LG M227WDP 22-inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV/Monitor (5ms, 10000:1, HDMI)

This is a very versatile piece of kit with just about every connector you could wish for on the back - HDMI, SCART, component, composite and more, including VGA for connecting to a PC.

The screen resolution is 1920 x 1080 making it true HD and it was a doddle to set up and tune.

The only criticism I have is that the picture quality is not as good as an old CRT with SD signals. However this is true of all LCD TVs and the reason I have given it five stars is that the picture on this TV is better than many other makes costing a lot more money.

I imagine that with technology moving forward at its current pace it won't be long before cheaper, better products arrive but right now I would say this is a bargain.

LG model number M227WDP-PZ:
The "M7WDP" series appear to be marketed by LG as "commercial" products (intended for the business market rather than consumer/retail). But LG's UK site still has no mention of this (newer?) "-PZ" variant

What came in the box:
Monitor + stand
Remote control + 2x AAA batteries
Mains lead (mine had a right angle IEC connector and UK 3-pin plug)
15-way D-type PC to monitor VGA cable + 3.5mm to 3.5mm PC to monitor audio cable (with ferrite core at monitor end)
CD containing documentation & drivers + small printed "quick start guide" + warranty booklet (3 years "swap out" warranty)

Installation:
Stand is easy to attach/remove (just one screw with foldable handle). Without the stand fitted there is the "stub" sticking out of the bottom as others have commented (a little ugly); but push it back as far as it will go and use it as part of the cable management and it isn't that noticeable.

Set-up extremely simple, connect aerial and power, switch on and use the arrows and "OK" to set language, country etc. Then the TV will auto tune - it scans for DTV and radio, then VHF/cable and UHF analogue. Whole process only took a few minutes.

First impressions:
Picture: Out-of-box picture settings were dreadul; DTV and analogue had the brightness way too high (so washed out), external RGB input via the AV1 SCART had the colour up way too high (so garish, flaring colours). After a few minutes with the backlight/contrast/brightness/colour controls I had the picture "tamed". The settings can be set individually for each source; however find good settings for one source and the settings for the others won't be far different...

Viewing angle is IMO average in the horizontal direction - can get +/- 45 degrees either side before there is any noticeable change in the image (but can get considerably further off to the side before the contrast degrades to an unacceptable/unwatchable level). But the vertical viewing angle was much poorer - the best picture was obtained when looking slightly down on the screen; if viewing from level with or slightly below the centre line of the screen the contrast drops off very quickly. Could be an issue if it was mounted on a wall at eye level (e.g. in a kitchen)...

Sound: One word - weedy. But IMO perfpectly OK for its intended use as a second TV and computer monitor (and actually just as good as the cheap/cheerful portable TV it is replacing). Volume was more than adequate for my needs.

For reference - a list of all the available connections (all except the headphone socket are on the back):
1x Aerial (old fashioned co-ax socket)
1x Mains (IEC 3-pin)
1x HDMI (Note: manual states that this is not compatible with connection to a PC)
1x DVI
1x VGA
1x audio-in (3.5mm stereo - for PC audio when using DVI/VGA)
1x set of 5 Phonos for Component video in + audio
2x SCART (note: only one of these (AV1) supports RGB signals
1x USB - supports JPEG photo and MP3 audio playback
1x RS232 (9-way D) for control/service applications
1x Optical digital out (TOSlink)
1x headphone (3.5mm stereo - low on right hand side below power button

Usability:
Excellent - the setup menus are pretty easy to navigate and get things done without having to resort to reading the manual (which is a pain as it's only provided on CD so needs the PC to be running...).

Differences in specification I have noticed from earlier M227WD and WDP models (i.e. those older models without the "-PZ" suffix):
Features removed:
1x HDMI (this has one, the earlier models had 2)
1x Composite/S-Video (AV3) (completely removed on this model). Note: Neither SCART claims to offer S-video input, so as a consequence there is now no S-video support at all.
Menu-switchable signal booster for DTV signals

Features added:
JPEG and MP3 playback support via USB (the older models may also have done this but it was not documented in their manuals)

My verdict:
Very good (once picture was properly adjusted). Nicely clears the clutter around my PC (can now get rid of bulky 14 inch CRT portable TV and 17 inch CRT monitor).

Great product!
- Good price
- Good size (don't think you'd want any bigger if you were using it as a computer monitor anyway)
- Excellent viewing angle (you had to sit directly in front of my old monitor to see what was on it properly but not with this one)
- Not very reflective (my old monitor was practically a mirror which was never good on sunny days so this one is much better)
- Light and easy to move around (so good for students moving to halls and such like)
- Not to mention the fact it can cater for practically all your viewing needs, whether they be tv (freeview built-in so no need for a set-top box anymore), games consoles, computer monitor etc.
- Another reviewer obviously didn't pay that much attention when they said "No turn on/off switch, You need the remote to turn it on" beacuse strangely enough, there is one
I am yet to find something I don't like about it!