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While Plasma has long been associated with flat TVs, LCD has traditionally been the technology of choice for smaller displays. Things have started to change with LCD TVs now available up to 45in, such as Sharp’s Acquos LC45GD1E, which offers native 1080i resolution. However, at the smaller screen end of the market, a place where Plasma just can’t go, LCD is still very much doing the business. The market for LCD displays replacing ageing bedroom and kitchen CRTs TVs has really grown over the past year, and we’ve already looked at 17in widescreen models from Samsung and Toshiba. These combine TV and IT quite neatly but as far as reputations go no one has been able to pull off that trick as effectively as Sony.

Dubbed a ‘Multifunction’ display, the MFM-HT75W offers pretty similar specifications to the likes of the Samsung and Toshiba but there are some major differences. As with the other two the screen has a 15:9 ascpect ratio 1,280 x 768 native widescreen resolution. However, Sony has employed its X-Black display technology, providing a high brightness, high gloss image. While some may balk at this technology on notebooks, it really does come into its own on a device such as this. While it can be used as a monitor its eye catching styling clearly mark it out as a TV first and a monitor second. But thanks to the generous connectivity, the choice is very much yours. There’s a RF aerial connection with an analogue TV tuner integrated into the back. Next to this is an analogue VGA connector and very pleasingly a DVI connection. This already gives it one over the Toshiba, which lacked any kind of digital input. This provides the Sony with a cleaner picture over an analogue connection and as it’s HDCP compliant it will be able to support encrypted content from Sky’s HDTV set-top boxes when they are launched in the UK next year.

These connections are hidden under a flap at the back, which also hides the power cable helping to keep things tidy at the back. To the right though, is an open panel featuring a number of connections. Three of these are for Component inputs. This permits Sony to display an ‘HD Ready’ logo, as to do so you need to offer both digital and analogue inputs capable of displaying HD content. The Component input means you’ll also get the benefit of HD games from the next generation consoles such as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. There’s an accompanying phono audio inputs for this and for the Composite and S-Video inputs. So that’s pretty much all the connections you might want with the exception of Scart. Sony does provide a Scart to Composite adaptor in the box but if you go this route it does mean you’re saddled with a low-rent quality connection.

Finally there’s an audio headphone input located discreetly on the left hand side of the unit.

As far as the looks are concerned the design is quite unusual. Instead of a screen sat on top of a stand Sony has placed the panel inside a silver fascia that extends all the way down and tapers outward, like a skirt. The speakers are located in this section. The Sony logo and the power switch are decked out in the metallic silver and really polish off the cutting edge look.