You can barely throw a remote control in the labs without hitting a Media Centre PC these days, but to take full advantage you’ll need an LCD that both looks the part and supports widescreen TV. Finished in glossy black and Ferrari red, Acer’s Ferrari F-20 will act as a stylish counterpart, and is well suited to your living room.

Open the box and you’ll be greeted by S-Video, composite and component video leads, all of which have ports on the monitor. Its paper credentials are impressive, too, with the contrast ratio at 800:1 (normal desktop monitors have contrast ratios of around 500:1). In our tests we could see all but the last four darkest shades in a scale of 255, and all but the brightest two. In real-world use, this means you’ll be able to see a lot of detail in dark scenes.

The response time of the panel is 8ms, and our technical tests showed the F-20 to be highly commendable; you’ll have to look very carefully to spot any lag. We used it to watch TV, films and for a spot of gaming, and were highly impressed. The gloss finish on the screen makes the panel more attractive, at least for homes, and also means that the contrast appears increased.

Viewing angles are a slight drawback. For most monitors, a viewing angle of around 45 degrees off-centre is easily achieved, but the F-20 starts to diminish in brightness a little before that point, which will definitely be a problem if several people watch at once. The panel also doesn’t offer much in the way of adjustment: you can tilt it forward and backwards, but there’s no way to rotate it or adjust the height.

But what stops us recommending the F-20 is that for just $850 you can buy Acer’s AL2032W, which is precisely the same panel minus the Ferrari branding. However, the F-20’s price will tumble and if it’s sheer impact you’re looking for, this version wins.