Product Reviews

TFTs, with their super-slim, space-saving designs, are a much more desirable proposition than traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) computer monitors. TFT screens are also brighter, sharper, and much less prone to distorting images. They have had a downside, though. The dots or 'pixels' that make up the image on a TFT take longer to update than on a CRT monitor, which meant fast-moving images could suffer from smearing - not ideal for action games or DVD movies. CTX's new 17in TFT, the F773, claims to be a fast-response screen that should be able to cope with fast action.

Design-wise, our only real criticism is that the stand only offers vertical tilting, with no height adjustment. Still, the F773 will add panache to any desk - and because its power supply is built in, there's no need for an unsightly brick hanging out of the back.

The response time of the CTX's pixels - that is, the time

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it takes a pixel to go from black to white and back again - is 16 milliseconds (ms). Anything under 25ms should be able to cope with movies and games. In testing, this proved to be the case, with no visible problems in ToCA Race Driver 2, or our test movie, The Matrix Reloaded.

The F773 acquitted itself well with static images, such as ordinary Windows applications. The Windows XP desktop was sharper and brighter than on many TFTs. Digital photos offered crisp lines and vibrant colours - in some cases too vibrant. While the CTX's saturated colours are eye-catching, it's not the ideal choice for jobs that require a high degree of colour accuracy, such as photo editing.

Far more distracting are the reflections that constantly appear in the F773's screen. The F773 has a high-gloss surface - not the matt finish of most TFT screens. In some situations, this almost turns it into a mirror. It's very distracting to be typing e-mails or playing a game and to suddenly catch sight of room lights hovering like UFOs. In a brightly lit room, the F773 can be tricky to use. Viewing angles from the sides aren't great, with colours becoming dark as soon as you move far from head-on.

Despite this monitor's stylish casing and quick response time, the artificial look of its colours and excessively shiny surface don't do it any favours. There are cheap, quick-response panels out there, such as our Top 50 Best Buy, the BENQ FP767-12. It may not be as sexy, but it makes more sense.