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HDTV on Your Desktop

Wide-screen (and pricey) LCD monitor supports high-definition TV.

Edward B. Driscoll, Jr.

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Samsung 173MW Silver 17

Click here to view full-size image.

Photograph: Kevin Candland
LCD monitors with conventional analog TV tuners are commonplace these days, but Samsung's SyncMaster 173mw breaks new ground by integrating HDTV support as well. At a street price of $750, however, the 173mw costs several hundred dollars more than most 17-inch LCDs--even ones with non-HDTV tuners.

You deliver video to the 173mw via coaxial, composite, S-Video, or component inputs. Using the included remote control or the on-screen display, you can toggle between a full-screen computer desktop, HDTV or standard TV programming, and a DVD player or video game.

On my shipping unit, the high resolution of HDTV looked pretty darn good, and text was crisp and sharp. The field of vision--150 degrees horizontal and 120 degrees vertical--makes this display fine for a single person but less than optimal for a group. It's easy to rotate the 173mw on its heavy circular base, but you must use both hands to adjust the viewing angle.

You could use this monitor to watch a high-definition ballgame in the picture-in-picture window while working on a spreadsheet in your home office. A financial trader could use the conventional and high-def TV inputs to keep CNBC and CNNfn running in the background, toggling back and forth between the computer desktop and TV feeds. And the SyncMaster 173mw would be a great display choice for a PC running Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Note that the unit does not have its own HDTV tuner; you must supply the HD source, which could mean lots of wires on your desk. But that is a minor drawback in an otherwise well-engineered unit.

The 173mw is worth its premium price if you would like to view various media and to control them all from the monitor itself.

Samsung Electronics America SyncMaster 173mw
Rated 4 stars

Handsome but expensive HDTV-capable wide-screen LCD monitor; HDTV tuner not included.
Street: $750
Current Price (if available)

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