And it does. Not just any old contrast, but MEGA contrast! Yes, MEGA, in capitals. In non-marketing speak that converts into a figure of 5,000,000:1, or 5,000 times higher than the standard contrast ratio on most of today’s TFTs.

Except the XL2370 doesn’t manage that at all. As with all of these ridiculous figures it’s a dynamic contrast ratio, and while it may be several magnitudes higher than the 10,000:1 or 20,000:1 of the best CCFL monitors, it still relies on adjusting the backlight on the fly during a video in order to maximise both the blacks and the whites depending on the type of scene.

Now, I’ve commented before in the magazine that I simply cannot bear dynamic contrast modes. I can count on one hand (with around three fingers to spare) the number of DCR modes I’ve ever seen that were even slightly bearable. I don’t even need fingers to count the number I’d actually contemplate using.

If you’ve never seen one of these modes in action, it goes something like this: during all but the most uniformly lit scenes the backlight swings wildly up and down to make shadows darker and highlights lighter in a manner that’s monumentally distracting and in no way better than what you had before.

The most brilliant DCR moment I’ve had was just a few days ago with the Samsung, as it looked at the blackness of a space scene in Wall-E, couldn’t tell there were stars scattered liberally across it and switched the backlight off entirely. It was certainly an impressive black level but it didn’t exactly help me follow the action.

Worst of all, I know the UK product managers at several TFT manufacturers hold the same opinion as I do on the subject. To them it’s nothing more than a figure the marketing department slap on the information card in the shop – and some have started doing so at the expense of any standard contrast ratio figure at all.

So who actually uses these terrible dynamic contrast modes? Do you have a monitor that offers DCR, and if so do you choose to enable it? Or perhaps you’ve been wondering why your films look so bad without realising your monitor came with DCR enabled by default?

I’m willing to admit I’m in the minority if it turns out you all love feeling nauseous during films, so if you’re a DCR fan do your best to convince me in the comments below.

Early reports from CES in Las Vegas have most of the major monitor brands launching DisplayLink versions of products, and mainly on previously successful, high-quality monitor lines. Several companies are also launching adapters that will convert any exisiting monitor to DisplayLink, which takes care of backwards compatibility.

DisplayLink – sending the video signal via USB rather than standard graphics outputs, for those who haven’t been keeping up – won’t revolutionise your use of your main monitor, let’s be honest. But I’m pretty certain it’ll grow in popularity among those with multi-monitor setups, those who regularly hook up TFTs to a laptop with limited outputs, and those who simply don’t want or need graphics cards cluttering up their compact PCs.

The bandwidth is enough for pretty much everything but video and gaming, and as reviews editor Jon Bray will tell you, adding extra monitors past the usual two makes a huge difference to productivity. He’s had the ViBook attached to a third monitor for a few weeks now, and thanks to the software he can view complex Excel sheets uninterrupted across all three (he likes that sort of thing).

The one issue with DisplayLink is that it may take a little while to take off with the public. After all, unless you’re specifically buying your new TFT to be a second or third display, you probably won’t progress to using the DisplayLink connection until you run out of actual video outputs. But the important point is that we’ll soon be reaching the point where the port is just there on most new TFTs, ready to be used when needed.

If – and that’s a huge IF – we see official USB 3.0 products arriving at any point in 2009, the extra bandwidth available to DisplayLink will open up exciting possibilities. Want to run video across six monitors at once with no graphics card in your PC? Put your money on DisplayLink in 2009.

Taking a rough poll based entirely on my fellow companions on the train as I type this, I feel confident in saying that precisely 30% of the UK’s population wear glasses. Well, let me tell you, you shouldn’t. The way forward is contact lenses, as it revolutionises the amount of screen space on your desktop’s TFT or your laptop’s built-in display.

I’m not a habitual wearer of contact lenses – the only reason I am now is because a few of us just headed down to Regents Park to play football against infinitely fitter opposition – so it’s something of a revelation.

The 12.1in screen of my laptop suddenly looks closer to 14.1in, and the 17in display I use as my second screen during the day appears to my lens-blessed eyes as a 19in or even 20in screen.

So, fellow glasses wearers, we need to work out the economics. Pay an extra £50 to £100 for a larger display, or simply use contact lenses every day. Something to work into our calculations in the next PC Pro monitor group test, clearly.