17" LCD Part V: Four Panels Compared

Samsung SyncMaster 172X

Of the AU, HyDis, and LG panels, our preference thus remains with the HyDis models. But there's another challenger in the ring. After months of waiting, it's finally arrived, the Samsung 16 ms screen is finally available. Will it succeed where the other 16 ms panels have failed?

I'm allowing myself a little digression and a "Happy Birthday to me": because the 172X is the hundredth LCD screen I have tested in three years. Not all the tests have been published on the site. The weight on the frail shoulders of the 172X is thus all the heavier - there's a reason for it to be good!

When it was unpacked, everyone swooned over it, even before we knew whether it was any good. We had to admit it looked pretty impressive. It is particularly elegant and you need to check it out carefully to realize that the magnificent case is not metal but very well-made plastic. There are a DVI and an analog interface on the back and, sadly, a socket for the external transformer. This small defect is fortunately compensated by a surprisingly wide angle of vision for a TN + Film matrix, even in vertical hold, and because the vertical hold can be adjusted. So this is clearly a TN screen...