WHAT'S HOT: The CTX PR960FL fared well in our image tests, displaying sharp text and bright colors. Even the small text (7-point Arial) was very easy to read, and colors in photos and on a Web page looked vibrant and accurately rendered.

WHAT'S NOT: While most other vendors offer 24-hour daily technical support, CTX answers the phones for only 12 hours per weekday. That could be inconvenient for some small-office and home-office users.

WHAT ELSE: Though other 19-inch CRT monitors offer comparable image quality for less money than the PR960FL, at $349 it's not terribly expensive. It uses a Sony FD Trinitron aperture grille tube, which tends to increase the cost of a CRT display.

Four buttons on the bezel manage the on-screen controls, which are fairly straightforward and quite comprehensive thanks to the inclusion of moiré and convergence controls.

Although the PR960FL complies with the widely recognized MPRII specification for the maximum allowable values of electric fields, it does not comply with the more stringent TCO specification, as most other new monitors do. TCO-compliant monitors also meet certain ergonomic requirements, and if they are compliant with TCO'99 or later, they use recyclable parts.

UPSHOT: The PR960FL delivers impressive image quality at a fairly reasonable price, but prospective small- and home-office buyers should consider whether CTX's short support hours would be sufficient.

SUMMARY

CTX PR960FL 18-inch viewable area, .24-.25mm varying-stripe-pitch FD Trinitron aperture grille tube, 102-Hz maximum refresh rate at 1280 by 1024 resolution, maximum resolution of 1920 by 1440 at 70 Hz. Three-year warranty, 12-hour weekday toll-free support. $349 877/857-7846 www.ctxintl.com