Viewing Angle: Fair-to-good on the horizontal access, but not so good vertically, with obvious brightness shift when viewing at even a small distance above and below front and center.

Audio: It’ll do in a pinch, but a desktop audio system will serve you much better in the sound department.

Conclusion

This new Samsung has extensive connectivity options going for it. Three digital inputs, one component video input, and one VGA input mean the set could theoreticaly support a PC plus up to four other HD-capable sources (well, five if you count the built-in HDTV tuner). The color quality and adherence to established digital video specifications assures a pretty good picture that balances vivid color with natural skin tones, which is where many LCD sets fall short of the mark. That it has built-in analog, digital, and cable TV tuning built-in further adds to the unit’s flexibility as an entertainment device, along with its capability as a competent PC monitor. Given its many features, the Samsung’s $550 suggested retail price seems more than reasonable.