Atec is a new face on the Australian LCD scene but a big name in Korea, and this is the first display weve looked at from this manufacturer. Our first impressions of the AL181 are favourable: it has an elegant, but extremely solid and functional design. A rigid metal base keeps the unit firmly grounded, with the large screen supported on a metal chrome bar neck. The whole unit has been designed with a blue and silver finish, which is present right down to the tiny remote control.

The AL181 comes with a generous 18.1in TFT display, but it has a two-inch bezel running around it that makes the screen appear smaller than it is. This illusion only lasts until the screen is switched on.

The unit sports multiple inputs: DVI, S-Video, RGB and composite video, and it comes with all of the requisite cables (aside from S-Video), plus an RGB-to-DVI adaptor plug. It also has internal speakers that are a little tinny, but are passable for most needs, even at maximum volume. You can bypass them though, as there is an audio output jack on the back.

The TFT has a maximum display resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 @ 75Hz. The screen tilts further than most LCDs, and the base swivels fluidly, but it has such a wide viewing angle that youd hardly need to play with it.

We gave the AL181 a thorough testing with the DisplayMate Multimedia suite for LCD monitors at the standard resolution. The good news is that it passed with flying colours. There was tiny, but barely noticeable, colour misregistration and colour bleeding on some of the more complicated high-contrast colour tests, but Id be surprised if this shows up in day-to-day usage on the screen. The tests with small-point type came across clearly, even at 8pt, and the display was clean and uniform across all the benchmark screens.

The OSD (on-screen display) is functional, if a little basic. Fortunately theres an auto button on the front of the display that resizes the images automatically to fit the entire screen when you change resolutions.

The real bonus with the AL181 however, is the in-built TV tuner. It features signal auto-scanning, and a 30 channel preset, although you have to wing it when working out the TV functions as the manual has scant information about it.

Television is displayed full-screen it looks great and it comes with a credit card sized remote control for channel surfing. It has around a three meter range by our testing, but its fairly small and we wonder how long it would take before it gets lost.

Another bonus is that the screen has a four-port USB hub built into it, which is certainly a handy inclusion, but the ports are located inconveniently on the back of the display next to the video input plugs. These are useful for plugging in long-term USB devices, but not so good for hot-swappable peripherals.

Fumax is selling the AL181 in three flavours: the simple analog model that features only RGB input for $1,999; a model that includes DVI and S-Video inputs, plus the four-port USB hub built in for $2,499; and finally the top-of-the-line model, reviwed here, which features all of the above, plus the built in TV tuner for $2,999.

The AL181 is great for general PC work, watching DVDs or television, and even the pixel refresh is good enough for game playing, although it cant compare
to a CRT in this respect. Three grand is not a lot to pay for such a large screen with all of those extras, and the fact that TFT display is of high quality is a definite bonus. CRT screens still have an edge in terms of price and size, although as the AL181 shows, TFT screens are rapidly catching up.

Darren Ellis