Panny might not extend any warranties, but I purchased a 5 year extended warranty that also covers my lamp replacement. Its from a reputable place and I am sure the part is available. If its not, there will be hell to pay when my lamp goes.
Your bigger concern over this set might be the fan noise which for me is untolderable. I am in the process of having both fans replaced. They are still waiting for one of the two fans so I have not had them done yet, but I hope to have them installed this week. The retailer I bought from has a rapid response team for immediate problems with the set and they are the ones who ordered the replacement parts.
I also have a very weird "smudge" on the inside of the screen that is very apparent when viewing in 4:3 mode. I use 4:3 exclusively for SD TV. Its about dime sized and sits in the left black bar in the lower right portion of that bar. THey will look at the problem when they are out to service the fans.
I am insistant that the fan issue and the "smudge" issue be resolved or the set is going back for a replacement.
Overall though this is a hell of a TV and the problems I list are minor ones I trust will be taken care of. I had hesitation as well before I bought it about 3 weeks ago now and I could not be happier with the purchase overall. I bought Master and Commander last night and watched the first half of the movie. I knew exactly why I got the set when I was watching that movie.
If you have concern, call up Panny or talk to your retailer. Hopefully they can give you a sense of why the part was removed. Remember this is a new set and maybe they are just tweaking their part numbers or something.
Your bigger concern over this set might be the fan noise which for me is untolderable. I am in the process of having both fans replaced. They are still waiting for one of the two fans so I have not had them done yet, but I hope to have them installed this week. The retailer I bought from has a rapid response team for immediate problems with the set and they are the ones who ordered the replacement parts.
I also have a very weird "smudge" on the inside of the screen that is very apparent when viewing in 4:3 mode. I use 4:3 exclusively for SD TV. Its about dime sized and sits in the left black bar in the lower right portion of that bar. THey will look at the problem when they are out to service the fans.
I am insistant that the fan issue and the "smudge" issue be resolved or the set is going back for a replacement.
Overall though this is a hell of a TV and the problems I list are minor ones I trust will be taken care of. I had hesitation as well before I bought it about 3 weeks ago now and I could not be happier with the purchase overall. I bought Master and Commander last night and watched the first half of the movie. I knew exactly why I got the set when I was watching that movie.
If you have concern, call up Panny or talk to your retailer. Hopefully they can give you a sense of why the part was removed. Remember this is a new set and maybe they are just tweaking their part numbers or something.
