display, and I've been fairly giddy regarding this TV (kind of makes me sad that I'm this excited over a TV, but that's another matter). I would highly recommend this for someone who's looking for a great display from a huge TV that won't break the bank.

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