Traditional -- OK, stodgy -- computer makers like HP and Dell have yet to persuade us to let them entertain us in our living rooms. Consumers continue to gravitate to familiar tried-and-true brands, such as Sony, Panasonic or Sharp, when it comes to buying something as expensive as a big-screen TV.

But allow me to profess myself pleasantly surprised with the quality of the HP Pavilion high-definition LCD television. The setup was quite easy and the image quality was as good as any liquid crystal display I've seen.

Since flat-panel TVs are equal parts entertainment and wall art, a word about aesthetics. HP's TV sports a sleek noir look that was inoffensive, if not quite as inspired as Samsung's more edgy, futuristic designs. Still, I'd have no qualms about hanging this 40-pound screen over the fireplace.

I tested HP's television in a newly added room with no blinds. Remarkably, even in direct sunlight, the picture was vivid enough to prompt my husband and son to break out the folding chairs to watch ESPN. I'm surprised they didn't break out the popcorn.

I attribute this color richness to HP's Visual Fidelity technology, which automatically adjusts the image's brightness for the amount of light in the room. It also continually corrects contrast to ensure a sharp picture.

If you prefer, you can do this yourself, using a calibration disc and controls to adjust the hue or color, the saturation or intensity of the color (from canary to pale yellow) and the value or brightness.

This kind of fussiness about color seems to support Hewlett-Packard's claim that the company brings significant expertise when it comes to image and color processing. I didn't immediately make the connection between HP's work on color printers, digital cameras and LCD TVs, but upon reflection it makes sense.

There are a few things to understand about LCD televisions, particularly if you're considering buying one this holiday season. In general, the prices have dropped over the past year. Prices range from about $1,200 for a 26-inch screen to about $2,500 for a 37-inch, according to a recent survey by Consumer Reports. HP's prices are slightly higher: $1,499 for the 26-inch screen, $1,999 for the 32-inch, and $2,899 for the 37-inch.

LCD screens tend to be thin and light and easily mounted on a wall. They afford a wide viewing angle. And they don't produce the distracting glare and reflections that you get from plasma displays, which are best viewed in dark rooms.

The technology still has some limitations. The blacks aren't as deep as you'll see on a plasma display, or even a conventional picture tube. There's also a matter of how well LCDs capture motion on screen.

Television experts talk about this in terms of ``refresh rates,'' or how quickly a picture element on screen changes color. Plasma TVs are quick at this, but LCD panels don't refresh as quickly. As a result, you might notice a faint tail or blur while watching a golf ball falling onto a green.

HP said its refresh rate is so fast -- at 12 milliseconds -- that viewers are unlikely to see the telltale LCD tail or blur. I didn't notice anything of the sort when watching high-definition sports footage.

Consumers with elaborate home entertainment setups, with an array of devices to connect to the TV, will find an abundance of traditional connectors for DVDs, VCRs and game systems. It also sports every digital input I could name for hooking the TV up to high-definition cable or satellite services and personal computers.

The only difficulty I encountered with HP's LCD television reflected its newness. My cable remote could not turn the TV on or off because the Motorola manual doesn't yet have a code for HP or Dell TVs. Fortunately, the HP remote allowed me to control the cable box.

Overall, the performance of HP's LCD screen made me rethink my assumptions about how odd it is for a computer and printer maker to break into TV show business.

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