I have an hls-7178 for my theater, and after some calibration (67 contrast, 47 brightness), the contrast is very good.

This tv is perfect at replicating VERY BRIGHT scenes with a lot of detail and depth. It is just at the dark scenes, for example the first 5 minutes of the Bourne Identity, that it retains good contrast, but not so good black levels. I am very anal, and many people are overly satisfied with the theater setup.

The only problem is the black level isn't as good as i had expected it to be. I had noticed, this night, when i first turned on the tv, the dvd player had been running. The picture was so filmlike and with the deepest blacks i'd ever seen. That was until the bulb actually warmed up (this was only for about 12 seconds) and ruined the black levels.

I've heard of some models that were able to actually adjust the brightness output of the actual bulb (some with an iris, some in the service menu). Is there any way i can replicate the first 12 seconds of tv turn-on (brightness wise) without messing with user-controls (contrast, brightness) on my tv?

-jason