Samsung SyncMaster 275T

The on-screen display (OSD) buttons, located on the lower right-hand side of the bezel, are clearly labeled and the on-screen menu is easy to use.  The OSD includes many brightness presets for common types of tasks, such as text, games, and movies. A section of the OSD called MagicColor adjusts the contrast and vividness of colors, also via presets. In addition to VGA and DVI ports, Samsung includes component and S-Video. This way, you can connect other devices such as a DVD player and use the monitor's picture-in-picture, or PIP function to watch a movie while you're working, for example. The PIP feature has its own dedicated OSD button, making it easy to turn on.

Movie viewing was satisfactory overall, but in a viewing of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, I found the monitor produced intense colors that were somewhat unnatural in parts; for example, the leaves and bushes in the background had a tinge of neon green. The display offered good detailed textures on red and dark blue velvet robes, while capably rendering fast motion.

You can buy the 27-inch Samsung SyncMaster 275T for about $1000 (as of December 10, 2007), a reasonable price for a monitor that offers the right combination of features and image quality.

--Roy Santos