Consistently competent in every test, the Sony SDM-S81R was an instant contender for an award in this category, but its price/performance ratio was what sealed it as the winner.

With the longest pixel response time submitted (50ms) we thought it would be a tad on the average side – not so.

This was an extremely difficult category to judge, with pricing, components and performance playing a heavier part in the judging process because of the general disparity between models submitted.

Featuring generous tilt, and incredible viewing angle, Samsung is on to a winner with this well-designed multi-purpose display.

The Sony SDM-X82B was one of the most consistent performers in this Labs, gaining clean passes in 16 out of our 19 test screens.

The LG TFT has one of the slimmest bezels of any screen this month, helped in part by the use of LG.Philips’ own 18in IPS-type TFT panel.

The SM181T uses a panel based on Samsung’s own PVA technology. This stands for patterned vertical alignment and increases the viewing angle in the same way as MVA, although Samsung claims a viewing angle of 170 degrees – the same as Super-IPS.

BenQs FP882 is an example of the new influx of TFT screens that have recently hit the streets a quality screen offering plenty of real estate to play with. At 18in it dwarfs most 19in CRTs in viewable screen space, and offers both analog and DVI inputs, plus it has built in speakers.

How many acronyms can a monitor have before it chokes on its own resolution? We have all come to expect CRTs, LCDs, TFTs and God knows what else but now Samsung has come up with a monitor with so many acronyms it will leave you gasping.

15IN Flat Screen

Hitachi PCX-DT3141

On the outside, there is little to distinguish the ViewSonic VS-VE150 from many of the other TFT screens on test this month, but it is in its image quality that it ultimately stands out.