Samsung SYNCMASTER 171MP

WHAT'S HOT: Samsung's SyncMaster 171MP is HDTV ready, and it includes S-Video and component video inputs to let you connect almost any video device you could think of. Its case has an elegant, champagne-colored, brushed-metal front, which sports easy-to-use controls that serve double duty, providing access to the computer monitor functions as well as TV channel and volume controls. These buttons respond to a light touch--you don't have to mash them to get a response, unlike many monitors' controls--and the monitor beeps when you press a button, providing an extra form of feedback. The on-screen monitor controls are extensive, including options to sharpen or soften the picture. The built-in speakers are larger than those we've seen in many LCDs, and their sound was deeper and filled the room better than most.

WHAT'S NOT: The 171MP didn't fare well in our subjective judging of display quality: For example, a screen of black-and-white stripes showed extensive horizontal banding and a flickering effect. Colors in photos looked a little dark, and text was somewhat fuzzy on sample Word documents and Web pages. At $1399, the SyncMaster 171MP was, by a country mile, the most expensive 17-inch LCD in our March 2002 comparison.

WHAT ELSE: The TV tuner, which fits into a slot on the back of the panel, is a $100 option; without it, the monitor's price is $1299. The 171MP is an analog-input-only model. In addition to the built-in speakers, it has a headphone jack, but no microphone jack. It also doesn't include a USB hub. Its base, which allows the panel to tilt but not swivel, folds back to double as a handle, and at 10.7 pounds it's light enough to carry around easily--should you have a reason to.

Samsung includes Natural Color software for calibrating color between your monitor and printer. The LCD panel's viewing-angle technology is called patterned vertical alignment, a proprietary Samsung technology that's similar to multidomain vertical alignment. Samsung states the panel's viewing angles as 170 degrees both horizontally and vertically.