Being "In the Buisness" I would have to concur, black levels are a problem. Upgrading your source will not cure your problem. Panasonic and Pioneer have the best black levels that I have seen so far, I have not seen the Runco so I cannot coment on it. I would also make sure that your cables are up to speed so to say and that your power source is stable. Cheers!
Black Level on Plasma Display
I own a SONY 42" Plasma Display. Although the colors scenes look great, the darker scenes, wich demands a better level of black, seems a little too bright. Even after professional calibration, the black level doesn't seems too good. I was thinking of changing my DVD Player to try to get some improvement (my DVD Player is the Harmon Kardon DV-50 - with progressive scan). Is it possible to improve the black level of the display by changing the DVD player? Which are the best black level DVD players?