How much light do you have on at night when you watch TV???

Great subject. I'm currently experimenting with that. watching movies with different lighting conditions. I find that i can focus more on the movie in total darkness but i'm not yet sure how PQ is affected.

I once had a LCD tv in our bedroom, and had to have a lot of ambiant lighting to compensate for less-then-adequate black levels. It helped by making the blacks *appear* darker. I since switched to plasma, and find myself using very little lightling when watching TV, because:

1) the plasma's black level is much, much better than the LCD's. In the dark, my LCDs blacks looked light-grey, as opposed to my plasma's blacks which stilll are very adequate in low lighting.
2) the plasma's peak white level is less than the LCD, so I can watch it in the dark (almost), without my eyes burning up.

Low ambiant lighting also allows me to see more shadow details in the picture.

I usually have 2 lamps on. Sometimes one. Usually some light coming in from the kitchen. My plasma looks good in just about any light though. Much better with light than my old Zenith 36" tube.

I also usually have two lamps on at night. Looks amazing and no reflections.
I've never tried total darkness but I guess I must give it a try just to see.

I watch my PDP primarily during the evenings and prefer very low/indirect lighting, normally from the recessed ceiling lights in the kitchen, adjacent to the FR.

All of my lighting is provided by ropelight. I've installed it around the perimeter of the room, just at the baseboard. It has a dimmer attachment to regulate the amount of light given off.
As most of my viewing is done at night, there is enough of this indirect lighting to allow me to see where I'm going, to get another one of those amber coloured, carbonated beverages we're so fond of,,,,,

More than I would like, less than my wife would like.

Most of the time that translates into 7 ceiling cans on in the kitchen adjacent to the family room. About enough light that you could read in the primary viewing postion, but you would have to work at it.

Of course, there are times when more lights are on and/or during the day when reading is no problem. And I've convinced her to watch DVDs with only a ceiling can backlight on.

Ceiling light is usually reduced by 50 to 75% for tv and off for movies.
Backlighting is the 2 lights mounted on the fan above the stove in the kitchen.

If we are watching movies or a tv show in HD we have no lights on. If watching the news or just surfing we will have one pole lamp on. Wife and I both enjoy movies with no lighting except what the screen gives off.

My room is often totally dark, but then again, I have Ambilight on my Philips and that makes the viewing experience better.

Jim is is a 50' display. My recliner is at 8.5 feet and the couch is at 12 feet.