A new NEC professional IPS? PA series

hi,
got my PA241W for some weeks now and got some problems:

1. backlight bleeding (some say this is normal?!)
2. I got problems with text on that monitor. my old TN seems much sharper/ to have more contrast. I even sometimes get headaches when sitting too long in front of the NEC...
Anybody here who has made similar experience?
 
thinkdiesel said:
http://www.mediafire.com/?khj21yzxmm2

anxiously awaiting my PA241W, that's lost in UPS land ugh..
Click to expand...

Thanks but I can't find where they tell that Sun Microsystem sells more professional monitor than NEC and Eizo.

sponch said:
hi,
got my PA241W for some weeks now and got some problems:

1. backlight bleeding (some say this is normal?!)
2. I got problems with text on that monitor. my old TN seems much sharper/ to have more contrast. I even sometimes get headaches when sitting too long in front of the NEC...
Anybody here who has made similar experience?
Click to expand...

this is one of the reason why I choosed a PVA monitor for my main workstation.
 
sponch said:
hi,
I got problems with text on that monitor. my old TN seems much sharper/ to have more contrast. I even sometimes get headaches when sitting too long in front of the NEC...
Anybody here who has made similar experience?
Click to expand...

Sponch,

Am a NEC 2690Wuxi user who had the good fortune - at the time NEC was making them - to have received one that had the polarized LFT; and also by good fortune, never had backlight problems or text blurring - but I feel your disappointment.

I spent a week experimenting with various target values using the SpectraView II software and the NEC SpectraView - GammaComp MD colorimeter (NEC branded, based on the X-rite iOne Display 2). These were ordered from NEC. Following that, I spent 2 more days before feeling satisfied that I had obtained text clarity that looked the most comfortable.

Three factors played a prominent role in my achieving best text clarity:

1. 1440 X 900 (16:10) is superior to the native 1920 X 1200 (16:10) for text. Don't fear displaying less than native if you have a great monitor and a good video card that both scale well.
Reason: On a 26-inch screen text is larger, easier on your eyes, and web page viewing is quite pleasant at that lower resolution. This factor becomes even more dominant with larger screens. And if you like, when playing games, it is an easy matter to select a 1920 X 1200 resolution within the game.

2. Spend a generous amount of time using the Windows 7 Adjust ClearType text control panel. Can't emphasize that enough.
Tips: (a) Complete more than one run through.
(b) Consider having a family member also perform a run through and compare.
(c) When the control panel offers you text samples to choose, be aware of both noticeable and subtle differences in the selections. e.g. dark text versus light, clearer versus less clear, and be alert to notice if RGB pixel bleeding starts occurring within the strokes of letters when you compare one selection to another.
(d) Text clarity will probably look different when viewing text in documents versus viewing text in your browser. You will have to decide which appearance you prefer.

3. Brightness / contrast magnitudes - which you probably had decided on during the setting up and calibration of your monitor.

I hope this helps ;)
 
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I've updated the OP with a review of the 30" from anandtech. I've also replaced all of the product links as it looks like NEC changed the site up a bit.
 
@supersnake: thanks for your help. the lower resolution is worse on my NEC and I spent "hours" with clear type configuration but I'm stillö not happy with it..seems that I have to live with it.... can't recommend that PA to anybody who uses the monitor not only for photo/ graphics editing.
Do you think I should try to contact NEC for an exchange -which probably will not make the thing better ;-) ??
 
I am currently trying to decide whether I am buying PA271w or not. I currently own 3008WFP, which I bought from eBay and its a manufacturer refurbished. I haven't calibrated it yet, and probably won't if I am going to buy now new monitor. The problem with this Dell is that AG-coating makes Firefox and folders look terrible since the sites I visit most are basicly full of white space. Other thing is that I don't think color's look that great compared to my old TN. Maybe this is just a bad unit, dunno. However PA271w looks great as far as what I have read, and I dont really matter that I'd lose 160 pixels of vertical resolution.

Is PA271w really superior compared to 3008WFP in matter of color etc. quality, and how much?
How bad is AG coating in NEC's PA-series?

Kinda OT question, but when will next gen panel technology arrive to consumers (under 2000$)? Or even LED backlight to monitors with 2560 x xxxx resolution?

E: Oh, and last question, does U3011, ZR30w or PA series have scaler?
 
sponch said:
@supersnake: thanks for your help. the lower resolution is worse on my NEC and I spent "hours" with clear type configuration but I'm still not happy with it..seems that I have to live with it.... can't recommend that PA to anybody who uses the monitor not only for photo/ graphics editing.
Do you think I should try to contact NEC for an exchange -which probably will not make the thing better ;-) ??
Click to expand...

Am sorry to read that. Before you dismiss it altogether see if this makes a difference:

If you are using a NVIDIA card, launch its control panel. Under the Display heading, look for "Adjust desktop size and position"
then select Use my display's built-in scaling. That method made the scaled text appear more clear to me than the other offered methods.

Use NVIDIA scaling
Use NVIDIA scaling with fixed-aspect ratio
Use my display's built-in scaling
Do not scale

Considering all the tweaks you have tried I see no reason not to call NEC if your expectations are not met.
However, it may be more practical to first speak to one of their technicians and see if he can help you resolve your problem, before you request a replacement monitor.
 
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Great thread!

Two questions to help me decide on my next monitors:

- I'm going for a multi-monitor setup. As I don't need - and maybe can't afford - having 3x PA241Ws (3rd one would help on gaming and TV-watching) or 2x their bigger brothers, maybe I would have to pair them with cheaper counterparts like the ZR24W. Any thoughts? What could I expect from having side by side different screens with different input lag and color spaces?

- I confess I couldn't yet understand the big mess with the European models. So if I skip the Spectraviews is it enough to get a separate colorimeter to have the same hardware calibration capabilities as in the US model? I'm quite confused on that.

Thanks
 
So if I skip the Spectraviews is it enough to get a separate colorimeter to have the same hardware calibration capabilities as in the US model? I'm quite confused on that.
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You can use SpectraView II with all PA models but keep in mind that NEC doesn't implement corrections regarding the WCG-CCFL spectrum of most PA screens. You'll need the OEM EOD2 from NEC or a spectrophotometer (EyeOne Pro). If you live in Europe you could also use the Quato Silver Haze Pro bundle. iColor Display > 3.6 has generic corrections that work fine with the bundled X-Rite DTP94. Because of the extensive electronic and OSD and very good factory calibration a software calibration virtually is a hardware calibration in this case.

What could I expect from having side by side different screens with different input lag and color spaces?
Click to expand...
Because of the different (and regarding the mentioned effect disadvantageous) spectra you will experience effects of observer metamerism. You'll have to calibrate to a visual but not colorimetric identical whitepoint.

Best regards

Denis
 
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Sailor_Moon said:
You can use SpectraView II with all PA models but keep in mind that NEC doesn't implement corrections regarding the WCG-CCFL spectrum of most PA screens. You'll need the OEM EOD2 from NEC or a spectrophotometer (EyeOne Pro). If you live in Europe you could also use the Quato Silver Haze Pro bundle. iColor Display > 3.6 has generic corrections that work fine with the bundled X-Rite DTP94. Because of the extensive electronic and OSD and very good factory calibration a software calibration virtually is a hardware calibration in this case.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! That will guide my search for new calibration hardware. So you mean that it is possible to access 3D calibration even if by software on the european models, is that correct? NEC apparently doesn't know what KISS means in their product line :)

Sailor_Moon said:
Because of the different (and regarding the mentioned effect disadvantageous) spectra you will experience effects of observer metamerism. You'll have to calibrate to a visual but not colorimetric identical whitepoint.
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I could be in the same colour space in sRGB mode (for gaming/working, for example) but not the other way around. KISS law violated again. I need at least one display urgently, so first step is to decide on a 24" or 30". PA301W would be lovely for my square-format Hasselblad pictures, but for the price of 2x PA241Ws and a calibrator seems hard to justify... Tough decision!
 
Denis, how would you compare the PA301w vs the 3090 in terms of picture quality (not inputs, helpers etc)?
 
Mastaba said:
I second this.

And does the PA301W suffer the same flaws the 3090 do here ?
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Hi Mastaba,

Several of these issues have been addressed specifically, and the more subjective aspects (e.g. glow around text) I'd rely on other opinions here.

Just a few notes:
  • The PA301W has a backlight sensor, which allows the display to be set to a specific brightness and hold that for the life of the display. We have also provided direct control over the black levels as well.
  • There are 5 completely customizeable presets (called Picture Modes) for the display. The built-in ones include sRGB and AdobeRGB but you can customize the white point, color gamut, gamma, black level, brightness, etc. for each Picture Mode.
  • sRGB is can be calibrated with SpectraViewII software or via the internal calibration functionality, though it does only support i1 Display2 sensors at this time.
  • I've had 3 of these at my desk for months and I've heard no noise coming from the display and the heat isn't that bad. I run mine in portrait mode.

I hope that this helps!

-- Art
 
ArtMarshall said:
Hi Mastaba,
  • I've had 3 of these at my desk for months and I've heard no noise coming from the display and the heat isn't that bad. I run mine in portrait mode.

I hope that this helps!

-- Art
Click to expand...

No one will believe you until you post pics. ;)
 
I've had my PA241W in my desk for around a month now. It's not been calibrated yet due to the lack of time to research about the best calibration tool for me.

Upon turning it on, I can hear quite clearly a electrical noise from my chair. The noise goes away pretty quicly (1-2 minutes) and after warming up the monitor is pretty quiet.

I wanted to add that my unit has a superb image quality. No pixel problems, no noticeable bleeding, uniformity to the naked eye is just amazing. I can't even notice any glow during normal using (only during testing; I've only used Flatpanelshd online tool so far but it is a good overview imo). Also, for the ones concerned with the bloody AG coating, I must say that this unit is WAY better than the Dell U2490. While the Dell's sparkles and shows that cristalyzed look - the ones at work even have some shiny purple spots, but I can't tell whether they have been properly set up - the NEC's just look... like a normal monitor. Don't ask me what's the difference since as far as I know it should be the same panel. Photographs and colour gradients look just amazing, but so far I've used mostly the RGB mode which is enough for web surfing & stuff.

I have some complaints, though, and my biggest one is that the monitor was shipped without a proper power chord - European power chords don't fit Swiss power plugs. I emailed NEC just today and they are checking whether I received a non-swiss unit, although the manual doesn't have any reference to swiss standard (it has indeed reference to other countries' standards).

Now indeed I'm looking for two more units, but I don't think I am crazy enough to do it. Maybe 2 2490WUXI2 would be enough? Not huge money savings though...
 
Suppersonic said:
I have some complaints, though, and my biggest one is that the monitor was shipped without a proper power chord - European power cords don't fit Swiss power plugs. I emailed NEC just today and they are checking whether I received a non-swiss unit, although the manual doesn't have any reference to swiss standard (it has indeed reference to other countries' standards).
Click to expand...

That's not really too unusual. I'm guessing it's just a normal iec320 (ie. kettle lead)? A lot of things you buy here tend to come with either European or UK plugs on them. From retailers like Digitec for example, they always bundle in an extra cord with a swiss plug, or adapter though.

Maybe I'm odd for having UK, Swiss and Japanese power strips near my desk though. :) I'm sure NEC will send you a Swiss iec320 if you ask them, they seem to have excellent customer services from what I've seen.
 
ArtMarshall said:
sRGB is can be calibrated with SpectraViewII software or via the internal calibration functionality, though it does only support i1 Display2 sensors at this time.
Click to expand...

If you calibrate the sRGB mode via the internal calibration functionality, can you go back to the factory calibration, or are you stuck with the new calibration?

With the LCD3090WQXi, you can't go back to the original calibration once you calibrate using the internal calibration. I found this to be a big problem because my own calibrations didn't turn out so great. Whites had a green tint with the original i1D2 sensor, and a red tint with the sensor tweaked by NEC for wide gamut. I couldn't find a way to reset that - you can reset everything else to factory settings, but not the internal calibration.
 
wagoo said:
That's not really too unusual. I'm guessing it's just a normal iec320 (ie. kettle lead)? A lot of things you buy here tend to come with either European or UK plugs on them. From retailers like Digitec for example, they always bundle in an extra cord with a swiss plug, or adapter though.

Maybe I'm odd for having UK, Swiss and Japanese power strips near my desk though. :) I'm sure NEC will send you a Swiss iec320 if you ask them, they seem to have excellent customer services from what I've seen.
Click to expand...

I know that. I bought the monitor from Digitec but they didnt ship a separate power chord. Nec said it is a non-swiss unit (does it even exist? It is not mentioned in the manual) so someone swallowed my power chord in the way. Im enquiring the guys at Digitec and we will see it.

Btw Im start to have itches about a triple 241w setup. Wouls like to see it in pictures as well, for the moment Im considering buying 2 2490wuxi2 for computer, video and gaming but Im not sure which way to go yet.
 
Hi guys,

necf.jpg


I've had a PA 301w for about two weeks now. I'm really happy with it. I chose it over any offering from Apple because of the quality and the ergonomics. I wanted a matte screen and Apple no longer offers that. There is also the issue of not being able to adjust the height on the 27" display.

The colours on this monitor are beautiful and vibrant and it is equally at home doing either serious work or watching movies. If you're sitting on the fence regarding this one, I would recommend it.
 
Fumi said:
Hi guys,

necf.jpg


I've had a PA 301w for about two weeks now. I'm really happy with it. I chose it over any offering from Apple because of the quality and the ergonomics. I wanted a matte screen and Apple no longer offers that. There is also the issue of not being able to adjust the height on the 27" display.

The colours on this monitor are beautiful and vibrant and it is equally at home doing either serious work or watching movies. If you're sitting on the fence regarding this one, I would recommend it.
Click to expand...

ok but where is the computer? don't tell me that you use that monitor with a notebook :D
 
Yeah, I'm afraid its being driven by an 11" Macbook Air until the new Pro gets announced.
Don't laugh...
 
cvgd said:
No one will believe you until you post pics. ;)
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Hah! When I get my Eyefinity card back from a demo, perhaps :)

I do so much monitor switching that I don't invest in stands. Just lots of desktop real estate!

-- Art
 
Unless you can't turn the monitors on, that's a lame excuse. You're in the display subforum, not the video card.

I didn't bother with an aftermarket stand for the PA271; I like the functionality and stability of the stock.
 
Fumi said:
Yeah, I'm afraid its being driven by an 11" Macbook Air until the new Pro gets announced.
Don't laugh...
Click to expand...

Can't laugh myself. I had my 241W hooked to a eeepc for a week or so, limited to a resolution not too far from 320x240 :D
 
Any thoughts on PA241W versus 2490WUXi2 for moving images? Is the PA series any better / worse for moving images? I'm buying a second panel (third will follow) mainly for applications / video watching and wondering if it makes any sense at all to mix both panels or just stick to 3x PA241Ws and pay the price...
 
Hi all. First post in the forum. I just purchased the PA301W-BK-R directly from NEC. I currently own the LCD2690WUXI2 with the SpectraView kit. I assume I can use the same kit on the PA301 since in pictures the kit looks the same as the one that would have come with the PA301W-BK-SV?
 
scottchlee said:
Hi all. First post in the forum. I just purchased the PA301W-BK-R directly from NEC. I currently own the LCD2690WUXI2 with the SpectraView kit. I assume I can use the same kit on the PA301 since in pictures the kit looks the same as the one that would have come with the PA301W-BK-SV?
Click to expand...

Hi scottchlee,

Yes, you can use the same kit.

--- Art
 
Sorry for bumping a slightly older thread, but I didn't think this question deserved a new one.

I've just gotten a PA241W. Very happy with it, but I do have one issue -- I'm getting some colour banding in gradients. I use a smooth gradient on the Windows desktop and can notice some banding on it. I have since checked a greyscale gradient and also see banding on that.

The banding is not the kind that I usually see on low quality displays. On the greyscale, it's small, clearly distinguishable bands of the same width consistently throughout the gradient. It's like the banding you would see if you set Windows to 16-bit colour, except that the bands are significantly smaller in width.

I just want to check whether this is normal. I see similar bands on my lower quality Dell IPS displays and my laptop display, but I'm not sure if it's normal on the NEC. I am just using consumer video cards so I don't have 10-bit support, but I understand that wouldn't make a difference on the desktop or in internet browsers anyway. If it matters, I've tested on an AMD 6950 and Mobility 5650 with the latest drivers. Everything is set to native resolution and 32-bit colour. The monitor has been calibrated using Spectraview II and the banding is evident in all picture modes (including when calibrated to emulate sRGB).
 
Logical Disconnect said:
Sorry for bumping a slightly older thread, but I didn't think this question deserved a new one.

I've just gotten a PA241W. Very happy with it, but I do have one issue -- I'm getting some colour banding in gradients. I use a smooth gradient on the Windows desktop and can notice some banding on it. I have since checked a greyscale gradient and also see banding on that.

The banding is not the kind that I usually see on low quality displays. On the greyscale, it's small, clearly distinguishable bands of the same width consistently throughout the gradient. It's like the banding you would see if you set Windows to 16-bit colour, except that the bands are significantly smaller in width.

I just want to check whether this is normal. I see similar bands on my lower quality Dell IPS displays and my laptop display, but I'm not sure if it's normal on the NEC. I am just using consumer video cards so I don't have 10-bit support, but I understand that wouldn't make a difference on the desktop or in internet browsers anyway. If it matters, I've tested on an AMD 6950 and Mobility 5650 with the latest drivers. Everything is set to native resolution and 32-bit colour. The monitor has been calibrated using Spectraview II and the banding is evident in all picture modes (including when calibrated to emulate sRGB).
Click to expand...

Are you using DVI or DP for the monitor connection? It could be that your actual image that exhibits the banding rather than the LCD's issue. Do you see banding here in this test:

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gradient.php
 
Displayport, but same thing happens with DVI.

EDIT: I do see some banding in that Lagom image, but not the small vertical bands I was talking about. So maybe you're right that it's an issue with the images I've been looking at. I've done a few more tests creating greyscale gradients in Photoshop -- it seems like I get banding similar to what I see in the Lagom image (dark bands fairly regularly spaced in the darker region of the image) when I view the gradient in Photoshop, but those bands disappear and the small, equal-width bands appear if I save the Photoshop image as a png and make it the desktop background, for example.

Again, as I said, this is probably normal but I just want to make sure I haven't missed a setting or something.
 
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Sailor_Moon said:
You can use SpectraView II with all PA models but keep in mind that NEC doesn't implement corrections regarding the WCG-CCFL spectrum of most PA screens. You'll need the OEM EOD2 from NEC or a spectrophotometer (EyeOne Pro). If you live in Europe you could also use the Quato Silver Haze Pro bundle. iColor Display > 3.6 has generic corrections that work fine with the bundled X-Rite DTP94. Because of the extensive electronic and OSD and very good factory calibration a software calibration virtually is a hardware calibration in this case.

Best regards

Denis
Click to expand...


So, can i buy a Multisynch PA301W and a separate Spectraview kit (like this one ?) and make the exact same hardware calibration like with the "genuine" Spectraview bundle ?
Is it better than using another probe ? (What about the newer Spyder4 ?)

I mean, here in Europe the multisynch cost nearly the double of the spectraview, is there really hardware difference between them ?
 
So, can i buy a Multisynch PA301W and a separate Spectraview kit (like this one ?) and make the exact same hardware calibration like with the "genuine" Spectraview bundle ?
Click to expand...
Yes.

Is it better than using another probe ?
Click to expand...
The probe in the new SV bundle (i1 Display Pro) is very good. You should use it. An alternative would be to buy the i1 Display Pro (non OEM) separately and then SV II without probe to be more flexible regarding other software.

Best regards

Denis
 
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