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Flat TV sets are finally here. And I'm not talking about those multi-thousand dollar 42 and 50 inch plasma screens that hang on the wall like a picture frame. I'm talking about 15 and 17 inch TV sets that are still the most popular sizes sold, and are found on most of America's tabletops and kitchen counters. Actually, the technology has been around for a some time now. If you've seen a color screen on a portable computer, you've seen the future of small flat TV sets.

Most of the popular computer monitor manufacturers offer some sort of flat screen monitor. Today's flat screen monitors are in many ways even better that the displays being used in portables, most notably their size which is usually larger than what is being offered in portable computers. The most popular size flat monitors are 15 and 17 inches. And like their portable counterparts, the viewable area is larger than conventional CRT displays. The 15 inch flat screen is comparable to the viewing area of 17 inch CRT, a 17 inch flat screen is equivalent to a 19 inch CRT.

What has puzzled me and others is why it has taken so long for these screen manufacturers to migrate this technology into a conventional television set. For example, Sharp's LC-121MCU 12 inch and their LC-151MCU 15 inch color monitors have been available for nearly a year. Both look like a flat TV (they even have a remote control) but they still requires some sort of external tuner such as a cable box or VCR to pull in television stations. Sharp was so close, yet so far. It would have been so easy to add a built-in cable ready tuner. But while Sharp slept, Samsung was burning the midnight oil and the company has just announced what we've been waiting for.

The SyncMaster 150Mp TFT and 170Mp TFT are respectively 15 and 17 inch, flat color TVs that also double as high quality computer monitors. And they're only 2 inches thick. Sporting a brilliant active matrix color display that can be viewed from most any angle, they come complete with built-in cable-ready tuners and stereo speakers. As far as I'm concerned, the fact that they function as computer monitors is secondary, These are really flat television sets and it's about time! These are not your dull putty colored monitor screens. They are framed in a sleekly styled matt-finished silver case and sit on a built-in retractable stand that lets you angle the screen for an optimal viewing angle or to hang on a wall. The front panel volume, channel and other selection controls are tiny non-mechanical touch sensitive chrome nibs that respond to your slightest touch. This is one great looking TV set.

Both models have all the desirable TV features, some of which are resizable picture-in-picture, Closed Captioning, on screen menus, Auto Channel Program that finds and sets the tuner to display only the channels with a TV signal, and both models come with a full featured remote control. You can even digitally zoom the image up to 64 times. The TVs can connect via standard cable coax connector, composite video, antenna and S-VHS.

Ok. It's true the SyncMaster 150Mp and 170MP are also computer monitors with standard video connectors, but sequestering them away only to be used with your computer would be a terrible waste. These are beautiful flat screen televisions that belong in your living room to be shown off, and for everyone to watch and appreciate.

The 150Mp sells for $1,287, the 170Mp sells for $2,620.

It took long enough but good going, Samsung!

Samsung Electronics (800) SAMSUNG or (201) 229-4000 www.samsungmonitor.com