The Insignia NS-L55X-10A 55-inch Class LCD HDTV is the company's flagship effort, which retails for $1,297.99. The set itself is a native 1080p display measuring in at just under 55-inch diagonally and features 120Hz refresh rate. The NS-L55X-10A measures in at 51 and a half inches wide by 32 inches tall by five inches deep (without the included table stand) and weighs in at a hefty 70 pounds (without the stand). The NS-L55X-10A features five HDMI inputs, three in the rear and two along the side, as well as a host of analog video inputs for legacy sources as well as a PC video input. The NS-L55X-10A has an internal HDTV tuner for over-the-air HD broadcast (antenna or receiver not included). The NS-L55X-10A has a reported 4,000:1 native contrast ratio and a 15,000:1 contrast ratio when viewing in Dynamic mode. In terms of sound the NS-L55X-10A has two 15 Watt built-in speakers with Audyssey Dynamic Volume and SRS TruSurround capabilities. There isn't much more to report by way of features with the NS-L55X-10A, for in order to keep costs low, Insignia has had to take a "just the facts" approach to the design and implementation of the NS-L55X-10A. The NS-L55X-10A doesn't have USB inputs nor the ability to playback alternative formats such as DivX, nor can it connect to the Internet the way other, more expensive, HDTVs can nowadays.

In terms of performance the NS-L55X-10A is the essence of what you need in an HDTV and nothing more. That being said, the performance is what you'd expect from an affordable, average HDTV...average. Color saturation and fidelity, after calibration, is slightly above average; however black levels and grey scale tracking are underwhelming. The NS-L55X-10A doesn't so much achieve true black so much as it is a very dark shade of gray, which costs the display much needed pop and definition. White levels are amply bright but prone to blooming. Edge fidelity is not on par with even budget sets from Vizio, nor is motion tracking and video processing. Insignia doesn't give any insights into what processor/scaler they use (if any) internally and if there is one present, it has to be generic at best. The NS-L55X-10A is prone to and showcases considerable artifacting, which can only be combated, visually, by sitting a bit further back from the display than you normally would. In a nutshell I would classify the NS-L55X-10A's performance as perfectly average in almost every way: the ideal display for a playroom or secondary, non-critical viewing, location. While its sub-$1,300 asking price may seem tempting, you can get almost twice the display by spending an extra two to three hundred dollars more and going with one of the bigger name brands like Toshiba or Panasonic.

Read more about the high points and low points of the NS-L55X-10A on Page 2.