They say that once youve used an LCD display on your desktop you dont ever want to go back to a CRT. Having played with the Philips 140S TFT LCD XGA monitor I can understand the sentiment as Im very reluctant to go back to my ordinary monitor. The 140S would be one of the lightest and most space efficient displays seen to date even for a TFT and features an exceptionally slim case design and small footprint besides weighing in at only 4.6 kg. That means you can reclaim valuable desk space that has been gobbled up by that 20kg box for the past 5 years.

Setting up the monitor and installing the software was quick and easy except for the insertion of the power cable behind the back of the panel display case. Be prepared to clip out the centre back panel case, remove the circular base cover as well as insert the power cable and re-assemble. It could leave you more than a little frustrated. After negotiating this passage plugging the monitor into the system and firing it up to find it required the driver CD accompanying the monitor was childs play.

On the front face of the monitor there is a set of buttons. Pressing the OK button will automatically take you to the OSD controls where you are able to make the usual adjustments to balance, contrast, vertical adjustment and brightness. The Philips OSD user interface is one of the more user-friendly ones. The Brightness HOTKEY located on the UP and DOWN arrow buttons also makes for a swift adjustment if required for certain applications. Also located on the front face is a one touch AUTO button that will give you immediate adjustment and full sync compatibility to any industry standard video card.

As is the usual practice at PC Authority, we conducted a series of tests using DisplayMate for Windows (www.displaymate.com). During testing, the Philips 140S displayed clear, crisp colourful images for all of the test patterns at a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels at 60Hz refresh. The TFT produced stunning results, which is what you would expect from a monitor of this standard.

The tests revealed excellent horizontal and vertical line resolution, and high quality dot pitch right into every corner of the Focus Matrix display. Again these qualities are to expected from a modern TFT display. Video bandwidth showed a minimal distortion but was above average compared to other monitors that we have tested. Colour timing and purity was almost perfect even under the most stringent testing. Our sample also gave an even intensity across the expanse of the screen, certainly better than that seen with the Comtec CT-151P (reviewed issue 36, p97)

Today we see TFT technology in hospitals, banking institutions and POS systems but with pricing becoming more competitive, corporations are considering this technology for standard desktop environments or for the remote home office. So, if you like the idea of having a TFT on your office desktop, the Philips 140S could be fully justified as the LCD technology offers reduced radiation, has significantly less glare, reflection and distortion than traditional CRT screens, all resulting in reduced eyestrain, less fatigue and improved productivity.

This is a significant improvement on the previous TFT displays we have seen at the entry level. It has taken some time for LCD monitors greater than 13 inch to reach an acceptable cost. Now that the $2,000 mark has been broken look forward to seeing more examples in the same bracket. With outstanding clarity and resolution capabilities, the Philips 140S is excellent value and really exemplifies the reasons why you would invest in a TFT LCD over a Flat CRT.