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The great thing about LCD Televisions is that, like their Plasma brethren, they're much thinner than their CRT counterparts. As such, you can save immense amount of space just by hanging one onto a wall. With the exception of wirelessly enabled LCD screens, though, you've still got to plug it into something -- a tuner, a DVD Player/Recorder and perhaps a set-top box. The KT-17LZ21's claim to fame is that LG's incorporated the DVD Player into the screen unit, saving you valuable space wherever you choose to display it.
Upside: Getting that much electronically into such a small unit -- the screen itself is only a titchy 17" -- is an impressive feat all in itself, and if you're stretched for space and only want a small TV, there's a compelling argument for the KT-17LZ21 right there. It'll also double up as a PC monitor in a stretch, so you could make it the heart of a small digital kitchen setup, with easy access to music, internet recipe sites and perhaps the latest Ainsley Harriot cooking DVD to keep you enthused.
Downside: As with any integrated unit, the benefits of integration are offset by one potential major problem -- if one part of the unit breaks down, you're forced to return the whole kit for repair in order to get it back up and running. While it's capable of being used as a PC monitor, the manual notes that it's 'best' in 1024x768 resolution at 60Hz; pushing things up to a more comfortable 80Hz may lead to onscreen noise and distortion being present. For some users, a 17" screen may seem mighty small to display any high-quality DVD content on.
Outlook: While the same effect could be achieved with a thin DVD player and cheap LCD monitor, there's something nice about having everything in the one place, controlled by the one remote.
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rebo
11/09/2004, 09:30 PM
Excellent value
We purchased one today at a heavily discounted price. This unit requires you read the manual and follow its setup instructions or be disappointed. Being a global product you have to tune in the local channels before you can sit back and watch TV. It's a straightforward task but can be frustrating. Connecting my Xbox was a bit of a task but eventually got it working. The manual doesn't cover game console connection! But it does play music CDs, DVDs (regions 2-5), MP3s, CDR/RW containing music and JPG files. It displays music track titles and playing times. Use it to run picture slideshows. The audio from the headphone jack is quite soft and requires you to crank up the volume. Volume from the built-in speakers is adequate for my purposes. Overall I'm very happy with this versatile unit.
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