Vizio VP42 black levels

you cant. the reason you paid less for the vizio than you would have for the panasonic, is because the set isnt as good and the black levels arent as good. you just have to live with your purchase decision or take it back and exchange it for one of the panasonics...or buy a pioneer from a forum sponsor.

no thats due to the compression in the source generally....

Don't have this model, but on most displays, Brightness controls the black level. Looks like there are also some advanced controls that may effect your blacks as well. Again, I don't have this model, but if you have the "Black Extender" on that could be crushing some black detail. The flickering you mentioned in the other thread could be due to Adaptive Luma or some of the other advanced settings. Increasing DNR might help with pixelization. Some pixelization is normal for HD broadcast content though due to the level of compression used. Just the nature of the beast. If folks in the VP42 thread can't help shed more light on this stuff, then you might try poking around some of the other Vizio threads for more info.

Leaving a couple lamps on to either side of the display (not shining at the screen) may also help to improve the perceived sense of depth in the picture. Known as "bias" or background lighting, there's a long thread about this in the General FP forum.