I'm a Fusion Remote Black user and have the exact same problem... it's too bright to be useful.
I'm also a mediaportal user, which has an integrated MiniDisplay plugin that allows some customization of brightness and contrast (among other things) and makes it a bit more usable (still it looks horrible in a darkened room).
I'm thinking of trying the car tinting film... does anyone have an idea about what % of light blocking should it have to work well?
Thanks and greetings from Spain! ;-)
EDIT: Btw, I dunno if someone has already posted it, but there's also a discussion on the imon/soundgraph forums about this issue... basically, Imon blames Antec for not using the filtering film on the LCD and also suggest the tinting film. it's here: htpcinside.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1594#post1594