LG M198WA Widescreen TV

LG M198WA Widescreen TV Review

Korean manufacturer LG have established themselves as one of the world’s leading innovators in the electronics market, producing products that don’t just try and match the competition but also have something else to offer that their rivals don’t. With the LG M198WA they’ve really done quite well in offering a feature-rich LCD TV display that also has its roots firmly grounded in the PC monitor arena, and the sheer range of functionality and the variety of inputs is extremely impressive for what is a relatively small and well priced screen. Let’s go into some more detail and look at the technical abilities of the M198WA.
Note the LG M198WDP model number is also used.

LG M198WA Technical Specifications

The first thing to comment on is the performance of the LCD panel which LG use in the M198WA, which has an extremely high contrast ratio of 3000:1, a number that is very impressive for a screen of this size – the higher the number the better.

What this means in practice is that you will get a great depth and variety in colour from your screen, with rich blacks and bright whites which puts it above many other similarly priced and spec’d screens which often suffer from washed out colours or ill defined blacks. This makes the LG M198WA a great TV and PC monitor because watching movies on it will be a pleasure. More than that if you’re planning on using it as a monitor for your PC or games console then the lightening fast response time of 5ms – the smaller the number the better – means that you won’t get any image ghosting messing up your kill count.

The native resolution of 1440×900 is a standard widescreen resolution supported by most modern gaming titles, and the impressive viewing angle of 170 degrees means that you can sit a few people around the screen and not leave anyone with a distorted view of the picture. This widescreen display set up also enhances your television and DVD viewing as digital TV is broadcast primarily in a widescreen aspect ratio and most DVD movies will display as they were meant to on the 16:10 aspect ratio of the LG M198WA.

Where this display really spoils you is with the sheer number of inputs that it offers. Both digital and analogue PC inputs are supported through DVI-D and D-SUB, and you could potentially hook 2 PCs up through these two connections allowing you to use the monitor with both PCs, switching between the inputs as and when it’s necessary. It also has a PC audio in jack which allows you to put your PC’s soundcard through the LG M198WA’s speakers, as well as a headphone jack if you want to keep the sounds to yourself.

Aside from the LG M198WA’s PC connectivity it has an array of TV connectivity too. It features composite and component video inputs, along with a SCART socket and an S-Video input which covers all of the commonly used standards. This means you can hook up your DVD player, VHS player, Camcorder and games console and display them through the very capable screen. A total of six watts of audio power is sufficient for desktop use, and the stylish design of the LG M198WA means it will fit easily in to the modern desktop environment just as well as into the modern living room.

Click Here to Buy LG M198WDP Widescreen TV

LG M198WA Customer Considerations

If you like the sound of the LG M198WA then you’ll probably want to think about a couple of things before you commit to a purchase. The first is its size. Its 19 inch widescreen is good for use on a desktop, and it should primarily be considered as a multitasking PC monitor rather than a TV that you might use exclusively in your living room for watching live broadcasts. It is too small to be comfortably viewed in the average sized living room, but would suit use in a bedroom or a kitchen as a secondary tv.

It lacks any kind of built in digital free to air decoder, meaning you would have to have a separate Freeview box plugged into the SCART socket to watch digital TV through the LG M198WA. Additionally it lacks an HDMI port which can be found on larger, dedicated HD LCD TVs. However, that being said, the LG M198WA is a great, versatile monitor combining both PC and TV functionality admirably and sporting an excellent display panel which is supported by the strong LG pedigree. If this TV is right for your purposes you’ll be very happy.

Click Here to Buy the LG M198WA Widescreen TV

Click Here to Buy LG M198WDP Widescreen TV

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