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AUGUST 15, 2002 FLASH PRODUCT REVIEW By Stephen H. Wildstrom Great Monitor, Pity About the TV The television picture you get on Samsung's new Syncmaster detracts from an otherwise winning, although pricey, flat-screen display unit
The 171MP's main distinction is the fact that it incorporates a television tuner and a decent stereo sound system. In effect, that makes it a freestanding 17-inch television set that weighs a bit under 11 pounds and has a footprint just seven inches deep. The display's strength is its versatility. In addition to a standard analog computer video connection (the option of digital PC video would be a nice addition), it offers inputs for stereo audio, digital television, composite video, s-video, and a coaxial connector for cable TV or an antenna. SOLID PERFORMER. As a computer monitor, the SyncMaster 171MP is a solid performer, offering a bright display that is viewable from a wide angle. My one complaint is Samsung's choice of 1280x1024 pixel resolution. While this is a very common specification for 17-inch LCD displays, it's an unfortunate one. It produces a screen with a width-to-height ratio of 5:4 instead of the 4:3 ratio that has always been the PC display standard. It doesn't sound like much of a difference, but the result is pixels that are a little too short for their height and thus produce an image that seems slightly squashed on the vertical axis. Samsung accentuates the problem with a screen that is a little too deep for its width. The 1400x1050 pixel resolution available in top-of-the-line laptops restores the standard 4:3 aspect ratio and gives a more satisfactory image. The 171MP's television functions are nicely integrated. You switch between monitor and TV modes by using a remote or tapping a button -- actually a touch-sensitive bump -- on the front of the unit. Channel tuning and volume controls are handled by the remote. And a picture-in-picture feature allows you to embed a TV image in a computer display. ENGINEERING TRADEOFF. Unfortunately, the quality of the TV image is mediocre. In general, even the best LCD displays don't give television images that are as crisp and vivid as what you get from a good cathode-ray tube display, especially one of the newer TVs with dead-flat picture tubes. To get an LCD even to approach CRT quality, it has to be optimized for the display of video images, rather than text or graphics. The problem is that the physics of display design give engineers a choice between having a good computer display with mediocre TV quality, or a decent TV with a lousy computer display. Since devices of this sort are bought primarily as computer displays, the parameters are chosen to make text and graphics look good at the expense of video. The bottom line is that while the 171MP makes an acceptable TV, the picture quality doesn't match that of the inexpensive 15-inch TV in my office. The MultiSync (also available in a 15-inch version, the SyncMaster 150MP, for around $700) would be a good choice for someone who wants a good flat-panel computer monitor and doesn't mind paying a premium to get an okay TV for use in an office or dorm room.  Wildstrom is Technology & You columnist for BusinessWeek. Follow his Flash Product Reviews, only on BusinessWeek Online Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | AUGUST |
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