Samsung SyncMaster 173P 17" TFT LCD Flat Panel Display

Company: Samsung
Product: 173P Silver TFT LCD Display
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2004
Reviewed By: Rob Parks
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Examining the Samsung SyncMaster 173P Exterior:

It seems that Samsung has almost stolen a page out of Apple's book with the 173P.  Breaking away from the designs we have seen previously, the 173P has a brilliant white backing to the sleek sexy silver front.  Gone are the digital front controls, only the power button remains on the face of the 173P. Samsung dubs this design as hands free. It shifts all adjustments to the bundled MagicTune software. Upon first installed, a setup wizard guides you through a series of initial adjustments (brightness, contrast, and color).  The 173P stores these settings so you don't have to re-input them each time you use it. You can also create and apply different sets of adjustments for specific tasks, such as text, graphics, and games. While we didn't have difficulty using the 173P's software-based controls, some users may miss the old front panel buttons. No Linux for the 173P as MagicTune is only Windows based.

Samsung also elected to use a blue LED for the power, instead of the old style, green or yellow.  This really adds to the elegance of the 173P. The power button is not really a button at all.  Rather it is a touch sensor.  Just brush your finger over it and the panel lights up.  A very modern design.

The 173P's dual hinge allows a height adjustment of 3¼ inches. While not a lot, it should serve as enough for most users. The screen can also tilt and rotate from landscape to portrait mode (using Portrait Displays Pivot Pro software for screen-image rotation) and even completely upside down. The base allows for a full side to side swivel, and can even fold the 173P flat against the base so it can serve as a wall mount bracket.

Examining The Samsung SyncMaster 173P Display:

Taking a look at the screen we can see that the colors are very rich and have depth.  As in our previous tests with the SyncMaster 173T, 172X, and 192T the 173P continually out shone the CRT in color quality, brightness and text readability.  The sharper contrast of the LCD makes reading text and internet browsing much easier on the eyes.  With it's 700:1 contrast ratio the 173P even had better color and saturation than the three previous models we have tested.  It is really amazing how black can get even blacker on the right screen. There is no mistaking gray for white on the 173P. The 173P also has a slightly higher brightness than the models in our previous tests. The brighter image is considerably easier on your eyes when gaming or watching movies.