 
By John Morris Executive editor, CNET Reviews (1/13/03) First it was the Web; now, the rest of the tech world is going wide, influenced by trends in consumer electronics. Wide-screen TVs are now commonplace, and prices on direct-view HDTV-capable sets are falling fast. But until recently, Apple stood alone among computer companies promoting wide-screen products such as its PowerBook G4 and 17-inch iMac. To my eye, these wide-screen LCDs have always looked better than standard TVs or computer monitors, so I'm excited to see wide-screen LCD monitors for PCs finally rolling onto the market.
The most obvious use for a wide-screen display such as the SyncMaster 172W is viewing DVD movies (and HDTV broadcasts) in all their cinematic 16:9 glory. But to me, this activity makes more sense on a notebook: I'm not likely to sit in front of my home PC plodding though Gangs of New York, but a three-hour epic can really make a cross-country trek fly by. A desktop wide-screen monitor makes a little more sense, however, in a dorm room or other close quarters where a PC that doubles as an entertainment center saves space. But in that case, you'd be more likely to get a display with a built-in TV tuner, such as one from Samsung's own MP line (not wide-screen), or an integrated solution such as the Sony VAIO PCV-RZ16G or a Media Center PC from the likes of Alienware, Gateway, or HP. But a few, more practical uses exist for the extra desktop real estate on wide-screen LCDs such as the 172W. First, the extra room gives you enough space to keep two applications open side by side. For example, I like to keep an eye on my e-mail or leave the browser window active for doing quick research next to the Word document I'm working on. After all, Windows is a multitasking OS. Second, if you do a lot of work in graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop, you can shunt all of those palettes off to the side so that they don't clutter up your canvas.
But if you're stuck with an older system or a notebook PC with a different chipset, you have two equally lame choices: you can stretch the XGA image to fill the entire screen (which makes Windows look like you are viewing it in a fun-house mirror) or you can "windowbox" it, leaving vertical black bands on the right and left sides to preserve the aspect ratio. The latter is basically the computer equivalent of buying a nice wide-screen TV and discovering that, aside from arena football and lacrosse, most TV programming is still broadcast in 4:3 format. That's basically what happened to me when I attempted to use the 172W with my trusty old ThinkPad. In addition to its wide-screen format and dual inputs, the 172W has several attractive features. The image is very bright, and Samsung's MagicBright technology automatically adjusts the brightness for different usage scenarios (text, Internet, and entertainment). The intelligent design lets the screen tilt all the way back, flat against the base, which doubles as a wall-mounting bracket--usually an extra-cost option on LCDs. (Because of the extra girth, however, you can't swivel the display to use it in portrait mode.) Although the 172W is missing some entertainment features such as picture-in-picture and component video inputs that you'd find on more costly convergence products, it has all the basics covered. At $699, the 172W costs about $100 to $150 more than typical 17-inch LCDs, but assuming you have a newer PC that is up to the task, this wide screen is worth it.
John Morris is an executive editor for hardware and software coverage at CNET. Have a question for him? Let us know!
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