OldFatGuy: Ever since I've owned this (over a year now) 42" Vizio refurbished TV I've wondered if there was a "problem" in that seems always seemed to not be bright enough. But that could be a matter of taste, and I've played with the brightness/contrast to not much satisfaction.

But now I swear it appears worse to me. And the funny thing is, when I first turn it on, the picture comes up, it looks GREAT, if flickers a couple of times (as though settling into some kind of setting, or so I thought but maybe it was a sign of a problem all along??) and after the flickers it looks it's same, dark, dull self.

Today is by far the worst, as I bumped brightness all the way up to 100 and it wasn't all that bright of a picture. It was a dull picture with evidence of it being brightened. Wish I knew how to explain it better.

Anyway, I bought the extended warranty, but I fear I bought the wrong kind of warranty. It's supposed to be a "no questions asked" warranty where you get to, ONCE, return it, and they ship you a replacement, no questions asked, and IIRC they ship when you do, so you're not out of a TV as long. But the ONCE thing scared me, because I can't but wonder if I send this one back, what if I get one that's even worse with more problems??? I should've thought of that before, I know.

Anyway, can anyone tell from my limited ability to explain what it looks like whether they think I have a problem and should return it or whether I should instead live with it, this is the way this particular TV is??? I've played with the picture controls for hours and hours and hours, so no, I don't think there's going to be any satisfaction there.

I guess the thing that makes me feel like it may be a problem is how good the pic always look, JUST FOR A SECOND, before the flickering. I was always under the impression that the flickering and change was intentional, but now I'm not so sure.

Anyone?