Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Rear projection dlp problems and question

Turning on my Mits 57 inch rear projection dlp television the other day I noticed it took some time for me to actually get a picture (30 or more seconds)
When the picture finally came up i noticed that it seemed considerably darker than usual. I went into the menu and tried to remedy this problem but to no avail.
Now when i turn the television on sometimes i get no picture at all just balck screen and then the television will just shut off on its own. When i turn it back on i get the same delay on an actual image coming up and when it does it seems to be about 50% darker than normal.

I'm thinking this is all signs that the bulb is going out and hoping that is all the problem is.
Looking for advise from all my HT guru friends here on the Axiom forums.
Any ideas on this ??