17IN TFT MONITORS

THE LATEST GENERATION OF TFTS ARE BETTER THAN EVER. WE HAND PICK EIGHT OF THE VERY BEST TO FIND OUT WHICH DESERVE YOUR CASH

Sony SDM-S73B

Manufacturer:	Price:
Sony	£269.08 inc VAT
Reviewer:	Review Date:
	Dec 2004

	OVERALL RATING

SCORE

4/6

Verdict: Fantastic image quality, but there's no DVI input

You would be forgiven for thinking that all Sony products tend to be great quality but far more expensive than every other comparable product. This Sony monitor almost falls into that category, but manages to hang on in the value-for-money stakes.

Flip to the feature table on p78, and compare the Sony's specifications with the other seven monitors and you'll notice that it lacks a DVI interface, speakers and headphone jack, and there's only a D-SUB cable in the box. Then compare the prices and £269 seems like a lot of money to pay for a 'basic' 17in TFT.

But all is not as it seems. Take a look at the photo - this is a work of art. The round base, thin bezel and midnight black livery rival the Sharp in the aesthetic department. And the Sony trounces the Sharp on cabling, as the power and signal cables are completely concealed from view, thanks to a removable plastic cowl. There's also a slide-on plastic back that hides the connections and wall-mounting screw holes. This is a monitor fit for a butler.

The lack of a DVI interface hasn't put paid to decent image quality, as the Sony beats all the other monitors in the technical stakes. There are both backlight and brightness options in the OSD, and setting the former to maximum makes it almost as bright as the dazzling Iiyama. Amazingly, this doesn't completely trash the contrast, and the Sony has the kind of colour purity, and even backlighting, that other monitors sit in the warehouse dreaming about.

At the high brightness setting, the backlight glow just becomes visible on very dark screens. That said, the Sony has amazing contrast. Even in the darkest of scenes in Doom 3 and 'The Fast and The Furious' the Sony picked out more detail than the rest. We'd happily choose the Sony if image quality was the only priority.

But, of course, it isn't. The lack of a DVI input isn't so much of a problem as the lack of a height-adjustable stand.

If image quality is all that matters, the Sony won't disappoint, but otherwise, it's too expensive when compared with the LG and Sharp montiors.

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