the problem is that the newer models are not built to the same level of quality and care that the older models used to be built with and Samsung ZA's warranty division is becoming very "hardegat" and this claim is from a TV dealer that we both know personally very well .... he says that Hisense and Skyworth have better warranty assistance nowadays (these guys used to sell Samsungs by the truckload but they slowed it down to a crawl now because consumers no longer want the poor warranty and after sales service that the newer Samsungs seem to suffer from)
i used to love my Samsung TVs in the Plasma days as well as when LCD's were first introduced - they were totally great back then and maybe 1 out of 100 buggered up but it was mostly sorted out by the warranty but alas that situation has turned around it seems, so Samsung is no longer toward the top of my list for choice and brands that used to be considered inferior to Samsung have overtaken them because i don't want to argue with vendors when things go wrong - i just want them to evaluate it and if its something my fault then i pay for the repair and if it is shoddy manufacture then they repair it with no grumbling ..... many a time now that Samsung don't even want to look at a faulty unit but they were happy to sell the TV
