Fluctuating brightness on 2011 Panasonic plasmas

Has anyone else encountered a problem with fluctuating brightness on the new 2011 Panasonic plasmas? We just got a 55st30 and were greatly dismayed to encounter brightness, then dark, then brightness when watching it. I have looked online, and this apparently is a widespread problems with the new st and gt30's. There has been some success with it going away after the 100 hour break in, or by turning off the CATS setting, etc. Does anyone else have the problem and what is the solution? SMV

My understanding on the topic is that it's not so much an issue with CATS (Can still occur when turned off), but an issue with the dynamic APL (Average Picture Level) ciruit, designed to limit the incoming voltage as the APL changes. Panasonic actually describes this as a "feature" (although it's not defeatable) and is used to increase the life of the panel, prevent overheating and stress on components, and reduce power consumption. Given the last couple years TVs "issue" with floating black levels (also described as a "feature") which was never fully addressed as a problem and never corrected, it's likely that it will not be fixed with a firmware update. If Panasonic truely beleives that this is a "feature", then in their minds there is nothing to be fixed.
Assuming that it IS the dynamic APL circuit, then any adjustments via firmware would also likely increase power consumption and possibly disqualify the TV for Energy Star. Panasonic would not do this since to the many customers who have purchased this unit with Energy Star advertised. This is just speculation, but looking back at how Panasonic has handled this similar issue in the past the odds of any "fix" coming are pretty low.

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Fluctuating brightness on 2011 Panasonic plasmas

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