Samsung ships computer LCDs with HDTV tuning

Samsung on Monday added to its "Touch of Color" computer displays with three multi-role versions. The 22-inch, 1680x1050 T220HD as well as the 24- and 26-inch, 1920x1200 T240HD and T260HD share the same two-tone look of the originals but add an ATSC/ClearQAM tuner that picks up unprotected over-the-air HDTV broadcasts; they also add one front and one rear HDMI input for users who want to attach a game console, Blu-ray player or similar device at the same time as a computer.

Contrast dips on all of the displays versus their stand-alone models to a 10,000:1 dynamic ratio, though all support a relatively quick 5ms pixel response time. All of the screens also support component video input and optical audio out for surround sound in addition to the DVI and VGA connections for normal computers.

The screens should be available today and are priced at a premium over the non-TV variants, starting at $429 for the T220HD, while the larger screens scale up to $549 and $599 for the T240HD and T260HD respectively.