Thanks for the advice. I am following up with a friend to see what my options are. The immediate problem now is, even if I am able to get a replacement, I have lost confidence in Samsung as a brand. Not to mention that I am really not too thrilled about the 'image retention' issues with Samsung plasmas.
May I ask you why you've lost faith in Samsung ? I mean, have you had a TV fail on you in the past ? I'm interested to know because I'm interested in a Samsung plasma.
There's the 47" LG LH90 back-lit LED in that price range, I believe.
Should i be worried.
I was planning to pick c450 tomm' but after reading your updates am confused.
On the other hand Lg thread has their own issues.
Sigh, what to do
Don't worry too much about it. There are always some TV's in each brand that don't turn out great. In all probability, you'll enjoy your TV just fine.