Notebook screen flicker on startup

Sony Vaio K37 suddenly started having an absolutely horrible screen flicker for several minutes upon booting up or coming out of hibernation/standby. But then it settles down (at least so far).

I have to suspect a hardware issue, but just in case it’s software…any suggestions?

The machine is still under extended warranty, thank goodness, but if I can keep it out of the shop, my life will be so much easier. THanks in advance!