Flast screen tv issue

I have a two year old Sansui 36" flat screen LED (not plasma) tv that about two weeks ago developed a very noticeable issue that I can't find any solution to.

It started with a few grayish/blue dark shadows at the top of the screen that look like short fat icicles....and one of them has now turned into a very long ragged icicle that is nearly at the bottom of the screen. I've increased the brightness to the maximum amount and most times you can barely see this imperfection, but other times it's very noticeable, especially when it's in the direct path of a closeup of someone's face, etc.

I've searched online and can find many issues regarding 'banding' but all images I've found show a very definite straight line from top to bottom and nothing resembles this jagged icicle look and none showed that it was more than one line where I have a few fat types across the top that haven't progressed to anything more than what I started with originally, other than the one that goes near the bottom.

Any clues about what's happening? I've tried a few suggestions given on websites of unplugging the tv for a while and seeing if it would reset itself, but nothing so far has worked.

I should also say that where it became noticeable a few weeks ago was on shows that I had recorded on the Directv DVR and played back at a later time or day, and it didn't appear to be showing up on 'live' program that I would be watching while it was actually on air. Now I'm noticing that it shows up on some but not all live programs as well.

Could this be a DVR receiver issue and not something wrong with the tv at all? If so, I can replace that receiver but I hate to do that if it's actually the tv. No local tv repair shops available here that can check this for me, and the ones further away want to set up an 'in house' assessment. I'm hoping to solve this mystery myself, if possible, before spending money on a home visit.

The tv is out of warranty, btw, and I'm not sure if replacement because the tv is dying so soon is a route I would be happy with.

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Maybe . . .

Take the DVR out of the picture, remove it, and plug the TV directly into the satellite receiver.

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I"ll be able to do that

in a few days.....ordered another tv for another room and will hook the new one up to see if the problem is there instantly on the new one. The DVR IS the receiver so that suggestion isn't an option unless I unhook the newest one that was replaced just three weeks ago for the upstairs bedroom, bring it down here, and then hook it up to this tv or hook this DVR to the tv upstairs instead to test it. The newer ones no longer hook up directly from the receiver to the tv via a coax cable.....you now have to use RCA jacks only because the newest receivers only have coax from the dish to the receiver. So the easier option is to hook the one down here to the new tv when it gets here.

One other thing I didn't mention before and just thought of......the hookup down here also has a splitter that goes to an additional smaller tv in my computer room (whatever is being watched in the livingroom with the 'defective' tv or DVR also plays on that additional tv) and that extra tv does NOT show that same shadow, which is why I'm suspecting the tv itself.

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what happens if you...

...press on that area of the screen with a flat hand? Is there a film over it coming loose?

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