NEC 23" IPS EA231WMi

[10e]

This would be a great monitor if LG would just get their act together and fix the color uniformity problems that have been plaguing their panels lately.


Powerstrip, or with NVIDIA cards, you can add a custom resolution in the driver control panel.

Did you try using a colorimeter to measure the color temp. difference left and right? My 2209WA (from memory) showed 400K difference on white point with the left being 400K colder than the right. The middle was closer to the left by a slight amount. I notice it, but it's definitely on the mild side.

Thanks.

 

[adamj023]

Significant price reduction on these as I predicted.

$318.50 now from Provantage. Like $330ish shipped to my area.

Provantage has 81 now in stock.

Will pass on this monitor due to color uniformity issues however.

"$330ish with coupon isn't a steal. Remember $379 is list price. $369 is the preorder price. Prices will drop further when stock comes in."

Bingo! I was right. $318.50 + shipping now from Provantage. Other vendors will drop in price as well. I could have bought at the beginning way early for $330ish with coupon. And now I can buy for $330ish without coupon today. No bargain here. Just shows that the monitor is hitting normal pricing levels finally.

By waiting I got to see all the reviews on this monitor and get the same price as before and it will likely go lower in price in the coming days/weeks.

 

[ToastyX]

IT WORKS! I just got a DisplayPort video card. This monitor can do up to 83 Hz at 1080p without skipping frames!

However, the response time does it no justice. You still benefit from the smoothness and responsiveness, but the motion blur makes the difference less significant than it would have been with overdrive. The Dell 2209WA still has a slight edge here.

Here are the timing parameters I used:

Horizontal active: 1920
Horizontal front porch: 88
Horizontal sync width: 44
Horizontal back porch: 148
Horizontal total: 2200

Vertical active: 1080
Vertical front porch: 4
Vertical sync width: 5
Vertical back porch: 11
Vertical total: 1100

It will report anywhere from 82.5 Hz to 83.0 Hz:

That probably works over VGA also, but I haven't tested it. (Edit: Just tested it, doesn't work for VGA.)

Do not use those timing parameters for 72 Hz. Use the settings I gave earlier:

Horizontal active: 1920
Horizontal front porch: 25
Horizontal sync width: 35
Horizontal back porch: 45
Horizontal total: 2025

Vertical active: 1080
Vertical front porch: 3
Vertical sync width: 4
Vertical back porch: 5
Vertical total: 1092


As for the uniformity, NEC will be sending a replacement, but they're out of stock at the moment, so it might be a while. Hopefully, this means I'll get one from a better batch.

Did you try using a colorimeter to measure the color temp. difference left and right? My 2209WA (from memory) showed 400K difference on white point with the left being 400K colder than the right. The middle was closer to the left by a slight amount. I notice it, but it's definitely on the mild side.

Kelvin values don't tell the whole story. Two different white points can have the same correlated color temperature, especially with fluorescent lighting. The difference is only around 500K across different parts of the screen, but the color balance changes significantly. That's a bigger problem than a simple color temperature shift.

For instance, Eye-One Match thinks this is 6500K even though it's obviously too purple:

What can I do when one part of the screen looks like that and another part of the screen looks like this:

I'm also getting inconsistent color temperature readings, so it's hard to quantify this. I can only go by what the camera picks up and what I see with my own eyes, both of which pick up an obnoxious color shift across the screen. The uniformity doesn't have to be perfect. Most monitors don't have perfect uniformity. I just want tolerable uniformity without obnoxious color shifts.

 

[Syntax Error]

83Hz?

So what's the input lag and response time like, if any?

 

[abarsami]

What do you think? It's a little blue on the right side with the white image. This has more grain than my 2405 fpw, but is sharper.

 

[abarsami]

I don't know if it's noticeable in these pics but the right side of the monitor is def. darker than the left. Which is a problem my other monitor does not have. It's a big enough issue that I prob. will return it.

 

[Armatoste]

Ok, so even at 75Hz the Dell beats out the NEC at 83Hz because of the lack of overdrive?

 

[Sunspark]

Hi, I bought this monitor and while it seems like a decent enough unit I did notice two issues.

1) The MacBook fights with it at 1920x1080's 60 hz resolution..it seems to want to run at 50 hz more.. and then you can't switch back to 60 hz without video garble.. you have to delete the windowserver.plist in order to get 60 hz back for that resolution. Just be aware of that.

2) This item concerns me more. In the upper left corner of my screen there's a faint but visible cloud.. backlight bleed.. and it's visible even with other stuff on the screen. It looks like a faint bluish fog when the background is dark coming out of the corner. Now, as an experiment I touched the corner of the panel with a lint free cloth and I was surprised to actually feel it wobble slightly. Both the upper left and right corners have this wobble on the screen panel itself. The bottom left and right corners do not. Could someone please touch their upper corner and tell me if it moves in and out? You should not need to apply pressure, just a gentle touch to see if there is resistance. This sucks. Getting a new unit is not going to be easy.

I don't have colour uniformity issues that I noticed btw. But the bleed is annoying.

Edit: Added picture, looks a bit worse in the photo than it does in real life, but you get the idea.. it's the upper left corner that is worst.. I don't actually notice the bottom left one surprisingly.

 

[alsheron]

UPDATE: Well, I got a call from NEC who said that (surprise surprise) they "can't see that there is a "fault"". So I asked the woman if she had seen the pic I sent with the middle cut out to emphasise the difference between left and right and she called me back after checking to say that yes she could see the difference (would have been moronic for her to deny it) but that the "background of the picture" i.e. the wall was also uneven and so she couldn't accept the difference in colour uniformity on the monitor was due to a "fault", It really is true that sometimes people cannot see what they dont WANT to see and consequently just end up being VERY difficult to deal with. I kept cool and calm though (getting irate would have made her dig her heels in even more - basic psychology) although I have to say, her reply to seeing the pic with the middle cut out made me want to go "AAAAARRRRRRGGGH!!!" down the phone.

I then sent her another pic with an "even background" i.e. lighting and with the middle cut out and the same very clear difference in colour from left to right on the monitor. She said she'd send the pic onto an "technician", and it's now been 2 days and I haven't heard from them since.

At the moment then, with NEC, it simply comes down to what they are willing to label as a "fault". To my mind, the difference in colour from left to right, although relatively subtle and more obvious to some than others, is a fault, since as far as I and others here can see, it's pretty distinct and quite obvious. The thing that frustrates me is that I can't help but feel that were it not down to the costs of owning up to a fault, NEC would be much more open to accepting the problem and working towards resolving it. They are no different than any other company and I CAN understand their wish to make sure that unnecessary costs are kept to a minimum. It does, however, make the customers experience when dealing with them, much, much more difficult.

All I really want is for them to:

a) Take the problem seriously - who's to say that the issue can't be remedied in future revisions by something relatively simple - IF they take the issue seriously, accept it, and acknowledge it and feed back to info to the factory/manufacturing plant/LG

b) Send me a replacement monitor when batch 2 is made and available. It may be exactly the same, but I doubt it could be any worse.

I'll e-mail them now to see what they have to say but I still think that it would make a huge difference to ALL OF US here if all of us with the problems so many seem to be having get in touch with NEC and report the problem. You'll be doing yourself, and everyone else a big favour by not just ignoring and "living with" these defects.

UPDATE #2:

NEC have said that they have sent the unit to Head Office for further technical testing. Promising, and I must admit I'm appreciative of them taking the problem seriously. Hopefully something good will come of this....... Stay tuned.

 

[Microcuts]

I have been looking for a monitor for some time, and I singled out this NEC EA231WMi, as well as the Samsung F2380M (a f2380 but with hdmi and built-in-speakers).
I'm leaning towards this NEC, because it has displayport functionality, and I use a Macbook with dp out. I also heard that this IPS panel performs better dan the samsung's cPVA.

Would this be a good choice? I can get it shipped to me for about 350 euros.
I will be mainly using it for basic web design (photoshop), a lot of programming, a bit of gaming, and I plan to buy a bluray player in the future to watch movies on it too (using a hdmi to dvi adapter).

Also, can someone who has this monitor measure the space between the table etc it's on and the bottom of the screen when the monitor is on it's highest position?

Thanks!

 

[sippm]

You mentioned the DP functionality and speakers as a feature you like.

I don't think Macbook DP supports audio out at this time, so if that is true you will see no gains with DP over HDMI (which the Samsung has but NEC lacks), except for perhaps slightly more bandwidth in the cable and thus up to 83hz refresh rate if you wish to fool around with that (see above).

Can't comment on the panel compare, but I haven't heard great things about that cPVA panel, but for your needs it might be fine.

 

[Microcuts]

Thanks for your reply.
I only mentioned the dp connection as a feature I like. I don't care at all about the speakers because I already have a really nice 2.1 Syrincs M3-220 setup.

 

[chrisliv]

Gee,

I've already got my EA231WMi on an aftermarket arm, so I'll let someone else give you their accurate measurement. But I will mention that the NEC stand is very good. It actually has two 4-point mounting positions for the stand or a VESA 100 mount, which enables the display to be raised pretty high and also quite low to the desktop.

Yes, Apple doesn't yet enable audio over its mini-DP or any other video cable, but the 3.5 mm audio cable that is included does enable the speakers; you just select that function in the display Menu. I'm using this display with a 2009 Mac Mini over the DP, with the audio out of the Mac over an Optical cable to a Dolby system. I watch EyeTV on it (which now supports Dolby Sound with Snow Leopard) while websurfing and some HD content via iTunes.

It does look like Apple will, for the most part, skip over the HDMI standard. And that's not a problem with the EA231WMi (as you seem to know), as it has the DVI port, too, which is perfectly adaptable to a HDMI Blu-Ray player, which you'll probably want to have its audio going out to a 5.1 Dolby system, anyway, but may also be able to use the display speakers via the Mac Audio Input port or with a thumb-sized USB audio card.

I'm using this monitor for some of the things you're intending to do, and I'm enjoying it very well. But it may be somewhat of a gamble, as a good number of people seem to be having a color shift problem, which I'm not having at all, especially after having broken it in, so to speak. My color and backlight uniformity seem very good, and even better than my former IPS Dell 2005WFP display, which was great. But, I lived in Las Vegas for about 20 years, and maybe I have a bit of a non-casino gambling streak.

The 16:9 aspect ratio is great for Photoshop palettes and other windows kept out of the way.

So, I say, go for it. But, do have an exit strategy via a good return policy, as needed. And if you do get an EA231WMi that you are satisfied with, like I did, you will have a great IPS panel at an equally great value. I mean, four or five years ago my 20.1" Dell IPS panel did cost as much or more than the 23" NEC IPS panel, which is HDCP compliant for HD content viewing.

Please let us all hear how it goes with your display decision and final impression of whatever you do buy.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone

 

[10e]

I would guess that the "purple" 6500K with the red and blue values being far too high is from the left side, and the other, closer to the right?

That's a big difference in color values. Good luck with the replacement. Frickin' LG.

Thanks for all your hard work.

Kelvin values don't tell the whole story. Two different white points can have the same correlated color temperature, especially with fluorescent lighting. The difference is only around 500K across different parts of the screen, but the color balance changes significantly. That's a bigger problem than a simple color temperature shift.

<snip>

I'm also getting inconsistent color temperature readings, so it's hard to quantify this. I can only go by what the camera picks up and what I see with my own eyes, both of which pick up an obnoxious color shift across the screen. The uniformity doesn't have to be perfect. Most monitors don't have perfect uniformity. I just want tolerable uniformity without obnoxious color shifts.

 

[Microcuts]

It actually has two 4-point mounting positions for the stand or a VESA 100 mount

So you can mount the stand to the screen at two different positions? Then where are those two mounting positions located? One at the bottom center and one at the top center?

And that's not a problem with the EA231WMi (as you seem to know), as it has the DVI port, too, which is perfectly adaptable to a HDMI Blu-Ray player, which you'll probably want to have its audio going out to a 5.1 Dolby system, anyway, but may also be able to use the display speakers via the Mac Audio Input port or with a thumb-sized USB audio card.

I'll probably stick with my active 2.1 set (which actually has a 2.0 input) for a pretty long time, and most bluray players have an analog 2.0 out along with a hdmi out, so that's perfect for me.

But it may be somewhat of a gamble, as a good number of people seem to be having a color shift problem, which I'm not having at all, especially after having broken it in, so to speak.

Yeah, I've read about that. Question is: you don't have the problem or you just don't notice it. It could be that people complaining about the shift are used to much better screens, and notice even a small color shift. The only screens I have ever worked on are my led-backlit macbook screen, and a cheap ag/neovo 17" screen, so I think I wouldn't notice, or could live with a small color shift.

 

[chrisliv]

Yeah,

The mounting points are at the center and also at another upper section, about 1.5" higher, i.e., which allows the monitor to go lower.

Interestingly, if you really want to exploit the vertical height potential of the monitor and stand, you could easily do so by fabricating a simple flat steel plate with two sets of four hole that probably don't even need to be threaded/tapped. This is possible because the backside of the monitor and a mounting facia of the stand are both perfectly flat. So, the typical screws would mount the plate to the display and some small bolts/screws with nuts could fasten the stand to the flat plate.

I mean, that would probably be an elegant solution if you want to gain up to about 6" in height. Any more than that would undoubtedly show the plate.

I used three Apple laptops before going, primarily, to a Mac Mini (G4 and Intel C2Duo) with the Dell panel, and now the NEC panel. So, you'll undoubtedly enjoy the size and definition upgrade with the EA231WMi, and unlike the 24" Apple display (ACD), it has a port for a Blu-Ray player or another computer, etc., which was one of the reasons I preferred it over the ACD.

So, I don't know if my monitor viewing standards are lower than others here, or if I just got lucky.

Also, since you're an Apple user and code guy (I don't do code), you may know that the Snow Leopard OS has reduced the four degrees of text smoothing that Plain Leopard offered in the System Preferences. I'm guessing that Apple will return those Preferences in an Update, though. But there are Terminal commands that allow for numerical values to gain back the same text smoothing selections that Plain Leopard offered. Currently, Snow Leopard only allows On or OFF in the System Preferences, and ON is reported to sometimes misidentify ANY monitor besides an Apple one as a CRT, which may be less than optimum. So, I've got text smoothing turned OFF, but text looked about as good at the ON default. But I may experiment with some of the Terminal commands to try some of the other settings (Light, Medium, Heavy).

Peace to you,
C. Livingstone

 

[Microcuts]

Thanks for all the info! I appreciate it.
Only question left for anyone else out there with this screen:

Also, can someone who has this monitor measure the space between the table etc it's on and the bottom of the screen when the monitor is on it's highest position?

 

[sippm]

I have approx. 6.5 inches from table to bottom of the screen when it is extended to highest position on the built in stand.

 

[Gambit]

Just to clarify, is that bottom of the screen or bottom of the bezel?

 

[sippm]

Bottom of the bezel.

 

[Microcuts]

Ok, thanks, I think I'll go for this screen.
Return policies are defined by law in my country, so if I don't like it I can always return it

 

[sippm]

That's cool. What country do you live in? All my monitor/TV purchases are driven by return policies of the vendor, with price coming in second. It would be nice to have such a law in the US =)

 

[Microcuts]

The Netherlands, the minimum stores must offer is only seven days, though.

I have been looking on a sort of ebay, specific for my country, and I noticed a Dell UltraSharp&#8482; 2407WFP for just 330 euros with 1.5 years of warranty left.
It's only 30 minutes of driving from where I live so I can go and take a look before I buy.

It's a S-PVA panel and I heard those have a pretty slow response time (ghosting), so my question is will this be suitable for gaming?
I don't game much and I don't have high demands, so I wouldn't mind a little bit of ghosting, but if it's all blurry it will be a problem.

I also want to be able to watch movies on it, but I don't think movies have ghosting problems right? (as they are only 24fps)

Other downside is that this screen has no displayport, but that is solved with a simple adapter for around 30 euros, which puts the total costs at 360 euros: the same I would pay for a new NEC EA231WMi.

 

[ToastyX]

Ok, so even at 75Hz the Dell beats out the NEC at 83Hz because of the lack of overdrive?

Slightly, and only with motion clarity. Neither has any significant lag.



Lag Results

Dell 2209WA vs. NEC EA231WMi at 74.6 Hz (DVI):


Dell 2209WA vs. NEC EA231WMi at 60 Hz (DVI):


There isn't a significant difference between the two, but if you look very closely at the full size pictures, you can see extremely small differences, probably due to the response time.

I was surprised to see the Dell accept the 1080p at 74.6 Hz signal. In that case, the Dell is scaling down. I also tried the Dell's native resolution, 1680x1050, so the NEC would be scaling up instead, but there still wasn't a significant difference between the two.



CRT vs. NEC EA231WMi at 75 Hz (VGA):


CRT vs. NEC EA231WMi at 60 Hz (VGA):


Testing against a CRT shows a slight discrepancy: the NEC seems to be slightly slower than the Dell, at least over VGA. If you look very closely at the full size pictures, you can see the bottom number just barely starting to come in on the NEC, but the Dell would have shown a clearer number at that point.

Either way, the difference isn't significant. We're talking about a couple of ms at most. Neither monitor has any significant lag.

 

[Armatoste]

Excellent testing, Toasty. Would you recommend one over the other or just get the one that fits your needs best?

 

[Microcuts]

Okay, I read some good reviews about the Dell 2407WFP so I contacted the seller and I can pick it up tomorrow

I chose this screen over the NEC EA231 because of the 16:10 ratio, which I will probably like much more then 16:9.

 

[haggis]

ToastyX, do you know if the EA231WMi supports component signals over the VGA port, like the 2209WA does?

 

[ToastyX]

That last image was still at 75 Hz. I have replaced it with the correct image. The results are the same either way.

Excellent testing, Toasty. Would you recommend one over the other or just get the one that fits your needs best?

It's hard to say. The Dell has a slight edge in motion clarity and the blues are slightly more accurate, but the NEC has a higher resolution and can scale 16:9 resolutions properly for game consoles and Blu-ray players, and movies are actually 1.6" larger due to the wider aspect ratio. The NEC also supports a lower brightness and has higher contrast. Uniformity is a crapshoot on both of them.

ToastyX, do you know if the EA231WMi supports component signals over the VGA port, like the 2209WA does?

It doesn't. That's a special feature on the Dell that most monitors don't have.

 

[vjcsmoke]

Is it just me or does the Dell 22" look the same size as the NEC 23"?? What gives?

Should I get the NEC 23" Or the Dell U2410?? Or just wait for the U2711 to come out?

UPDATE: So I decided to take the plunge and order this monitor! I got it for under $340 shipped and they assured me that I could return it if it had defective pixels with no restocking fee. *crosses fingers and hopes that it's everything it's been hyped up to be*

EDIT: I just realized somebody said this monitor doesn't come with Displayport cable. Doh! So should this one work for me just fine?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=displayport_cable-_-12-816-072-_-Product

 

[Armatoste]

The NEC is actually a tad shorter but much wider than the Dell. I'd recommend getting a DP cable from monoprice instead, although newegg does ships insanely fast.

 

[sippm]

Where did you order from?

Is it just me or does the Dell 22" look the same size as the NEC 23"?? What gives?

Should I get the NEC 23" Or the Dell U2410?? Or just wait for the U2711 to come out?

UPDATE: So I decided to take the plunge and order this monitor! I got it for under $340 shipped and they assured me that I could return it if it had defective pixels with no restocking fee. *crosses fingers and hopes that it's everything it's been hyped up to be*

EDIT: I just realized somebody said this monitor doesn't come with Displayport cable. Doh! So should this one work for me just fine?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=displayport_cable-_-12-816-072-_-Product

 

[miomao]

Hello!
Happy EA231WMi purchaser from Italy.

There are my ICC profiles from calibration with Eye One Display 2.
Brightness: 50% (near the suggested 120 cd/m2)
Contrast: 50%
With "native" monitor colors.
http://rapidshare.com/files/304134173/E231WMi_NATIVE.icc.html

With RGB monitor settings.
Red: 100,0%
Green: 93,8%
Blue: 97,4%
http://rapidshare.com/files/304134640/E231WMi_1000_938_974.icc.html

Microsoft color management applet to apply ICC profiles to your XP desktop.
I think Vista/Seven already have an integrated applet (?)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1E33DCA0-7721-43CA-9174-7F8D429FBB9E&displaylang=en

I hope this would be useful to someone else to improve color accuracy...

 

[chrisliv]

Hey,

That's very cool of you to make your profiles available for download.

I tried them, and they work fine, even on my Mac computer. They are probably better kept on a PC/Microsoft system, though.

I've been using a canned Adobe or AppleRGB profile lately, but some of the other canned ones worked good for me too. When I follow the Apple calibration method to create a "calibrated" profile, they seem to turn out brighter or more washed-out than I like at 50% brightness and contrast.

It's nice to hear that you're enjoying your EA231WMi, too. I liked mine from the beginning, and I like even more now.

Peace to you,
C. Livingstone

 

[Yeastwood]

\There are my ICC profiles from calibration with Eye One Display 2...

Much obliged for taking the time to share w/ us. However, it would appear the links are already DEAD, as it states it can not be downloaded more than 10x's. If you could re-upload it to something better, say, Megaupload.com, FileFactory, or another file hosting service, I for one would be appreciative (as I'm sure many others would, too).

Thanks!

 

[wasabihouse]

I received mine last week and I found that the EA231WMi:
-Has the left/right color uniformity issue, although is just a little bit. It doesn't bother me at all. Everything else is just fantastic!
-I can't notice emitted noise.
-Low glow levels, just a little bit looking from extreme angles.
-The pixel pitch is perfect for me, 23" is not a brick on my desktop, fits nicely.
-Stand is sturdy and ergonomics kick ass!
-16:9 videos looks perfect, no black bars, although included speakers sucks
-Can't notice ghosting or similar issues watching movies. I haven't tested this display playing games, I use a plasma for that, so sorry guys.
-Max brightness is too high but can be adjusted to very low values, if you work at night.
-320€ is a fantastic price for this monitor.

Hello!
Happy EA231WMi purchaser from Italy.
There are my ICC profiles from calibration with Eye One Display 2.
I hope this would be useful to someone else to improve color accuracy...

@miomao: Thanks for sharing! I've just tested these ICCs & settings, and figured out that shows a slight reddish tone on my unit, so I use the included RGB mode and the "standard" mode. They look similar and very "neutral" and faithful to my eyes/standards.

Using DVI I have just 50 Hz (PAL) & 60 Hz (NTSC) under Snow Leopard's display preferences. Is it possible to obtain more frequency?
Anybody knows if Eye One Display 2 (HW/SW) works fine with Snow Leopard?

 

[Roch]

Which settings would users recommend as a starting point?
I've got a Gretag Eye One at work which I can bring home to use but I'm a bit lost on what to do initially, before I run the calibration. The main things i'm not sure on are;
brightness, mode, (native/srgb/1/2/3) and contrast. Also, should I turn eco off? I'll be using this on a gaming machine through display port btw.

Thanks in advance.

 

[chrisliv]

Gee,

I've never used any of those external calibration devises or software, only the inherent Apple calibration routine. But if I did, I'd probably use it to make a few ICC profiles. I'd do one in Native, one in sRGB, both at about 50% in brightness and contrast, with Eco mode off. Those might give you enough feedback to make more profiles for other uses or contexts.

Please let us all hear how it goes.

Peace to you,
C. Livingstone

 

[ToastyX]

Ugh, the replacement has four dirt specks embedded in the panel. It's already on the way back, and NEC is sending another replacement.

Here are two of them:


LG needs to clean their factory. This isn't the first time I've gotten an LG panel with dirt embedded in the panel. This isn't even the second time. Aren't LCD panels supposed to be manufactured in a clean room? Maybe it's not dirt, but I don't know what else could cast a shadow like that. It's hard to get a good picture because it looks like the shadow is behind the pixels, which makes it hard to focus.

The replacement is a newer build from September 2009, while the original is from August 2009. The revision is still 1A.

This one has the lighter gamma that I normally see with IPS panels:

This one is closer to 2.1. Although the gamma correction looks mostly straight, it's actually bringing down most of the colors slightly, while on the old one, it was bringing most of the colors up quite a bit. I didn't expect to see such a huge difference in gamma between two units. This shows how useless other people's color profiles are.

The new one has a little more bleeding in the upper-left corner:




The uniformity isn't great on the new one either. I don't know if it's better or worse. It's just bad in a different way.

You be the judge:


It doesn't look so bad in the picture, but there's a faint horizontal line halfway through the screen, which the original didn't have, and there's a bright spot in the lower middle that is greener along with the bottom, while the top and right are redder. This makes it impossible to calibrate the white point properly.

There's also about a 20% difference in brightness between the left side and the middle on both of them, and the right side looks worse on the replacement. That's a significant difference, but honestly, the brightness difference doesn't bother me so much. It's the hue differences that bother me, but maybe the brightness difference accentuates the hue differences, especially on the original where the left side has too much blue.

I'm getting frustrated with the uniformity. I never really cared about uniformity until I saw bad examples of it. Now I understand how important it really is. I'll have to see how the third one is like.

 

[ToastyX]

The pictures are bugging me because they're deceiving. From looking at the pictures, the new one doesn't seem so bad, but I swear it looks worse in person. I decided to enhance the pictures that I posted to make it more obvious:


Original:

Replacement:

The enhanced picture shows what I've described. The brightness uniformity is worse, and the brighter spot near the middle is in an area that is greener.


For comparison, here is an enhanced picture of the first Dell 2209WA vs. the one last one that I kept:

As you can see, the first one was awful. The one that I kept has significantly better color uniformity. You can still see differences but keep in mind these are exaggerated pictures, so the differences are very small. It's still much better than the NECs I've seen so far.

 

[Sunspark]

ToastyX, still waiting for the RMA.. store seems to be ignoring me on granting me one.. Seems like they are trying to run out the 15 days or something probably. While annoying, not absolutely so because I am going to use NEC if I have to.

Your bleeding photos confuse me. On my laptop I can't see anything except a completely black screen with a little blue light in the corner. You need to enchance the photos somehow by using a slower shutter speed.. I'm curious to see how it compares to mine..

Also toastyx, if you still have both (or even 1) of the units, could you please push on the upper left or right corners of the panel and tell me if you feel a bit of give?