LCD technology takes a small step forward with the advent of superfast 8ms. Darren Ellis looks at why your next screen will be LCD.

While the price of LCD screens drop to comparable pricing levels with CRTs and sales are on the rise, technologically they are held back because at the end of the day the picture delivered by an LCD limits its application compared to a CRT.

19in widescreen LCD TV which shows much promise and is Dell’s first consumer offering in Australia. Spec-wise it looks quite good on paper, with 450cd/m2 brightness, 600:1 contrast ratio and 1280 x 768 widescreen resolution, and it doesn’t disappoint when fired up.

As well as TV viewing (an analog tuner is built in) this screen's strength comes from its LCD-ness which makes it awesome for plugging into a PC (Media Center, anyone?) or for components like digital set-top boxes or DVD players.

There is something totally decadent about playing your favourite PC game on a 30-inch LCD monitor with stereo sound from two banks of speakers - one on each side.

I've predicted 2003 will be the year of the TFT, with massive price cuts on the way that will give CRTs a run for their money. The year is already looking good with these three models entering our testing Labs.

The FP71V+ is another 17in TFT from BenQ, but the real selling point of this monitor is the super-fast 5ms response time.

The Aiptek Pocket DV II is an extremely cute little DV camera and is the perfect video analog of the tiny 'party snapper' digital still cameras that have been popping up. Not at all for serious videography, the Pocket DV II features a 1.3-megapixel CDD, a 1.4in LCD preview screen and some very simple design.

Acer has come to the party with an affordable well performing flat display that features an internal power supply, better than average 20ms pixel response time, crisp colour and good greyscale results.

Shuttle has made a name for themselves with stylish and innovative barebones PCs, and now comes along this excellent addition to any XPC you own. Scratch that - this TFT would look good with any PC you own.

The MultiSync LCD1760V has a design sporting a small bezel, making it look more like one of the LGs.

This is the first display in a fresh new line of TFT monitors to come from Mitsubishi this year, and from this early glimpse things are looking good. The unit we received was a very early pre-production model -- it had missing panels, the occasional loose wire and a completely different colour scheme (the TFT pictured is the final shipping version), but as a look to where Mitsubishi is headed it was perfect for our needs.

Scoring stronger than both the more costly 17inch Panasonic and Hitachi, the Mitsubishi DV172B just misses out on a recommendation.

Although a little lean on the feature side, and sitting just left of the middle of the pack overall, this monitor performed incredibly well for its cost.

AOC's 19in LM914 has a DVI-D and an extraordinarily high contrast ratio, thus it holds its ground with regards to specifications.

Bursting at the seams with inputs, this model has it all. Integration of a TV-tuner makes this more than just a PC display - rather, it's a multimedia powerhouse, perfect for game consoles, DVD viewing and TV watching.

The TX-LCD15M by Panasonic has a sleek, lightweight design with the OSD controls hidden on the side. Its range of video inputs grades it favourably with regard to specifications.

High contrast and fine focal abilities make this display perfectly suited for business or student users doing a lot of reading. Impressive sharpness and resolution scores make it a great companion to those doing desktop publishing or graphic manipulation.

Boasting two D-Sub and two audio ports along with DVI-D, the Sony SDMX72 presents a range of features that even surpasses the winning BenQ FP791.