Crave

Hey! I can see those TV connections on your back. You're not fooling anyone!

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

What's the difference between an HDTV and a computer monitor? Well, let's see. HDTVs are for the most part made for watching movies and HD broadcasts, and playing video games. Monitors are made for everyday computer operations, productivity tasks, computer games, and to a lesser extent movies. Also, monitors are generally smaller than your average HDTV, and HDTVs usually have more in the way of connection options.

So where does this leave my latest two monitor reviews? The LG Flatron M237WD and the Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD are both monitors with many features only TVs usually have, including multiple connection options--HDMI, Component, and Composite, as well as VGA and DVI--and even remote controls.

If you're interested in a monitor for watching Blu-ray movies, playing video games, and catching your favorite HDTV shows, check out the reviews of both the Samsung and LG to see how well they're able pass in both the TV and monitor worlds.

Also, don't forget to check for the latest monitors reviews from CNET.

It's a logo, an acronym, and a smiley, all in one.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Last week, I explained my reasons for holding off on the review of the LG Flatron M237WD.

I know it's a disappointment to those you who have been inquiring about the review for a while now, but I still believe that waiting for a very similar comparison monitor--in this case, the Samsung P2370HD--will make for a much better and useful review.

So, to tide you over, I recorded a short video of me taking a quick look at the LG Flatron M237WD, very early in the morning. Notice my workout clothes. Also, please forgive the amateurish camera work. I'm still getting used to using that thing and it'll be much better in the next vid.

Enjoy, and look for more of these quick little videos in the near future.

Samsung's XL2370 (back when it was the 2370L) supposedly ends wars and cures diseases. We'll see.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

I've had the LG Flatron M237WD in-house for a good minute now. I've yet to review it, however, because I felt that unless I had something appropriate to compare it to, the review wouldn't be as useful.

For awhile I'd been begging waiting on Samsung to send its 2370HD, as it has many of the same "TV like" connections as the Flatron, as well as the same 23-inch screen size and 1920x1080 resolution. Samsung just informed me that I should be receiving the display either later this week or next, but that I would also need to give up my firstborn. Look for reviews of both monitors in early to mid September.

Samsung also informed me that a release of the LED-based XL2370 is imminent and that I should also be receiving an evaluation unit soon. This is the long-anticipated LED version of the Samsung 2370 I reviewed a few months back.

Last but not least, Samsung should be sending the F2380 which is a full HD 23-incher featuring cPVA panel technology. This one probably just edges out the XL2370 as my current most anticipated monitor.

Hopefully all of these monitors actually arrive in the CNET Lab soon. A man can have only so many firstborn, so here's hoping the sacrifices needed to receive all of these leave me with at least a sliver of my soul intact.

The LG Flatron W2053TQ mocks you with its aspect ratio.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

A couple of months back, I asked what I thought was a pretty good question about the need for a 16:9 aspect ratio on a 20-inch monitor.

While I still feel there's little need, if any, for 16:9 on such a small screen, that doesn't mean said monitors can't be useful in their own right.

This week I take a look at the HP 2009m and the LG Flatron W2053TQ. Both are 20-inchers. Both include a 16:9 aspect ratio, which translates to 1600x900 resolution. Both also transform into kid-size robots and battle it out for your entertainment.

OK, the last one was a fib ("Transformers" on the brain this week), but if you really wanna know what I think of these two check out the reviews. Also take a look at the LCD computer monitor hub, for all things, well, LCD computer monitors.

The last monitor with an identity crisis I reviewed was the Samsung SyncMaster T240HD. I cleverly called it the "TV disguised as a monitor," or was it the "monitor disguised as a TV"? Hmmm, I don't remember and really, does it really matter? I think not.

This week I got in the LG Flatron M237WD. This is a Full HD 1920x1080 resolution 23-incher that also has an identity crisis. It acts as a monitor with its VGA and DVI connections, but it also includes some extras that makes one wonder about its true identity.

Plenty of juicy connection options. Well, not really juicy as that would be disgusting and probably dangerous.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Some of those extras include composite, component, and S-video connections, plus an extra HDMI port, optical audio port, a digital TV tuner and a remote control.

I'm going to take this bad boy to the lab over the next few days and see if I can find out just what the meaning behind all this is. In the meantime check out the shots I snagged below and look for a review early next week.

LG Flatron M237WD -- pictures

(Credit: Smart Planet)

If eco-friendly features replace the endless stream of thinnest, smallest, and lightest "in the world" claims on the technology market, we'll be very happy campers. And for that reason alone it's worth mentioning the latest boast from LG about its new computer monitor.

The Korean company says its "Flatron W2252TE" is "the world's most energy-efficient monitor," according to our cousins across the pond at SmartPlanet. The 22-inch widescreen LCD, which is headed for the U.K. market, supposedly uses 40 fewer watts to operate than do comparable monitors--an energy saving of 45 percent.

The move follows similar products by other manufacturers anxious to jump on the green marketing trend, many of which made announcements coinciding with Earth Day in April. And don't forget: For the exterior, there's always bamboo.

(Credit: Crave UK)

Our chums at LG recently telephoned to say they had a new 22-inch monitor we should look at. We laughed and told them to go away--Crave doesn't get out of bed for anything less than 24 inches. It wasn't long before we gave in, though--the Flatron W2242S costs a paltry 160 pounds ($311).

It's not much to look at. It ships in a super-skinny, super-light box so it's easy to buy one on the high street then take it home on a bus. The monitor itself isn't hyper-sexy, though--it's sort of ... monitor-shaped, has a reasonably thin silver bezel, and a blue LED that's so bright you might want to cover it with masking tape if you use it at night.

The specs aren't much to write home about either. The native resolution is 1,680 x 1,050 pixels, it has a has a 5ms response time, an 8,000:1 contrast ratio, and 300cd/m2 brightness. Sadly it only has an analog D-Sub input, there's no built-in USB port, no speakers, no height adjustment, and no pivoting.

Image quality is pretty meh, too. We had to spend quite a bit of time tweaking the settings to get it from crap to average--with the main issue being the fact it was so highly saturated. Once we'd sorted that out, we're generally happy with it. If you're after a budget screen for low-rent office drudgery, you could do a lot worse.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Crave UK)

The tech stork just dropped off LG's new 19-inch L197WH monitor, which the company claims has a contrast ratio of 10,000:1. That's a pretty spectacular number given the highest we've seen previously came from LG's 5,000:1 L226WTQ.

The extra 5,000 points is the result of LG's "f-Engine" image processing system. Apparently it's utterly brilliant at making blacks blacker and whites whiter--like Daz washing powder, but in monitor form. Other specs include a 2ms response time, 300cd/m2 brightness, 1,440x900-pixel native resolution and 170-degree viewing angle.

We've been testing one all morning, and we don't believe the hype. Ultimately it doesn't appear to provide much benefit over the L226WTQ. It might be twice as good to a spectrographic encephalograph doohickey, but to our puny human eyes the perceived contrast is about the same as most modern displays.

That's not to say it's bad. Quite the opposite, in fact. Blacks are very black, whites are very white, and there's none of the faded, washed out effect you get in some low-end screens. Plus it does all this without the use of a reflective coating on the panel, so it deserves a pat on the back.

The monitor itself is very attractive--the bezel is thin, and it has a dual-hinge system that allows you to adjust the height and angle of the screen. You can buy one now for 168 pounds (about $335).

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: Crave UK)

Most monitors are pretty much the same. There's a small percentage that are dreadful, a small percentage that are spectacular, and a small percentage you can punch really hard. But most are just OK, really. One monitor that's a good bet for the spectacular category is the LG Flatron L226WTQ--the world's first LCD computer monitor with a claimed 5,000:1 contrast ratio.

A high contrast ratio, for those not in the know, keeps images from looking washed out. You get very dark blacks, very bright whites, and ultimately a better picture. It's not that useful when you're editing images, doing desktop publishing or other dull office tasks, but it's jolly good for watching movies.

We've been playing with an L226WTQ for the last few days and, while we can't verify the exact contrast ratio (few people can), it's packing some seriously black blacks. And don't even get us started on those whites. The color reproduction seems pretty good too, plus you get 2ms gray-to-gray response time, HDCP over DVI-I for high-definition content, and a one-touch zoom function that lets you switch to lower resolutions if your eyes can't cope with 1,680x1,050 pixels.

The L226WTQ is available in black or a rather unattractive shade of gray for around 185 pounds (about $381). It'll be in U.K. stores in plenty of time for Christmas. Excuse us while we slip into our white lab coats--we'll bring you a review shortly.

(Source: Crave UK)