With a nearly-hermetic die-cast metal chassis and a 12-volt XLR power input backing up the traditional line-voltage connector, it was clear that Panasonic’s $3,400, WXGA-resolution BT-LH1700W monitor was built for the road. Even the 17-inch anti-glare LCD surface proved to be somewhat more rugged than expected: mild finger pressure did not create the transient image distortions typical of consumer-grade LCD panels. I would have few qualms about hauling this device to just about any production location above sea level.

Image quality was surprisingly good for a panel of this size and resolution, with an especially admirable center-to-corner brightness uniformity and a very wide viewing angle. Image colorimetry did not vary appreciably with changes in viewing position, nor were there any perceptible patterning artifacts. A very slight yellowish color shimmer was noticeable when shifting around a completely black screen, but the effect had no intensity correlation and thus was impossible to detect when viewing an actual signal.

Peak brightness was very high- much higher than any color-calibrated CRT could ever hope to match. Pop a hood on this display and you should be able to cozy up to it with almost no retinal adaptation lag in broad daylight. Moreover, the 3000-9300K variable white point control should make it easy to adapt the display to a wide range of ambient lighting conditions. For viewing in total darkness, I found the D56 preset most pleasing, offering a very compelling combination of brightness, color saturation, flesh tone realism, dynamic range and gray scale linearity.

Panasonic claims a 10 ms "gray-to-gray" mid-tone response with their pulse-overdriven refresh logic. While I could not verify this claim, a torture test of the evaluation unit with the highest-contrast CGI content I could scrounge up failed to yield any subjective impression of motion-induced image degradation, much less outright lag.

The LH1700W provides source connectors for two separate serial digital sources, along with separate connectors for composite, S-video and component analog sources. The component input can digest either YPbPr, RGBS or RGBHV encoding and buttons on the front panel allow instant switching between sources. Pass-through outputs are available on all lines, although the SDI inputs share a single output that is switched to reflect the active source. A tiny pair of speakers yields passable audio monitoring.

The monitor supports a number of framing overlay modes, including crop marks for 4:3, Cinemascope and Vista Vision formats, along with safe-area indications of 14:9, 13:9 and five different levels of inset on a 16:9 or 4:3 frame, ranging from 80 percent to 95 percent. The unit even provides an honest-to-god built-in waveform monitor that can be displayed in a small overlay window. Two user-programmable buttons on the front panel allow various overlay and gamma presets to be recalled at a single touch. GPI and RS-232 triggering is also provided for via D-sub connectors.

My only complaint is with the hum from the cooling fan. Fortunately, the fan can be switched off though this causes a modest drop in backlight intensity. Even with it off, the monitor never got particularly warm.

Overall, I found it a very solid production monitor offering top-notch visuals and respectable input flexibility at a reasonable price within its class. Accordingly, it receives very high honors for value delivered.