Packard Bell 170SW

Like Dell, Packard Bell has moved into a new area by releasing this 17in widescreen LCD TV and monitor combination.

Aside from the obvious coaxial aerial input, there's a scart socket and an S-Video input to cater for DV camcorders and the like. You can also connect a PC through the single analog D-SUB, though it lacks a digital DVI input.

The resolution of broadcast TV is substantially lower than that of modern computer monitors and, if you're used to watching CRT televisions, the Packard Bell is hard to criticise. For a start, it's certainly brighter than the similar-sized television we used as a comparison. And like all TFTs, it benefits from perfect geometry, resulting in a clear, undistorted picture from edge to edge.

Despite that, there are two crucial areas in which TFT technology traditionally struggles: response times and viewing angles. The good news is that neither of these proved an issue for the 170SW in normal use. You'll notice a touch of lag during fast action and a trail on fast-moving credits, but it isn't a major distraction. There's a slight brightness drop-off around 15 degrees off-axis, but viewing angles are otherwise superb.

The widescreen aspect ratio comes into its own for DVD movies. Compression artefacts weren't a problem, and dark scenes don't get too muddy thanks to the panel's decent contrast. The colour handling is fairly neutral, although flesh tones appear a little on the red side. Sound is catered for by dedicated RCA phono jacks for each input and, while the speakers offer a relatively decent stereo spread, they understandably lack the power to really do justice to movie soundtracks.

A bout of gaming revealed a similar experience; response times were adequate for the most part, but more of an issue was the widescreen ratio. Some refused to run at all, while others simply stretched to accommodate. Unlike the Dell (see above), the 170SW didn't downscale to a 4:3 resolution well. It's not a problem peculiar to this panel, but it's something to bear in mind if purchasing a widescreen aspect panel for gaming.

For general PC use, the 1,280 x 768 resolution is sufficient for most purposes. Unfortunately, Desktop icons and text look disappointingly indistinct, lacking the definition we'd expect in a modern panel. Going into our technical tests revealed the cause as being extremely poor clock signal lock, and re-running the auto-setup couldn't save the panel from scoring badly either.

Colour range is fair, with the important lower end of the spectrum showing good separation, but colour ramps exhibited banding. The colour balance is also slightly uneven at both 9,200K and 6,400K colour temperatures.

It's a shame, as there are otherwise some great touches. The remote control will let you zip around the well laid-out menu system in minutes, and it's even comfortable in the hand. Like the Dell, the 170SW has a picture-in-picture facility plus Teletext.

Build quality is solid overall, but it's unashamedly plastic, lending it a slightly cheap look. The stand offers basic forward-and-back tilting, but it's a tad unstable.

All in all, it's a decidedly average performance. On the plus side, it's handily wall-mountable, but when you can get Dell's excellent W1700 for less, there's no contest.

Author: Ross Burridge