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Entered CNET Catalog: 03/30/2006
SKU: 0027242691124
Manufacturer: Sony Electronics, Inc.
Manufacturer description
Sony's worldwide reputation for creating unique, attractive, high-quality, advanced technology products rests on a long line of innovations embraced by people from all walks of life. With a diverse product lineup serving a variety of lifestyles and industries, Sony continuously strives to introduce new products and technologies to meet changing market needs.Product summary
The good: Attractive design; integrated TV tuner; integrated speakers and subwoofer; impressive image quality; nice selection of video ports; well-designed remote control.
The bad: Limited adjustability; no HDMI port.
The bottom line: The Sony MFM-HT205 is a double threat, serving as both a TV and a computer monitor. This 20-inch wide-screen LCD features an impressive array of video connections, and it wowed us with its image quality. It will suit the work and entertainment needs of all but the most discerning graphics professionals.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: Yes
- Reviewed on: 06/12/2006
The MFM-HT205's design is striking. A wide, silver-colored bezel measures more than an inch around the top and sides; the 4 inches on the bottom accommodate a built-in subwoofer and speakers. The MFM-HT205's easel-style design is stable but offers very limited adjustability. It provides 20 degrees of backward tilt, but you can't raise or lower the monitor or pivot the screen.
To preserve the monitor's sleek look, the image-adjustment buttons are tucked behind the right side of the bezel, and small gray icons along the bezel indicate their functions. The eight buttons control the onscreen menu, the TV channels, the volume, the picture-in-picture modes (PIP), the input selection (Video 1, Video 2, DVI-D, PC1, and 3TV), and Sony's ErgoBright settings, which include Movie, PC, Auto, and Game modes. The MFM-HT205's controls are easy to use, but it's much easier to navigate the onscreen menu with the included remote control.
The Sony MFM-HT205's built-in, standard-definition TV tuner sets it apart from other LCDs. To watch TV, simply hook up a cable connection or an antenna to the coaxial port. Of course, you still can't watch HDTV or digital cable sources--these require a set-top box, such as a cable or a satellite receiver, which would connect to the monitor's digital inputs. From standard-def sources, you can choose to view in 4:3, with bars on either side of the screen, or zoom to fill the screen, though the picture will look slightly stretched. When you view TV from a digital source, it fills the entire screen (16:9 aspect ratio). When watching TV in PIP mode, you can choose from three different viewing box sizes and move the PIP window to the corner of your choice.
A full complement of ports, starting with DVI-D, D-Sub (analog), and the coaxial port, hides behind a removable piece of plastic on the back of the display. Grouped in another section on the back of the monitor are component, composite, and S-video ports; you'll find a second set of composite and S-Video ports and a headphone jack along the left side of the monitor. We've never seen a monitor with such an impressive assortment of inputs. The only port we could fathom adding is an HDMI port. These ports are prevalent on TVs but haven't appeared on monitors yet. All these connectivity options means a lot of cords, and we're glad Sony makes an attempt at cable management by including a hole in the monitor's stand. We appreciate the effort but prefer a more complete cable management system as seen on the ViewSonic VP930b.
The MFM-HT205 has two built-in 3-watt speakers and a 5-watt subwoofer--a feature not available on typical monitor built-ins. We were impressed that both TV, video, and MP3 files all sounded full and rich; the speakers were more than loud enough to fill even a large room.
We tested the MFM-HT205 as a monitor at its 1,400x1,050 native resolution. The monitor delivered exceptional performance on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based tests. The monitor excelled on our sharpness tests, displaying dark, legible text. Its grayscale looked better than average, showing a perfect fade and only slight hints of green and purple. Colors were nearly perfect, with only slightly orange and blue tints in the reds, and screen uniformity was exceptional, with only slight dark patches along the right side of the screen. Overall, the picture appeared bright and vivid. A shiny screen coating, Xbrite, which is advertised to optimize brightness, color, and clarity, adds some glare, especially under direct fluorescent light.
Sony rates the MFM-HT205 with a fairly fast 6-millisecond response rate, and we found the display's moving-image performance rather good. DVD playback from a PC showed sharp images, with wonderful color, though noise levels were higher than average, and we noticed some ghosting. Gaming performance was better, with outstanding color and detail and no visible streaking or ghosting.
We also tested the MFM-HT205 as a television and were equally impressed by its results. Viewing HDTV with a DVI connection was sharp: colors appeared accurate and bright, with minimal amounts of digital noise. Testing with a component connection showed nearly identical performance, though colors were slightly more vivid.
Sony offers a standard three-year warranty on parts and labor. Phone support is available via a toll-free number for the life of the product. The included CD-ROM has a detailed user manual with links to a searchable knowledge base and FAQs on Sony's Web site. You can also e-mail questions or chat with a Sony service representative online.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 User Rating: 
9/10
Perfect for my office!!!
Pros: Price vs Quality/Features and connection inputs, Sound quality, Picture quality
Cons: None noted so far... height adjustment not an issue if using on a decent height desk!
User Rating: 9/10
Nice sound and picture. Sony quality.
Pros: Have the 17" model, fits great under kitchen cabinets.
Cons: slow channel changing.
User Rating: 
8/10
Best PC LCD with TV for the business professional and anywhere else except NOT for videophiles.
Pros: Extremely bright and crisp colors, excellent amount of workspace, robust sound, video flexibility
Cons: Lacks adjustibility, no Audio output, video capabilities are secondary, Reflections
Watching digital television is still quite new. With a few channels digital and the debate between HD-DVD and Blue Ray DVD still progressing with a few DVDs supporting each, personally, I would not invest much into digital content until the end of this decade.
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Pros.1) Extremely crisp and bright colors.
I have experienced the contrast ratio makes the world of difference when watching TV from the normal antenna cable (analog TV input) connection. Sony's XBRITE LCD technology makes analog TV quality quite astounding for a PC LCD. A person can most definately feel the crisp colors. This is definately noteworthy for a PC LCD. The only other 20" LCD monitor I found from researching to be comparable is the 20" NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2.
Pros.2) Excellent amount of workspace.
With this LCD monitor's native resolution (1680x1050), a fella is able to open two internet browser windows where both are visible with vary little scrolling. The extra workspace is great when working in my business spreadsheets, charts, and word processor because the amount of annoyingly scrolling time I normally experience with 1024x768 resolution is dramatically reduced.
Pros.3) Robust sound.
The fact is any speakers integrated into a PC LCD will never sound better than a 2.1 speaker system. However, the MFMHT205 has a subwoofer and speaker's total output power are 11v. The MFMHT205 allows the user to adjust the speaker's treble, bass, and balance. The speaker's also implement a surround sound option. If you do not want a 2.1 speaker system to clutter the area or do not have space for speakers, then the MFMHT205 speakers will not disappoint I guarantee. The speaker's volume can become quite loud until distortions become evident.
Pros.4) Video Flexibility.
The VGA input is important if you want to connect a laptop. Unfortunately, many very decent, older business laptop do not have a DVI ouput, and there are not any robust KVM switches utilizing the DVI port yet. The DVI input is quite nice if you want to connect an upscaling DVD player or anything else where you can utilize the DVI port.
The antenna cable input makes this PC LCD quite versatile. First, the user does not need a computer to watch television. Second, the monitor can be placed wherever a coaxial cable plug is available. Third, the monitor does not have to be connected to or close to a cable box.
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Cons.1) Lacks adjustibility.
Evidently, the MFMHT205 would have been much better if the unit could pivot, change height, and so on. My guess for the lack of adjustibility Sony chose is due to the speakers.
Cons.2) No Audio Output.
A slight distortion on my behalf. To be precise, the MFMHT205 has not audio (PC) output. The MFMHT205 does have a headphone output, but this type of output is made uniquely for headphones instead of external speakers. When I connected my 2.1 speaker system to the headphone output, the subwoofer was not operable and a constant ringining, like a high pitch squeal, but the sound was average when I would connect my Bose headphones.
Cons.3) Video Capabilities are secondary.
To better understand, the review at http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=61859 is available. This is why I state this monitor is not for videophiles. I also believe this monitor is not to be a part of any home entertainment setup nor for video capture.
Cons.4) Reflections.
I was able to place the monitor where I desired, but the reflection present is almost equivalent to the reflection in a CRT monitor.
Samsung, Dell, NEC, ViewSonic, Asus, Acer, HP, and Gateway did not satisfy my requirements.
Check out Amazon.com for the best price. I was able to purchase the monitor for $769 (US) from a third party business other than Amazon, but, once Amazon got some of these monitors stocked, the price from the Amazon recommended business dropped to $620 (US) where Amazon's price was $860 (US). The price matches this monitor quite well.
Samsung, NEC, Dell, Gateway, Acer, ViewSonic, Asus, and HP did not satisfy my requirements. The NEC MultiSync mentioned above was close.
I purchased this monitor for approximately $760 (US) from a business recommended by Amazon since Amazon had none in stock. However, now Amazon has the monitor in stock for $860 (US). I think this is the reason why the Amazon recommended business now sells the monitor for $700 (US).
User Rating: 
10/10
great product!
Pros: Great picture, Great design, Great price for product
Cons: auto light mode not accurate. No HDMI.
User Rating: 10/10
Great TV for the kitchen!!!!!!
Pros: Supoer crisp, clear picture-remote has some great features such as the jump feature
Cons: None, overall intuitive and easy to use!!!!
