SyncMaster 243T

Samsung's 24" SyncMaster 243t has no desire to be a TV; it just wants to be a great monitor. It's one of the few wide screens we've tested that offers no component, composite or S-Video inputs.

When we tested the monitor, we judged its text display and graphics to be among the best of any of the 23"-and-up models we've looked at. The 243t made an especially strong showing on our test screens of a colour scale and of fonts in different sizes.

Unlike most other wide screens, the 243t supports a full range of adjustments--including pivot-- enhancing its bona fides as an excellent business display. Its height adjustment feature is an awkward affair that requires you to push a button in the back of the base, but its tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments are smooth.

A slow, 25-millisecond response time makes the 243t ill-suited for video playback. When we watched a scene from our test movie on the display, we saw distracting motion artefacts. In what may be a bid to leave those artefacts behind, Samsung now offers the SyncMaster 242mp, a 24" model with a rated 16ms response time and with composite, S-Video and component inputs.