Goodmans GTV17WLCD

There's really little technical difference between a television and a computer monitor, so if you've got one of each in a room, you're wasting space. It can be reclaimed - all you need is a combined monitor/TV and a TFT model will save even more room.

The Goodmans GTV17WLCD is such a gadget and one that's a good deal cheaper than similar displays from the likes of Sony and Philips. It's a 17in widescreen display, which means you'll be able to watch letterbox films and TV programmes without seeing black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.

Like all good TVs, setting up the GTV17WLCD is a quick and easy job, since it's ready to go through its automatic tuning process as soon as you turn it on for the first time. In fact, plugging everything in is likely to take longer, thanks to the abundance of sockets hidden behind the screen. Rather than list them all here, let's just say there's a socket for every conceivable need, be they computer or home entertainment.

It sits quite low on the desk and there's no height adjustment to compensate. It can be tilted back to a comfortable angle, though, and rotates for when you want to sit away from the desk to watch TV. In use, the GTV17WLCD does just about everything you'd expect a TV/monitor to. The TV has a range of aspect ratios to cope with different programme sources and the picture-in-picture option lets you watch any source in a window on the Desktop. The TV picture quality is good and while we have seen crisper TFT monitors, there's little to grumble about on the PC side either.

At £550, the GTV17WLCD is a bit of a bargain, but we'll temper that with one piece of information. While it's undeniably handy to have a self-contained TV that doubles as a monitor, you can buy a 17in TFT and an external TV tuner box for far less, although you'll need your PC switched on when you want to watch Corrie.

Contact: Goodmans 0870 873 0080
www.goodmans.co.uk