"Note I’ve only looked at it on my 134”screen so I’m not sure what if any differences I would oneitce on my 46” one"
Gee I feel so small with only 42...
I did read a few other posts where others noticed the darkness too. It could also just be that my tv is not properly calibrated. I did it awhile ago (uears_ with DVD Essentials not even the HD version. Is there a free calibration tool one can download from thet net? I use an HTPC so it would be pretty easy to use.
there is a very easy way to calibrate black levels quickly and without using any calibrating equipment;
in a dark room, turn the tv on to the DVD/BR input, and keep the player OFF;
increase the brightness to the point where you can easily see it's gray;
then, slowly decrease the brightness to the point where it is at it's minimum (darkest point);
if you decrease the brightness one more notch, the screen will NOT be any darker; and if you increase the brightness one notch, the screen will be brighter than it's minimum brightness.
this gives me exactly the same brightness as when i use a calibration DVD and it's much more simple and fast.
