NEC 23" IPS EA231WMi

Just received mine. Very impressed with it so far.

I've checked the backlight on a black image and I do not see any problems. It looks 100% uniform. The only problem I see is a stuck pixel - it's red on a white background or black on a darker (blue) background. I'm going to try one of the stuck pixel videos to fix that.
 
HowzThat said:
On a side note: I have noticed that uniformity of my monitor is at its worst when first powered on. Any tint appears to fade after about half an hour of use. The backlight obviously needs time to warm up.

I have heard reports from other people that have uniformity issues that their monitors appear to get better with this problem over time. Maybe IPS monitors need to be worn in?
Click to expand...
Color uniformity? or backlight uniformity?
 
eddieck said:
I've checked the backlight on a black image and I do not see any problems. It looks 100% uniform. The only problem I see is a stuck pixel - it's red on a white background or black on a darker (blue) background. I'm going to try one of the stuck pixel videos to fix that.
Click to expand...
Same here. I have to say I did not notice it (not even when I was checking the uniformity) until I used one of the dead/stuck pixel test images. I tried JScreenFix for 20 mins. Did not help. Not sure if I'm brave enough to try the other way of fixing...
 
XMonkey-v2.0 said:
Color uniformity? or backlight uniformity?
Click to expand...



AFAI am aware the colour bias which appears on screen is causally related to uneven backlighting.

So for example pink tint on the right side of your screen, this is actually a result of the backlight being dimmer on one side of the screen compared to the other. When you measure the screen with a calibration device you should see results along the lines of: lower luminance on the right side of the screen with a correspondingly lower Kelvin figure for color temperature and hence warmer (or redder -> pinker) looking colour.

The reverse applies when you have a green/yellow tint on the other side of the screen -> brighter backlight -> higher luminance->higher colour temperature-> bluer/greener colour tint

Amateur explanation I know, but then I AM an amateur (and learning as i go). However you can read up more about this on eizo forum's,luminous landscape forum, prad and tftcentral (and I think also dpreview forum).

Some quite knowledgeable people and their explanation for colour bias on screen is similar to my own admittedly fumbling explanation.
 
I just hooked up mine today and I've been playing around with it for awhile now. First and foremost - I absolutely love it. My old Samsung S-PVA crapped out on me last week, so I had to find a replacement pretty fast, and I've always wanted an IPS. The colors, contrast and text on this thing are amazing, and so far it's been worth the wait.

I've been using my wife's crappy TN panel for the past few days though, so perhaps my enthusiasm is from that transition, but all in all I'm very happy with the purchase.

I'm using TFT Centrals color profiles and it looks great - Native, 60 brightness, 50 contrast, ECO off. I haven't played around with Photoshop yet though.

I displayed a full gray screen and the color uniformity isn't perfect, but it's very good. Nothing nearly as bad as the screenshots posted earlier in this thread. With a black background, light uniformity is decent. It must be the IPS, but I noticed that the light bleed looks different on this monitor than most. Like on a TN, light bleed almost looks like flashlights coming out of the corners - while on this IPS it's not as distinct, and instead gives the area a highlighted sheen. Regardless, it still results in non-uniformity.

It's also a bit odd getting used to 16:9, but it's fine.

Did a bit of TF2 gaming - seems perfectly responsive to me.

Love this monitor. Highly recommended.
 
I'm using TFT Centrals color profiles and it looks great - Native, 60 brightness
Click to expand...

Another satisified customer.This monitor sure looks like its a winner for NEC! :D

I'm using TFT Centrals color profiles and it looks great - Native, 60 brightness,
Click to expand...

Don't you find brightness at 60% too bright? :eek:
 
Yeah,

Someone here recommended the next step down to 46.9%, instead of 50% Contrast, to improve text a little, which it really does.

And, it's no secret that I'm diggin' my EA321WMi, even coming from the very well rated IPS Dell 2005 FPW.

Peace to you all,
C. Livingstone
 
HowzThat said:
AFAI am aware the colour bias which appears on screen is causally related to uneven backlighting.

So for example pink tint on the right side of your screen, this is actually a result of the backlight being dimmer on one side of the screen compared to the other. When you measure the screen with a calibration device you should see results along the lines of: lower luminance on the right side of the screen with a correspondingly lower Kelvin figure for color temperature and hence warmer (or redder -> pinker) looking colour.

The reverse applies when you have a green/yellow tint on the other side of the screen -> brighter backlight -> higher luminance->higher colour temperature-> bluer/greener colour tint

Amateur explanation I know, but then I AM an amateur (and learning as i go). However you can read up more about this on eizo forum's,luminous landscape forum, prad and tftcentral (and I think also dpreview forum).

Some quite knowledgeable people and their explanation for colour bias on screen is similar to my own admittedly fumbling explanation.
Click to expand...
Interesting, thanks. I did notice on the bluer side of my monitor that the color temperature was higher, but I seem to recall that the luminance was actually lower than the right (warmer) side. I'll leave the monitor on for a few hours and re-measure to see.
 
Even 30 % feels a bit bright to my eyes. Then again I'm coming an old CRT that had really dark image. Kind of annoying to now see my own photos and photoshops that I previously had thought looked right... :D
 
Meanwhile said:
Same here. I have to say I did not notice it (not even when I was checking the uniformity) until I used one of the dead/stuck pixel test images. I tried JScreenFix for 20 mins. Did not help. Not sure if I'm brave enough to try the other way of fixing...
Click to expand...

You're gonna have to leave it on for longer than that. I had a stuck pixel on a BenQ TN panel :):shudders::) I tried out last year. Left JScreen on for a few hours and it seemed to have largely went away.

For those claiming 100% uniformity: pix or it didn't happen :)
 
Yeastwood said:
You're gonna have to leave it on for longer than that. I had a stuck pixel on a BenQ TN panel :):shudders::) I tried out last year. Left JScreen on for a few hours and it seemed to have largely went away.
Click to expand...
20 min was the suggested time on the instructions. Altough I was already planning to do a longer run later.
 
Hmmm... are you really sure it was the original 2490 and not the 2490WUXi2?
The second version was reported to have quite crappy viewing angles

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1447336
scroll down for the photographs

HowzThat said:
Well...I was doing a bit of post purchase validation last week. :)
Yes I was already happy with my monitor but I just had to see how it compared etc etc. Confirmation and all that.:D

Well I thought I would mosey on down to the local store and check me out some NEC 2490's again. I was considering these at one stage and they were/are reputed to be the best displays ATM.

Ultimate comparison? Maybe
Preparing to be let down by my NECEA231? You betchya :D

Now before I continue let me just say that pic quality of the EA231 was in my head but I see it everyday so its kinda fresh and I tested veiwing angles of the monitor to excess.

Talk about post purchase validation!!!:D

I don't know whether I was shocked at the less than stellar image quality of the 2490wuxi x5 or whether I was rapt that my EA231 (in my mind at least) matched the 2490wuxi in picture quality/viewing angles/graininess.

The NEC 2490wuxi upon close inspection did have grain and compared to EA231 looked to be about the same level of coating. IOW grain would not have been avoidable by going the NEC 2490 route.

Viewing angles: Wow. This is were the 2490 is supposed to shine esp. with the A-TW polarizier. So disappointing! At 170 up/down left/right I was seeing a semi washed out picture with (and this is hard to believe) white glow! Does the A-TW polarizer need to be turned on/activated or something? Maybe the shop forgot to do this with their 2490wuxi's?
Because viewing angles sure weren't better than the EA231wmi and on reflection may have even been worse!

Picture quality head on was about the same. This was a tie. I could not seperate the monitors. The EA231 would have had to be side by side to discern any differences.

Needless to say I am grinning. :D And I re-asses my view of the NEC2490wuxi. The Apple Cinema Display is the king of the pro monitors (but its Apple EWW!:))
And I re-confirm my opinion that the 2490wuxi is overpriced (cos the advanced electronics don't seem to making for a better picture).
Click to expand...
 
For recent purchasers of this monitor:

Did anyone buy from provantage? If so, can you report on the quality of your display? Mine shipped out from New Jersey, should be arriving tomorrow.
 
For those claiming 100% uniformity: pix or it didn't happen
Click to expand...

Second this. I haven't seen a perfectly uniform 231,U2410 or 2475 EVER. I want evidence before I believe it!

And for me another reason the EA231 is such a good monitor, because at least from majority of reports (bar 4 reported bad ones so far) and judging by my own screen the EA231 has the least amount of uniformity issues from all reasonably priced IPS screens on the market ATM.


Hmmm... are you really sure it was the original 2490 and not the 2490WUXi2?
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking when I was standing there. But...

Clearly labelled on the top of the monitor was 2490wuxi. No 2...just wuxi.

So clearly i was like WTF, this monitor is just supposed to be WOW for viewing angles.

Unless...these were some second hand cheap refurb models that the store got a massive discount on...which might explain the less than stellar performance I was expecting.

They were working/functional models after all and there were something like > 30 on the floor. Whatever it does not matter...for me post purchase validation complete.... I don't think I want to see a stellar example 2490wuxi...I am happy in dream land for the time being.;):D
 
I'm seriously thinking about getting this monitor, but I have a quick question. Can this monitor do 1920x1080 @ 75hz? The reason I ask is because 75hz on my old LCD almost completely removed tearing without me having to use vsync.
 
Amarq09 said:
For recent purchasers of this monitor:

Did anyone buy from provantage? If so, can you report on the quality of your display? Mine shipped out from New Jersey, should be arriving tomorrow.
Click to expand...
You can find some photos I took of the one I got from Provantage a few pages back. Basically, it's got some bad color uniformity problems, but otherwise is alright. I'm exchanging it, though.
 
erictooth said:
I'm seriously thinking about getting this monitor, but I have a quick question. Can this monitor do 1920x1080 @ 75hz? The reason I ask is because 75hz on my old LCD almost completely removed tearing without me having to use vsync.
Click to expand...

Didn't Toastyx show that this monitor can go up to 82Hz at that res? EDIT: So yes it can over VGA. Sorry overlooked. Not over DVI though. Quality v speed?


It seems like you're almost in luck! ;)

Found it here. From Toastyx's review:

Bad news: I can't get it to do 75 Hz at 1080p over DVI.

Good news: It can do up to 74.6 Hz at 1080p over DVI and 81 Hz at lower resolutions without skipping frames! It can also do 81 Hz at 1080p over VGA, but VGA is a bit blurry. I bet it can do 81 Hz at 1080p over DisplayPort, but I don't have a DisplayPort card. I will get one to test this.

These are the timing parameters I used to get 74.6 Hz at 1080p:

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
You can also use those settings to do 72 Hz at 1080p.

For 1080p at 81 Hz over VGA, I just used the default timing parameters:
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: 36
Vertical total: 1125

You can also use those parameters for lower resolutions over DVI, like 720p at 72 Hz:

Horizontal active: 1280
Horizontal front porch: 88
Horizontal sync width: 44
Horizontal back porch: 148
Horizontal total: 1560

Vertical active: 720
Vertical front porch: 4
Vertical sync width: 5
Vertical back porch: 36
Vertical total: 765

That also works for 720p at 81 Hz.
Click to expand...


This monitor handles the PlayStation 3 perfectly without screwing with the colors or distorting the aspect ratio.

1080p is perfectly 1:1 mapped without any banding or distortion, no 24 Hz support though
1080i is supported but the deinterlacing isn't great
720p is scaled properly
480p can be scaled to 16:9, something most monitors can't do, but aspect scaling is still 3:2

None of the modes have overscan.
Click to expand...
 
74.6 Hz over DVI
81 Hz over VGA
83 Hz over DisplayPort: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1034854552&postcount=403

Keep in mind, I only test what the monitor is capable of doing. EDID restrictions in Windows or the video driver might prevent you from running those refresh rates without installing a custom monitor information file, which I don't have. I haven't seen anyone confirm if those timing parameters work for them.
 
www.sparco.com
They are an authorized NEC dealer and last I checked had it for $327.41 free shipping.
That is where I got mine from. They seem to be a great company.
 
So I went ahead and got two NECs from pconnection.com for $659.92 ($329.96 each) with free shipping + no tax. They say they won't get them til the 6th, so I'd have to around two weeks before I get them.
 
Hey guys!

Thanks for all the info. you've provided thus far. This is what the interwebs all about.

Anyways, I'm seriously considering buying this monitor and had a question or two.

First, has anyone come across any noise issues with the monitor? Specifically, when you turn the brightness down passed a certain point? I ask because I just took back a Samsung 2494HM that produced a nasty hummmmm when turned below 88% brightness.

Also, I cant seem to find this thing on wall-marts web site. I've read that a few of you have? Any pointers? (forget this question, wall-marts sold out!)

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
toenexx said:
So I went ahead and got two NECs from pconnection.com for $659.92 ($329.96 each) with free shipping + no tax. They say they won't get them til the 6th, so I'd have to around two weeks before I get them.
Click to expand...

wow free shipping AND no tax, nice find.
 
I haven't had any noise issues with the monitor that are brightness related. It did buzz once while I was running one of the tests at lagom.nl, but I haven't been able to reproduce that, so I don't know what caused it.
 
duder1234 said:
Hey guys!

First, has anyone come across any noise issues with the monitor? Specifically, when you turn the brightness down passed a certain point? I ask because I just took back a Samsung 2494HM that produced a nasty hummmmm when turned below 88% brightness.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Nope. No noise on mine. Quiet as a mouse! :D

I know what you refer to however, as this was an issue for some Europeans with the 2490wuxi emitting a high pitched whine/humming.
 
Someone here said they bought 3 for their 5870, wondering if they all look good over the different interfaces from one single card.
 
Looks like Buy.com dropped the prices on the monitor to 307.99. I emailed them and asked for a price adjustment since I purchased mine for 341. Just got email from buy.com saying they would honor the lower price.
 
Just to keep those updated and informed: I've made my decision to try my hand at the lottery and am returning/exchanging the NEC (via Buy.com) for a new one in hopes it either has less uniformity issues or none at all.

Another thing I can tell you all is that, in my experience, I almost never notice the issue in gaming (except when being flashed in COD4 w/ an all white screen!) or movies. *HOWEVER*, in my line of work, Mudbox, 3ds Max, PhotoShop - all gray backdrops - it becomes blatantly obvious. I was using the Eye Dropper tool in PhotoShop to pick up a gray color from another source and wasn't initially sure if the one gray was different on its own merit, or different due to the uniformity issue. The problem was the poor uniformity of the monitor. If you're doing color critical work, you will have to look elsewhere. Also, since most websites have either white or gray backgrounds, you will notice the issue here as well.

It's a damn shame. If it wasn't for this one damn flaw, I would give this monitor a 10/10 score. After using TFTCentral's calibrated ICC color profile (and getting it to work), my eyes have had to re-adjust to seeing pure reds and blues for the first time in 5 years (when I last had a CRT)!!! Also as I've stated in the past, the input lag, ghosting or what-have-you is also very minimal; noticeably lower than my Dell 2005FPW.

Still waiting to see pix of people's "zero uniformity issue" claims!
 
I noticed TFTCentral's panel database now lists "LM230WF2 -SLA1" for this NEC. I am fairly sure when I last time happened to check it, only "LM230WF2" was listed (same for ViewSonic VP2365wb and still is - without "SLA1"). What this "SLA1" means? I noticed some other LG panels have "SLA1" and "SLA2" too, so I guess this additional model name comes from LG. But what it means?
 
Last edited:
Well, went ahead and pulled the trigger. I'll let you guys know how I like it.

Thanks again for an extremely informative thread!
 
bigheadanthony said:
Looks like Buy.com dropped the prices on the monitor to 307.99. I emailed them and asked for a price adjustment since I purchased mine for 341. Just got email from buy.com saying they would honor the lower price.
Click to expand...

Yeastwood said:
Just to keep those updated and informed: I've made my decision to try my hand at the lottery and am returning/exchanging the NEC (via Buy.com) for a new one in hopes it either has less uniformity issues or none at all.
Click to expand...
Buy.com is being accused of deceptive billing and privacy practices (also see here), so you'll want to be careful. They certainly won't get my business.
 
bcarr1122 said:
Buy.com is being accused of deceptive billing and privacy practices (also see here), so you'll want to be careful. They certainly won't get my business.
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm fully aware of these shady tactics to deceit costumers of having $12 charged to your CC or banking account every month!! But do note it's only if you click on their so-called 'rebate' or '$10 back savings' BS. Same happened to me when I placed an order at ZipZoomFly and clicked the so-called 'rebate promotion.' Found out about it, called up the company responsible, called "Complete Savings" (more like "Complete Bullsh!t!") and got fully refunded.

Usually, at least in the past, these things would be harmless or some BS that you could simply click "Cancel" once you found out about the true nature of these "savings" (some really do look legit), but this truly is a new despicable level of deceit that should be punishable, IMO.

Thanks for the head's up, though. And again to future purchasers, this isn't only Buy.com, but applies to ZipZoomFly and others, I'm sure, too.
 
It's also worth noting that some vendors match prices, and many of them have better reputations than buy.com. Those who want this monitor might consider their options.
 
Meanwhile said:
I noticed TFTCentral's panel database now lists "LM230WF2 -SLA1" for this NEC. I am fairly sure when I last time happened to check it, only "LM230WF2" was listed (same for ViewSonic VP2365wb and still is - without "SLA1"). What this "SLA1" means? I noticed some other LG panels have "SLA1" and "SLA2" too, so I guess this additional model name comes from LG. But what it means?
Click to expand...

it's the same panel, just LG.Display have slightly different revisions which is where the "SLA1" comes in. Thats the exact rev used in the EA231WMi, but the Viewsonic has an unconfirmed revision, not that it matters much really, it's just for completeness :)
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top