DVD picture too dark-Any Help


I just got a new basic pioneer dvd player. The picture is very dark even though i have cranked the brightness control to max. Any suggestions about which other controls to tweak. I've kinda played with the gamma and croma but not much difference.
kbuzz
I experience no loss in picture quality with a HDMI to DVI adaptor, if I did I would have switched right back to Comp video so I dont know if that is an absolute rule. Are you technically sound with video adjustments or a real novice?