I ran the gamma tools on both monitors. The LCD is virtually 100% on target, as I would have guessed from its printer performance, and the Sony is not only off but incapable of achieving a contrast level that gives me more than half of the black blocks. So, time to heft the Hitachi and pray for the desk. At least I'm fairly sure the picture looks lighter than I wanted it to, in spite of the fact that I can't see a thing in it. And I can go back to trusting the LCD for brightness and contrast. I know they have serious limitations for color accuracy and the illusion of continuous color; that's why I use both monitors. And I've assumed for the last few years that the Sony was no good for contrast and brightness, but it's deteriorated since the last time I thought about it. M M