NEC 23" IPS EA231WMi

About to pull the trigger on this monitor, so to everyone that's got one already: any regrets? Is it worth the extra cash over the 2209WA, or a 24" TN, given the 16:9 aspect ratio? Any chance of any photies? :p Also couldn't help but wondering whether the energy saving features can be turned off (i.e. the sensor that controls the panel brightness)... Overall, looks like a great display at a great price.
 
Thanks sippm :) Oh and Drky, no, I don't believe it's wide gamut. Of course, I'm frequently wrong...
 
nomu said:
Did you post screenshots to show us how your monitor looks?

...
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Yes, for what they're worth. I wanted to show the uniformity across the screen. No tint change. I also turned off the eco mode and auto brightness. Brightness is set at 40% and contrast is at 50% for my screen shots. I use this screen in a dark room so this seems plenty high for me. Also set dv to standard mode. I tried movie mode and it's sharper, but text appears over sharpened while web viewing.

Larry
 
I got impatient and ordered from Dell for $352.59 + tax (EPP 14% discount). I prefer them because I have never had problems returning/exchanging units. I would like to wait for a price drop, but I need one by Nov.

Ship date eta is 10/22/09. We'll see how fast it goes through. My 2209WA shipped within days of ordering, but I think this will be a different situation since its not a Dell model.
 
larryinlc said:
Yes, for what they're worth. I wanted to show the uniformity across the screen. No tint change. I also turned off the eco mode and auto brightness. Brightness is set at 40% and contrast is at 50% for my screen shots. I use this screen in a dark room so this seems plenty high for me. Also set dv to standard mode. I tried movie mode and it's sharper, but text appears over sharpened while web viewing.

Larry
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How is the backlight uniformity?, any dark/bright spots on white background?. Is the AG coating grainy?
 
rosh said:
How is the backlight uniformity?, any dark/bright spots on white background?. Is the AG coating grainy?
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Not sure what is meant by grainy ag coating. I have nothing to compare to except my Sony Vaio laptop which has a shiny screen and my Dell 2005FPW which is coated. As far as I can see, the coating on the NEC is identical to the Dell. It's what I'm used to and it seems fine to me.

As far a backlight, there are no dark/bright spots on a white screen. Also, it is completely black on an all black screen. Very uniform.
 
Thanks larry,

I meant a sparkle/grainy look due to anti-glare coating.
Any feature like colorcomp with in the monitor?
 
rosh said:
Thanks larry,

I meant a sparkle/grainy look due to anti-glare coating.
Any feature like colorcomp with in the monitor?
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I'm not at home right now, so I haven't really had time to look into all the features of the NEC. I'll do that tomorrow along with more performance measures. Still, I'm very pleased with this screen. Especially the most obvious stuff like backlighting, color, pixel problems and uniform tint. It's as perfect as one could expect in this regard.
 
AnXioZ said:
Sorry to ask, but are the speakers worth anything?
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I have not hooked them up yet, but by the looks of them...no:rolleyes: Slighty larger than a typical laptop speaker..

If there's anything anyone would like me to do or show, let me know and I'll do it tomorrow. I'm not the most savvy of monitor connoisseurs, so be patient with me.
 
larryinlc said:
Viewing angles are what I would expect. Perfect even when looking from the side. A very slight milkiness at extreme angles, but this is nit picking. Nothing like the old Dells. No color change at any angle. Here are four screen shots. Maybe not very useful, but it's pretty much how this monitor looks. Resized so some sharpness is lost. This is one great screen in my opinion. No ghosting that I can detect.

http://www.mwt.net/~check/screen.jpg


http://www.mwt.net/~check/screen1.jpg


http://www.mwt.net/~check/screen2.jpg


http://www.mwt.net/~check/screen3.jpg
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Why are you posting screen captures? That does nothing for us, it only captures the signal being sent to the screen, you have to use a camera.
 
Im most concerned about the power draw. The 28 Watt claim was in ECO mode.

LED Backlight monitors @ 23" will draw 20 Watts tops and the backlighting will be exceptionally bright.

Unfortunately IPS panel monitors are rare in 23" right now let alone finding one with an LED Backlight. NEC seems to have mitigated with with the ECO mode @ 28 Watts and a carbon footprint meter. But is this good enough?
 
I've been playing with eco mode. Two settings available. Energy saver and 30% power reduction. I don't like it as it automatically forces you to use auto brightness. It seems too dark to my eyes. Better to turn eco off and use your own settings.
 
Those ECO settings are what gives the 28 Watt usage. If you adjust it yourself, you burn more energy.

I understand the low brightness issues. It seems like an LED Backlight version of this monitor would better suit my needs because of energy usage. Now Im not so sure on this monitor.
 
Eco mode on the 2490 simply turns down the backlight. You can do the same thing manually and reach the same power levels.

I expect it is exactly the same thing ont he EA231.
 
With ECO you know you are getting 28 Watt in the most efficient setting and it has the carbon footprint meter and the like. That is the whole purpose of ECO mode.

With that being said: The lowest energy usage monitors right now are all TN panels with LED Backlighting for 23" and it is unfortunate I can't get an LED backlighting on an IPS model right now.

I wonder if that is in store for next year, since I doubt anything will come soon.

23" e-IPS is limited to Viewsonic and NEC right now and the NEC is more feature rich and a slightly superior monitor though I haven't seen reviews so I don't know. Only 2 models to choose from for eIPS. Viewsonic should be out soon.

I haven't seen anything in the 23" in any IPS variant other than these 2 monitors right now and 23" is what I am looking at since it has the 1920x1080 resolution.

Viewsonic doesn't cut the mustard and NEC is superior. I don't believe LG or Philips have any IPS 23" as of yet.
 
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adamj023 said:
With ECO you know you are getting 28 Watt in the most efficient setting and it has the carbon footprint meter and the like. That is the whole purpose of ECO mode.

I haven't seen anything in the 23" in any IPS variant other than these 2 monitors right now and 23" is what I am looking at since it has the 1920x1080 resolution.

Viewsonic doesn't cut the mustard and NEC is superior. I don't believe LG or Philips have any IPS 23" as of yet.
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You will get the same guarantee if you turn the backlight manually down to minimum. As far as an carbon footprint meter. That is just a silly gimmick.
 
No its not. It shows the actual savings. Thats the whole point of ECO and why if I got this monitor it would be in ECO mode the whole time. ECO mode isn't a gimmick.

ECO mode forces the settings on you so you know you are reaching the optimal usage and it gives you information feedback to show what is actually happening and combined with your energy bill can save money. ECO for those environmentally conscious people like me who are trying to save is just a better way of doing things.
 
adamj023 said:
No its not. It shows the actual savings. Thats the whole point of ECO and why if I got this monitor it would be in ECO mode the whole time. ECO mode isn't a gimmick.

ECO mode forces the settings on you so you know you are reaching the optimal usage and it gives you information feedback to show what is actually happening and combined with your energy bill can save money. ECO for those environmentally conscious people like me who are trying to save is just a better way of doing things.
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No it doesn't show actual savings. Yes it is just a gimmick(The eco part is). I actually have an NEC monitor with this and I use it.

ECO mode is nothing more than backlight preset. It has 3 settings 75%/50%/custom (I set custom to 0%).

All it does is report some kind estimate based on the difference between 100% and the the current ecomode brightness preset. 99% of the time I run my monitor at 0% because it is bright enough. So Ecomode does nothing, yet it reports that I have saved 111KWh, because it makes the assumption that I would run at 100% if I didn't use ecomode. Which is a ridiculous assumption.

I wouldn't be surprised if 5 years ago the same function was simply called backlight preset.
 
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Really disappointed that this monitor is not glossy like Nec's other models. How much longer are we going to have to wait for an affordable glossy IPS monitor? There is a market for one. Why not just make it?
 
Is this monitor available in canada yet anywhere? I have been looking all around at sites like dell and ncix, but I can't seem to find it. I just ordered a dell 2209wa with the deal of the day price today, but I was really hoping to get this monitor so I could also hook up my PS3 and use 3 of them in an eyefinity setup.
 
Yeah,

Thanks for posting the photos, Larry.

I called B & H Photo today, to check the status of my 5 or 6 week old pre-order. They didn't have much to tell me except that they will contact me as soon as it ships. But, I'm encouraged by the comments and photos that my purchase will be a good one.

I like the fact that its not an energy hog, but I won't obsess about it. My 2009 Mac Mini is supposedly 45% more energy efficient than my old PPC Mac Mini. And, I think the best way to save on energy bills and to deny the State taxes on same with a monitor is to set it the way you want to view it, then set the monitor to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity, which uses less than a watt, I think. So, if someone really feels guilty about using or exhaling CO2, I suppose they could not buy a monitor at all or sip as little air as possible or even hold their breath frequently.

And maybe that little light sensor will be helpful at adjusting the monitor to room lighting conditions at different time of day.

Anyway, I'm now giving myself permission to have some healthy anxiety about the EA231WMi arriving to me soon.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
I have this Hitachi monitor CRT for over 10 years. People I know bought loads of other brand monitors which broke on them and one thing was in common, they were all chinese or taiwanese manufacturers.

I have had excellent results with Panasonic and Hitachi. Panasonic had a Viewsonic brand at the time when I bought my Panasonic which was also manufactured by Matsushita. Hitachi doesn't have anything to offer.

NEC is Japanese brand as is Viewsonic and I have heard excellent things about NEC's. So both of these vendors fit the bill.

Eizo is Japanese and is very expensive. Lacie is also very pricey but it is actually French and American and I am not sure about the brand. Iilama had a 22" IPS for $700+ which is Japanese but is outside of my price range and too small.

Viewsonic + NEC are the only brands as of right now I will consider. I do not do Taiwan or Chinese firms for display technologies. I won't even do OEM/ODM brands which are made by Taiwanese/Chinese manufacturers.

I understand that Apple Cinema displays are outsourced and the truth is, the longevity of the device is in my honest opinion suspect. In fact a quick google search shows loads of pink apple display problems on the Apple Cinema displays.

Japanese are the leaders with the know how, knowledge and experience on display technologies and have excellent quality of workmanship and yes I am fully aware that LG makes the panels.
 
larryinlc said:
For what they're worth, three camera shots. Ignore the poor focus. Impossible to photograph a screen properly. I upped the brightness a bit on the white screen shot, but there is no tint difference from left to right or top to bottom. The black shots are as they were taken out of the camera. No modifying.

http://www.soochx.org/images/screen1.jpg

http://www.soochx.org/images/screen2.jpg

http://www.soochx.org/images/screen3.jpg
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I'm amazed by the excellent brightness uniformity of your model. If your camera is accurate, then the performance of this unit is exceptional.
 
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Yes, the uniformity is perfect on my panel. I'm amazed at the lack of bleed. If you could see it in person, the all black screen is all black. Same goes for white. I suppose I got lucky with this as they tend to be a crapshoot. I am totally happy with the NEC. Again, a far cry from my Dell 2005fpw. That thing had bleed all over the place and was not nearly as uniform as the new one. I thought the Dell was good, but....

By the way, I used a Pentax K20D dslr with a Zeiss 50mm lens mounted on a tripod to take the shots. The only potentail problem with the photo gear would be me, the photographer:D
 
larryinlc said:
Yes, the uniformity is perfect on my panel. I'm amazed at the lack of bleed. If you could see it in person, the all black screen is all black. Same goes for white. I suppose I got lucky with this as they tend to be a crapshoot. I am totally happy with the NEC. Again, a far cry from my Dell 2005fpw. That thing had bleed all over the place and was not nearly as uniform as the new one. I thought the Dell was good, but....

By the way, I used a Pentax K20D dslr with a Zeiss 50mm lens mounted on a tripod to take the shots. The only potentail problem with the photo gear would be me, the photographer:D
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I'd agree that panel uniformity in brightness and color looks very good too. I also notice there is no "silver shimmer" or white glow on the black background shot taken from the side > screen3.jpg. Is this how it looks live? If so that's certainly surprising. Normally you see a mirror like glow creep in on the far side with standard polarized e/H-IPS panels but I don't see it here. The glow is similar to the off-angle violet glow you see on the 2005FPW on black backgrounds. If that's what it looks like in real live, that's pretty impressive.
 
Oh man, that thing looks sexy! My only concern now is ghosting, and I will most probably pull the trigger. Finally a monitor thats worth it.

Moar pictures please :D
 
10e said:
I'd agree that panel uniformity in brightness and color looks very good too. I also notice there is no "silver shimmer" or white glow on the black background shot taken from the side > screen3.jpg. Is this how it looks live? If so that's certainly surprising. Normally you see a mirror like glow creep in on the far side with standard polarized e/H-IPS panels but I don't see it here. The glow is similar to the off-angle violet glow you see on the 2005FPW on black backgrounds. If that's what it looks like in real live, that's pretty impressive.
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There is a very slight amount of glow. And I mean very slight. It's nearly undetectable, compared to the 2005fpw. I have my brightness set at 50 and I suppose the glow would be more evident if I were to increase settings. This monitor is not perfect, but compared to the Dell, it's better. Straight on viewing, the Dell is good at handling bright colors and light. Dark or black, not so good. Bleed was the biggest factor. The NEC really does a nice job with dark colors and black. Wonderful for viewing movies.

Please take my opinions at your own risk. I might not be as discerning as some here where monitors are concerned. I do know this....the NEC is a NICE step up from the Dell which it is replacing.
 
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Gee,

Larry, I'm upgrading from a Dell 2005FPW, too, which has been a great monitor. And I guess the upgrade is mostly for the larger video screen, aspect ratio, etc., so it is nice to hear your comments, because they correlate to my situation well. I'm not a gamer or a video guru, either.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
I'll take your word for it that it is very slight which sounds good.

I also noticed my 2005FPW has black crush/ie. washed out darks.

Thanks much for the info, and enjoy.

larryinlc said:
There is a very slight amount of glow. And I mean very slight. It's nearly undetectable, compared to the 2005fpw. I have my brightness set at 50 and I suppose the glow would be more evident if I were to increase settings. This monitor is not perfect, but compared to the Dell, it's better. Straight on viewing, the Dell is good at handling bright colors and light. Dark or black, not so good. Bleed was the biggest factor. The NEC really does a nice job with dark colors and black. Wonderful for viewing movies.

Please take my opinions at your own risk. I might not be as discerning as some here where monitors are concerned. I do know this....the NEC is a NICE step up from the Dell which it is replacing.
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Has anyone that preordered through B&H received their NEC EA231WMi monitor yet? Seems like other places have them in stock, but B&H doesn't have much to say about when I might be getting mine. Sorry that I'm so impatient, but dammit! I want my monitor!!! :(
 
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