I asked put my questions about banding on my Sony Bravia to the very knowledgeable people over at Avfoums, probably the best place in the world to get advice about this kind of thing.

To summarise the thread it is a “feature” of all LCD televisions, along with the problems they have showing detail in dark scenes and displaying fast paced action. Perhaps the good old CRT still had some life left in it, which I guess Samsung new when they developed their HD CRT television – It is a shame it had so many problems. However with new displays based on LED technology round the corner these problems will ultimately disappear – the question is when and how much will they cost?