On thing I noticed about this TV (all others probably similar), is the blue was set too high. Blue causes the screen to look artificially brighter. When you put it on Vivid mode, the blue is off the charts.
That probably explains why the screen now looks dimmer. The colors are balanced instead of some artificial coloring, just to make it look brighter.
He got, 41 lumins (I think), with either cinima, or bright room, I don't remember which.
most new tv's are set to very high color temperatures, some as much as 18000 K. when they should all be at the 6500K standard.
as you say, there is too much blue, because it makes the screen "appear" brighter, and it sells more.
