Samsung SyncMaster SM170MP LCD

Samsung's SyncMaster SM170MP LCD monitor will do much more than just give you TFT TV. Cards that let you watch TV on your PC are cheap and readily available, so you might question the point of paying a premium for an LCD panel with a built-in TV tuner. There's a lot of point, if you are talking about Samsung's SyncMaster SM170MP LCD monitor. It looks good, with a steel-grey case and a well-designed base that swivels to double as a handle - useful if you need to tote the display around for presentations. Bolt-holes at the back provide for wall or arm mounting. The 17in screen, equivalent in viewing area to a 19in cathode-ray tube, offers a crisp display with a wide angle of view at resolutions up to 1280 x 1024. You can use it as a TV while your PC is turned off, which you cannot do with a PC Card, and two extra video inputs let you connect a video or DVD recorder, or surveillance cameras. Each of these sources may be viewed full screen or in a resizable window that you can move around your desktop while you work. The display comes with S-Video, Scart and RCA cables and adapters, and a TV-style remote control. For those who routinely lose remote controls, you can also control the display using unobtrusive front-panel buttons. A pass-through port enables the PC and TV audio to use the same speakers or headphones. Setup, via an on-screen menu, is painless, although the device we saw seemed reluctant to reduce its brightness - desktop LCDs going at full blast can be wearing on the eyes. The 170MP is likely to find a ready market among finance workers and executives who need a news feed at their desktops, as well as video editors and home workers who need to keep a camera eye on the kids or front door. It does not come cheap, but there is a 15in version for the less well off, costing £1137 inc VAT. For those who can afford the 17in version, which costs £2137 inc VAT, it is an ingenious piece of kit.