My humble and sincere apologies to Panasonic.
There is nothing wrong with the TV other than the idiot who didn’t check everything out thoroughly. Following MrMan's post last night, I got up early this morning and checked all the accessories (DVD recorder, VCR, decoder box, CCTV connection). There was a loose connection (I think) down the chain. When I reconnected all, the TV works fine.
I should never have doubted Panasonic.
Excellent TV btw. I’m looking forward to an even better picture when I get MPEG4 aerial and HD dish installed tomorrow.
So would I. Especially from Panasonic. I am just relaying what the person in the shop told me.
Panasonic are doing a promotion at the moment and this particular model comes with a 5 year no quibble Panasonic (not just the dealer's) parts and labour guarantee. That must be worth a lot.
Thanks MrMan for the advice.