Have you ever seen Clouding this bad?

Yes I would return it. Uneven lighting like that in a dark scene would drive me nuts (and did with the LCD set I had, which was actually splotchier than yours, then got a plasma).

I think especially for film fans that plasma's a much better choice. Now if you want soap opera effect, really bright whites, watching in really bright environments, least chance of IR, then maybe LCD....

I'd agree with that.

I tried a Panny UT50 and it wasn't for me as the majority of my use is ESPN/CNN and video games. So while it did definitely looked better than the Panny ET5 LED I have now--especially for movies on Bluray--it wasn't worth the IR annoyances. Or especially the buzz (which I just seem especially sensitive too).

But if the main use if movies, then IR isn't of much concern and the PQ can't be beat. So I'd definitely give that a shot and hope you don't get a buzzer (or aren't sensitive to it).