My Viewsonic 19" jobbie lasted a full 5 days after the 3 year warranty ran out. I recently replaced it with a Samsumg 120Hz which is now sat next to a Samsung 226bw which is 2 years old. I remember when I got the 226bw how bright it was and contrary to what most people seem to do I left it at full brightness as I liked it that way. Anyway, I install the new 120Hz and as normal it has its brightness on full by default but I was shocked how dim the 226bw looked in comparison, I had to turn the brightness down to 50% on the new one for the screens to look the same. I guess what had happened is the backlight on the 226 has gradually deteriorated without me noticing. I don't know if leaving it on full brightness in the first place has contributed to this but I'll take it as a lesson learned in any case, the new one is being left on 50%.