What is this splotchy section of my LED TV?

[amsage]

I have a Samsung 50" LED TV. When the TV is first powered on, there is a portion of one side that seems to take longer to turn on...it's just black, and slowly, almost pixel by pixel, the black splotch "warms up" (?) and finally ends up looking normal.

The problem doesn't stop there, however. Once the TV is powered on and the black splotch has gone away, it then is replaced with a purple-ish splotch. This one shows up in the same area/pattern as the black splotch, but you can only see it when that area is displaying Blues/Whites (for example, if an image of the sky is on screen, you can see it very clearly).

This has been a progressive issue...started small, and now has gotten to the point where I can't ignore it. The TV is about 4 years old, and was purchased from Sam's Club on Black Friday...which I've heard from some people means that it is not a true Samsung, and is actually of cheaper build quality than your typical Samsung. I've also been told that because I live in a high altitude area (5000+ feet). All I really want to know is if there's anything I can do, or if I just need to pony up and get something new.

On a related note...if I get something new...any suggestions on something that doesn't last less than 5 years? So sick of today's technology...growing up, we had the same TV for 15 years.

 

[digitaldoc]

I share your pain. I had to put my 2 year old Samsung to the curb after a little more than 2 years. My previous Hitachi CRT TV's both lasted around 20 years before that.

It sounds like the LED's are not turning on which is the backlighting to the TV.

My guess is that you will need a new TV, but if you can post a pic of the issue, I can firm up that recommendation.