Among other duties, I support PC navigation systems on a fleet of boats.

LCD monitors were a godsend, because unlike CRT monitors, they generate very little EMI and do not interfere with compasses, radios, and other systems. And they take up very little of the highly limited space in wheelhouses.

However, I now have a problem in that most current production models of LCD monitors do not dim to black. The dimming range of backlight inverters has been greatly reduced, and the maximum reduction possible is now only to 30/40% of full brightness. For a navigation system a monitor must be dimmable (brightness and contrast) to a point where the display is not visible in daylight because the system must be used at night. If the display is too bright at night, the person at helm of the boat is blinded by the monitor. Also light from the monitor escapes from the wheelhouse windows and poses a navigation hazard for other vessels.

Monitors can be modded -- I can buy backlight inverters with a wider dimming range, but installing these voids warranties, and great care is required in matching the LCD panel and inverter properties and it is not always possible to identify the LCD panel reliably so....

True "marinized" monitors for navigation systems are obscenely expensive, and I do not need their water-proof rugged construction, since none of the boats I support have navigation equipment in open cockpits. So...

Does anyone know of any current LCD production models that dim to black?

There must be something out there. Astronomers and theater people have the same needs. But maybe they all still use CRT monitors?