reduce size of dark area when fast forward, rewind, pause?

Is there a way to reduce the size of the dark area that takes up nearly 1/3 of the bottom of the screen whenever I do anything with the remote? It's particularly disturbing when trying to fast forward a sports event and it covers up the events time. It it can't be eliminated can it be made smaller and/or reduce the length of time it's on screen? I'm using the black remote on Contour2. Thanks