Brightness levels on New Sets?

[jstout66]

Is it just me, or have any of you noticed that new sets just don't have alot of variation in the brightness setting? I thought I read somewhere that new picture tubes aren't as good as the old ones when they were new. I broke down and decided to get a NEW set for my bedroom and got one of those Sony 24" Wega's. The picture seems pretty good, but I noticed that when a "scene" in a program is at night or in dim lighting that it is hard to see the picture. (anything black is REALLY black) I noticed this on different brands in the store and with people who have gotten new sets. Maxing out the brightness doesn't seem to help. I don't remember the Zeniths "back in the day" looking like that out of the box. I also noticed that the build quality seemed a tad shoddy on this new set as well. What the hell? Is Sony even going the route of "It will last till the warranty expires then go to hell"? Anyway, would like your comments on this! Thanks!