I realize that it can be a back-handed compliment to say that you are surprised at how good something is. And I mean no disrespect, but I was surprised at how good this ViewSonic looked. With a stellar TV like this, I have to start thinking of ViewSonic as more than a computer monitor company.

But I was even more astonished by the level of blacks that I was seeing emanating from an LCD. Pictures, like people, can exude their own particular charms. For me this ViewSonic is not the bright giggling Cameron Diaz nor the cool blond Charlize Theron. I'm talking a sultry Penelope Cruz or an exotic Angelina Jolie.

When a TV can manifest deep blacks, all the other colors are enriched. For the luminous Elizabeth - The Golden Age HD DVD, I dialed down the TV's Brightness a bit and the luminous costumes radiated a lovely luxuriance. I am an avid admirer of Black Levels and the N4285p did not disappoint.

In fact, all of the HD content I tried looked great. And occasionally, I will admit the visual experience was "breathtaking" (to quote the peel-off sticker on the TV).

In Pride and Prejudice, when I see Lizzie perched on the edge of a cliff peering over the English countryside, her flowing skirt flapping in the wind, I think that this is how the filmmaker wanted me to see this glorious shot.

Now I must add two caveats to my adulation. First, this ViewSonic does not perform miracles with standard definition content, which can be gnarly. I have seen other TVs do better.

Secondly, the optimum viewing angle for the N4285p is not extremely wide. I would say maybe 30 degrees off center. This is important to me because this beautifully dark saturated image becomes washed out if you sit too far off center. It would be a crying shame to expose this TV to a bunch of friends seated at a wide viewing angle.

A couple of other points before I wrap this lovefest up. I was astonished to find that when I plugged my laptop into this ViewSonic with a VGA cable, that the highest compatible resolution was 1680 x 1050 and not its full HD, (1920 x 1080), native resolution.

When at full screen, this 16 x 10 format resolution stretched images a bit horizontally. I could solve the distortion by setting the TV to No Scale, but then you have black columns on each side of the screen. To achieve a full screen image with no stretch, I set the video card resolution to 1280 x 720. Though text was smoother looking at the higher resolution.

Finally, the two 10W speakers located behind the grille below the screen pumped out decent sound. I found it a bit thin and tinny, though turning down the Treble helped.

Playing the Blu-ray DVD of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds performing Live at Radio City provided me an opportunity to test the Reverb and Equalizer features in the Audio Menu.

I enjoy experimenting with Reverb choices like Concert, Living Room, Hall, Bathroom, Cave, Arena, or Church and Equalizer modes like Rock, POP, Live, Dance, Techno, Classic, and Soft. But Techno Church? Classic Cave? Remember, Reverb responsibly.

As long as you sit in the Viewing Angle sweet zone, the ViewSonic N4285p delivers a deep, bright, colorful, beautiful picture. The TV is easy to setup, simple to operate, and a pleasure to watch, especially with HD content.