If you have been considering building a home theatre PC, the Dell W1700 LCD TV is an excellent option. With its widescreen format, built-in TV tuner and veritable wealth of connection options, it's a great all-rounder.

On first impressions, the W1700 appears quite small. However, this is really a trick of perspective, as it is the same height as a standard 15in TFT but in widescreen format. The stand is heavy enough to stop the TV from toppling over, but is not too deep. Fitting the stand involves resting the screen face down on a surface, so be careful not to damage it when doing this.

Once fitted, you can adjust the monitor's height and tilt, which is very useful to reduce glare. The box also contains the external power supply, VGA and DVI cables and a remote control. There is also a cable tidy tube supplied -especially useful if the monitor is not in an office.

The W1700 works very well as a TV and there's a picture-in-picture option, which means you can watch TV while beavering away on a Word document. The antenna socket is turned through 90 deg, so the cables can be fitted without any problems.

The manual is very helpful and explains all the functions and how to set up the LCD TV. However, the legends of the buttons on the front are hard to read, and it is much easier to use the remote control.

The picture quality is good and the monitor will scroll output from a television if it is higher than the 1,280 x 768 native resolution.

This monitor can't compete with dedicated TVs or monitors, but as a jack of all trades, it's a flexible option for your entertainment needs.

Contact: Dell
www.dell.co.uk

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