Samsung LTP227W 22-Inch HD-Ready Flat-Panel LCD TV
TV, Computer Monitor, Video Game Center
This television is the best you can buy for the price ($1169 at Circuit City on sale) - I'll break it down by its possible uses: <br /> <br />Television: <br />With an analog television signal, the picture is mediocre - but that's true of most LCDs (and with how bad analog signals are getting, that might be true of all TVs these days).  With an HDTV signal, the picture is crisp, clean, and static graphics don't waver like on most LCD televisions in this price range.  Fast moving action doesn't blur or pixelate at all. <br /> <br />DVD playback: <br />When hooked up with component or S-video cables, DVDs are about as good as you'd get with a regular television.  There may be some pixelation on static graphics and default color settings may not be to your liking, but playing with the settings will fix that for standard viewers.  Using a DVI cable hook-up, you'll get an amazing picture that almost makes the cost of DVI cables worth it.  The default widescreen picture may look pinched between two large black bars, but changing the picture settings will allow you to eliminate the typical widescreen black bars without sacrificing the edges of the picture. <br /> <br />Computer monitor: <br />*Note this television was hooked up to a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra graphics card* <br />This is an excellent computer monitor, but ONLY if you use a DVI cable (this will keep you from hooking up a DVD or cable box with a DVI cable).  Using an S-video cable to hook this television up to a computer will probably leave you with a massive case of eye strain because text will be blurry and the S-video option doesn't allow you to alter the setting very much.  With a DVI hook up, this television can act as an excellent (and huge) computer monitor.   With some programs such as video games, you may need to alter the in-game resolution to make it fit with the monitor resolution (tested with World of Warcraft), otherwise the game action will look blurry.  Again, changing the setting will fixthis problem for most peoples' tastes. <br /> <br />You can have your computer running with the television picture-in-picture or side-by-side (or vice versa), allowing you to work and watch television or a DVD (S-video connection only).   <br /> <br />As for points of criticism, this television only has 1 S-video connection, 2 component video connections, and 1 DVI connection.    The S-video connection does not face downward like the other connections do so pressing this unit back against a wall isn't possible if you're planning on using an S-video connection.  The remote is serviceable, but the picture-in-picture channel must be changed via the remote by going through the on screen menu.  The picture-in-picture cannot be swapped without going through the menu as well.  The sound is face-forward only, but with a standard surround hook up you won't feel like the TV is projecting sound straight at you. <br /> <br />With any LCD TV, you may find one or two dead pixels (visible on dark backgrounds), so you may want to check the picture before hooking everything up just in case.   <br /> <br />For the money and the size, this television can't be beat.  I compared this TV to a 20\\" Sharp Aquos LCD and this Samsung actually came out on top in practically every category, including price.  If you're looking for a great LCD television that can also be used as a computer monitor, this is the way to go.