NEC LCD2690

Checked FedEx and it's arriving today! Apparently I live near one of their warehouses. Awesome.

$1699 may be their MSRP in the USA. Shopping around, I can easily find it at sub $1600 at a few respectable retailers. Provantage was priced at $1550 a few days ago, but as of yesterday I noticed the price drop. Good thing I waited.

EDIT: Received no more than an hour ago. Found out a few things...

- Manual > me. Figured out where to turn on/off the over drive feature.
- There really is a difference between DVI and analog. I had some odd ghosting on static images using analog. Switched to the DVI cable and that fixed it. The only minus is now I have to switch at the monitor and KVM switch to jump between my Mac and PC. Need to pick up a dual DVI KVM.
 
NEC service really tried to do what they could. Instead of a RMA sticker, I got a new screen today. The noise is indeed more silent, but on the right it can be heard well and has a different pitch now. So when I just was thinking about living with that noise, I dared to lower the brightness. Well, between 30 and 55% it got even louder than the previous screen. I called NEC support again, and they told me that the only thing they could do, is to pick it up and see if the noise is within specifications. I really don't know if that makes any sens, since it seems that a lot of the European versions have that noise. There is a German discussion about that monitor going an at www.prad.de and they also report that noise. Since the screen is working as designed, maybe I can sell it on ebay.

Rao
 
rao said:
NEC service really tried to do what they could. Instead of a RMA sticker, I got a new screen today. The noise is indeed more silent, but on the right it can be heard well and has a different pitch now. So when I just was thinking about living with that noise, I dared to lower the brightness. Well, between 30 and 55% it got even louder than the previous screen. I called NEC support again, and they told me that the only thing they could do, is to pick it up and see if the noise is within specifications. I really don't know if that makes any sens, since it seems that a lot of the European versions have that noise. There is a German discussion about that monitor going an at www.prad.de and they also report that noise. Since the screen is working as designed, maybe I can sell it on ebay.

Rao
Click to expand...

Thanks for telling us. It seems to me that if you buy a NEC in Europe you take a gamble, and that sending it back to NEC to be fixed, or to be exchanged for a new one, won't necessarily help much. Looks like basically most of the european NEC displays have this noise problem.

The trouble is that some of us are more sensitive to noise than others and we're cooked because the noise level and type we don't like is within NEC standards. There's not much that can be done about that. It is a shame for a great display to be let down in this way. I don't know how much you'd get on EBay. There's a new Samsung 26" coming out - I don't know anything about it - and who knows, maybe it will have a hum too...?

Difficult...

David.
 
I do not notice the noise that others have reported, but then again, my room isn't exactly silent with an air purifier running in the background. I can hear a static hum if I put my ear to the vent. Is that the same noise?
 
MarvynDT said:
I do not notice the noise that others have reported, but then again, my room isn't exactly silent with an air purifier running in the background. I can hear a static hum if I put my ear to the vent. Is that the same noise?
Click to expand...

Any clearly audible, pitched background noise will probably mask the high-pitched hum from the 2690. It is the high -pitched hum that is annoying. I cannot hear it sitting more than 60cm from the screen so I'd better try to get some stronger reading glasses! There are two noises from the back of the 2690 - the high-pitched hum and a sound like sizzling. The latter cannot be heard from the front on my machine. I don't know if the high-pitched hum is from static - it sounds too high to me to be a mains hum but I'm no expert.

David
 
Great. Mine hums. Pretty loudly. I can hear it from across the room now. It's louder at 100%, quietest at 50%, and loud at 0%, but at a different pitch. My guess is the hum is due to a faulty ballast or something on the CCFL. When the monitor is in standby, there is no noise; but, as soon as it lights up, whiiiiiiiine. I got mine on Tuesday, but started playing with it Wednesday. It was making the noise then, but the wife was watching TV, and drowning it out. I've been testing it today to write my own review, and now I can hear the noise very pronounced since the TV is off. I can hear it over the PC, normal talking, and the refrigerator running in the next room.

Here is a link to the video of the noise in relation to the brightness settings (QuickTime, only thing my borrowed camera records to):
http://www.filefactory.com/file/9fb0ae/

Mine is bought in the USA from www.APC-USA.net (Advanced P.C.).
Display sticker says Revision A1
Box says:
(BARCODE)
PN: (1P)LCD2690WUXi-BK
(BARCODE)
SN: (S)########XX UPC CODE 805736016420
(BARCODE)
08RZ2LAY ########XX
(L)
(serial # and last characters of bottom bar code are the same).

Here's the MonitorInfo cut/paste:
Monitor
Windows description......... Plug and Play Monitor
Manufacturer description.... LCD2690WUXi
Manufacturer................ NEC
————————————————————————————
Plug and Play ID............ NEC66CB
Serial number............... ########XX
EDID data source............ I2C bus (real-time)
————————————————————————————
Manufacture date............ 2007, ISO week 1
EDID revision............... 1.3
Display type and signal..... Digital
Sync input support.......... n/a
Screen size................. 550 x 340 mm (~27")
 
rao said:
Well, between 30 and 55% it got even louder than the previous screen. I called NEC support again, and they told me that the only thing they could do, is to pick it up and see if the noise is within specifications.
Click to expand...

I found a Russian sanitary standard on noise in working environments.

For CAD work the background noise should not be higher than 40 Db (A)
For a living room from 11PM to 7AM not higher than 30 Db (A)

basically my NEC 2690 was much louder than my case (oh well, I glued soundproofing mats in the case)

does anyone have a noise meter? ;)
 
jeeezzz... I'm fighting to cancel my order and to get back money. I don't want to risk after 3 subpixels getting another one with this noise problem. Hope I will get my money back.
 
Travbomb - have you had any feedback from the engineers with whom you raised this problem, please? Do they acknowledge that there is a problem?

2690 owners - grateful to know if anyone has successfully got rid of the high pitched noise problem either by getting a replacement 2690 from NEC Europe, or by NEC Europe repairing their (noisy) 2690?

Thanks

David
 
I don't know where in Europe you're situated. However, in most places as a consumer you have the right to return goods with-in the first or second week (without reason). If your monitor doesn't live up to expectations return it. When the product is brand new I wouldn't want to bother with warranty and the time that may take. Also, a good number of shops offer a zero (sub) pixel defect warranty for an up charge. Cost for that service usually runs between 80-100 Euros. I think it's well worth it considering you're going to be looking at a defective pixel a whole lot longer than you're going to remember the extra expense.
 
Hello all. I'm reading this thread since maybe page 12, since I want to buy 2690 in near future . As I'm from Europe (Slovakia), I was anxious about hum problems of some European 2690's. After reading your posts, it seems that LCDs you use in USA are silent. I think that this monitor is dual voltage, so it can accept both 120 and 220(240) V. I was thinking, that maybe this LCD is more inclined to hum if powered by higher voltage. Maybe if some of you who has problems could try to use 120V, I'm not sure, but there should be some converters 220->120V available . Maybe this could work as some workaround, the converters should not be very expensive (comparing this LCD :) . So if somebody could try this, please let us know results. Thanks.
 
Dubak said:
Hello all. I'm reading this thread since maybe page 12, since I want to buy 2690 in near future . As I'm from Europe (Slovakia), I was anxious about hum problems of some European 2690's. After reading your posts, it seems that LCDs you use in USA are silent. I think that this monitor is dual voltage, so it can accept both 120 and 220(240) V. I was thinking, that maybe this LCD is more inclined to hum if powered by higher voltage. Maybe if some of you who has problems could try to use 120V, I'm not sure, but there should be some converters 220->120V available . Maybe this could work as some workaround, the converters should not be very expensive (comparing this LCD :) . So if somebody could try this, please let us know results. Thanks.
Click to expand...


This is a very interesting idea. Which of these transformers would be right - http://www.remtrak.com/psu/ukusa.htm ? I don't know how many watts the transformer would have to handle

What are the risks of frying the 2690?

David
 
I think, that LCD will take around 150W so you should use 300W version. Hope that converter will be less noisy than LCD... :)
 
Dubak said:
Hello all. I'm reading this thread since maybe page 12, since I want to buy 2690 in near future . As I'm from Europe (Slovakia), I was anxious about hum problems of some European 2690's. After reading your posts, it seems that LCDs you use in USA are silent. I think that this monitor is dual voltage, so it can accept both 120 and 220(240) V. I was thinking, that maybe this LCD is more inclined to hum if powered by higher voltage. Maybe if some of you who has problems could try to use 120V, I'm not sure, but there should be some converters 220->120V available . Maybe this could work as some workaround, the converters should not be very expensive (comparing this LCD :) . So if somebody could try this, please let us know results. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure that will help you. I'm in USA running the display off of 120V, and I still have the hum. I think I'm going to try swapping it out with NEC (it's barely a week old) and see if that clears it up. Anybody else Stateside have the humming issue?
 
Guys you won't believe what happend to me. As I posted eariler I bought NEC 2690 WUXI (Poland, Europe) got 3 stuck pixel but found shop where for extra 100$ they give me return policy for stuck pixels. I send it back and wanted my money back. They said they will send me another lcd afetr they make sure that there is no stuck or dead pixels. I also send them info about this noise problem. Today they said that they will send me back my money because from all 6 NEC's 2690 WUXI, with all of them there was something wrong (they didn't say if ity was stuck or dead pixels or noise !!!). To get the sotry more interesting thay contacted NEC and guy told them that it's becasue, quote : "manufacture process isn't perfect, otherwise I would have to pay not arond 1500 for this monitor but 3 times more" Can you believe it ?! As customer I really don FUCKING care about their manufacture process!!! If it's shitty than they should close their comapany and not sell shit! NEC expalnation is like I would buy Toyota Yaris and it would brake after few days and Toyota would tell me that I should get Avalon (which is double price) if I was looking for quality!!! WTF !!! I will never ever again even look at NEC !
 
Well, at least you have been able to get your money back. I tried so, after 3 days, and there was no chance. Today I called NEC support again, to have my monitor picked up, that I got in exchange for the first one. I asked to have it checked, if the noise its making is within NECs specifications. I got a really interesting answer from the support guy, who said, that this doesn't make sense to him, because he could imagine, that if both of my new monitors showed the same problem, any other one would too. Somehow that's all I wanted to know. Maybe I should say, that for most people the monitor would be perfect, but since I am VERY sensitive to noise, my threshold might be just a little below average.

Rao
 
These are really sad news to hear. I strongly considered this display, since I'm graphic designer and illustrator, and good color display is very important for me (more so because I edit fashion photographs, where subtle nuances in texture and color are very important). I'm in Europe, and it looks like there are some serious issues with this display, especially if you take into account it's relatively high price and usual NEC quality.

I'll definitely wait with my NEC 2690WUXi purchase, maybe some of the issues will be solved in next few months. It's really disappointing to hear about those issues - first we had to go through several months of delaying, and now obviously half-finished product is released to market. I could understand if this happened on some lower class TN monitor, but to hear about such issues on TOP class display like this is quite frustrating. I always had great respect for NEC, and IMHO they make some of the best LCD display on market, but these reports point out to some rather serious issues.

Let's just hope NEC realizes this and solves those issues in next revision. Until then - no-go for me.
 
umbolo said:
These are really sad news to hear. I strongly considered this display, since I'm graphic designer and illustrator, and good color display is very important for me (more so because I edit fashion photographs, where subtle nuances in texture and color are very important). I'm in Europe, and it looks like there are some serious issues with this display, especially if you take into account it's relatively high price and usual NEC quality.
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat as you (graphic designer) and needed a new LCD/CRT to replacing a dying NEC FP912SB (one of the best 19" CRTs ever IMO) ASAP. I contacted NEC USA several times regarding my concerns about dead/stuck pixels. Not wanting to look at a flickering CRT anymore, I rolled the dice, purchasing the 2690 from Provantage, knowing a few things: 1) They dropped their price to sub $1500, 2) Provantage had a return policy although it was with a 20% restocking fee, and 3) 1 dead pixel meant RMA.

My initial impressions of the LCD were subpar. I could easily see the difference between my CRT and LCD and had a bit of buyer's remorse not wanting to deal with a display that was lower than my expectations. I probably spent the whole day with their online support (kudos to Steve Balgaroo) trying to diagnose the problem. Turns out, I had to use the DVI connection to get the best possible image. Now it looks just as it did with the CRT, at least in terms of clarity and sharpness.My next step is to use the Gretag on this and get the colors right.

I'm not sure how much of a difference there is in the manufacturing process between USA and Europe models, but it sounds terrible from what I'm reading in this post. If you're one of the lucky few who purchase and do not experience any of the problems posted, then you have one of the nicest displays on the market IMO.
 
After watching Aquila76's video of the noise issue, I'd have to agree with him that it seems like there's an issue with the ballast for the CCFL. That or it's the CCFLs themselves that's causing the noise.

Aquila76, have you contacted NEC about the noise? Maybe if you work with Travbomb, we can get some sort action out of NEC regarding this problem.
 
snowboardingTobi said:
After watching Aquila76's video of the noise issue, I'd have to agree with him that it seems like there's an issue with the ballast for the CCFL. That or it's the CCFLs themselves that's causing the noise.

Aquila76, have you contacted NEC about the noise? Maybe if you work with Travbomb, we can get some sort action out of NEC regarding this problem.
Click to expand...

I just got off the phone with Jake over at NEC. He told me this was the third issue of this type he's covered with this display. My display is still covered under the DOA clause (only had it for a week tomorrow), so they're sending me out a new one for replacement.

The more I play with this, it has to be the CCFL. The color itself seems to have no effect on the noise, it's only adjusting the brightness does. I ran Eizo's monitor test which has pages of R, G, B, C, M, Y, K, & W. The pitch and level never changed regardless of color. Some CRTs make more noise if there's all white or close lines that cause a moire effect/rainbow coloration; this LCD did not.
 
snowboardingTobi said:
After watching Aquila76's video of the noise issue, I'd have to agree with him that it seems like there's an issue with the ballast for the CCFL. That or it's the CCFLs themselves that's causing the noise.

Aquila76, have you contacted NEC about the noise? Maybe if you work with Travbomb, we can get some sort action out of NEC regarding this problem.
Click to expand...


The question is - can NEC, or anyone else, fix this problem? Do NEC even accept that the noise we object to is a problem?

The best news would be to learn that there was some retrofit that NEC could make that would quieten the display. But if NEC do not recognise there is a problem, they aren't going to do anything about it.

Do you think there is any way to get NEC's attention on this? It's appalling that NEC seem so indifferent to an issue which a number of new owners are finding with this very expensive display. Some sort of statement from NEC would at least clear the position so we all know where we stand. Personally, my guess is that all 2690 models have this high pitched noise problem and it's just that some owners are more sensitive to it than others.

I would have been willing to try getting a step down transformer to see if a lower mains voltage (UK-to-US) made any difference. But then a contributor here said his US-sourced 2690 had the noise problem too. I was also a bit concerned that a step down transformer would probably be more noisy than the display.

I hope we can get NEC to sort this out with a hardware patch.

David

(The thing of it is - I love this display - I'm a digital artist and am really pleased at how close my image quality is to what I was getting with my Sony GDM F520 crt. But I don't want the noise or the inability to have full control over brightness settings).
 
So I heard that dreadful sound that a lot of people are experiencing. I had a power outage and the LCD was running off the battery backup and the static hum was clearly audible. After the power came back on, the hum went away. Related?
 
I suggest what someone said before as well, just wait for another few months, untill they come out with the next revision, its the same thing as with any software these days, with the first version, there is a huge pressure to come out so they do a rush job and the 1.00 will be bugged, and then after that they ll release a number of 'patches' until it becomes stable.

Mostly every monitor goes through a few revisions after initial release anyways untill they become perfect.
 
midnightgreen said:
I suggest what someone said before as well, just wait for another few months, untill they come out with the next revision, its the same thing as with any software these days, with the first version, there is a huge pressure to come out so they do a rush job and the 1.00 will be bugged, and then after that they ll release a number of 'patches' until it becomes stable.

Mostly every monitor goes through a few revisions after initial release anyways untill they become perfect.
Click to expand...

I´m pretty sure this "problem" is not going to be solved before new backlighting technology arrives ! Please point me to any producer of LCD monitors that clearly states that their model are completely silent. :(
 
MarvynDT said:
So I heard that dreadful sound that a lot of people are experiencing. I had a power outage and the LCD was running off the battery backup and the static hum was clearly audible. After the power came back on, the hum went away. Related?
Click to expand...

yes, it is possible if your UPS when running from battery is delivering an approximated sine, not a pure sine
 
Aquila76 said:
...
The more I play with this, it has to be the CCFL.
Click to expand...
After listening to the noise again from alle sides, I came to the same conclusion. The noise is different from every side and in the area of the power plug it's rather low. BTW, mine is available on ebay now. (no pixel failure and the slight hum).

Rao
 
I'm running into some QC issues myself. I haven't had a buzzing problem, but my original 2690 has been replaced now... twice. Replacement #1 had a dead pixel and several stuck subs (2 or 3 of them in a clump). Replacement #2 has this...

2690_lines_small.jpg


...which looks like contaminant on the inside of the LCD panel's outer layer, probably deposited there during the manufacturing of the plastic sheet.

QC issues aside, I still think this is a fabulous display... but between the buzzing issues and LG Philips shipping junk LM260WU1 panels, NEC's got their work cut out for them. The guy @ NEC Tech handling my case (Ross) has been doing a great job, so props go out to him... as soon as his employer can provide me with a trouble free unit, I can leave him alone. At this point, he's looking into the possibility of getting one hand picked for me so we can put this issue to bed... hopefully that will be doable.
 
OMG!
"Hand picked" 2690 displays from NEC :mad:
They should be all be hand picked at the QC point !
 
In a perfect world, yeah. For units costing this much $, triple yeah.

I've spent some time in fields related to modern mass manufacturing, so I know that a lot of QC these days is based on statistical data and risk management. 100% of final units coming off of a line never get more than a few seconds of QC inspection. Much of this is based on "good faith" assumptions that 3rd party suppliers are sticking to the specifications and tolerances that they are given for their contributions to the final product.

In the case of the picture above, the plastic sheet supplier to LG Philips dropped the ball, and LG Philips missed this discrepancy because they only inspect say, 10% of the plastic sheeting that enters the facility. That's supposed to be a "sufficient" data sample size to ensure that the supplier is meeting specs. Final testing isn't sufficiently comprehensive enough to catch defects of this sort; it's assumed that they are caught and mitigated at the previous step.

In turn, NEC inspects maybe 10% of the assembled LM260WU1 panels that enter their facility (as well as power supplies, etc.) assuming that this is "enough" based on some trust that the previous manufacturer(s) did their job right. Once again, final testing isn't designed to catch low level errors of this sort. It should have been weeded out at the plastic sheet factory! Same with the power supplies, it probably comes down to poor quality of low level components that may all be allowed to slip through QC at the level of the individual cap, coil, MOSFET etc.

We now deal with multiple layers of outsourcing of almost everything in this modern world, and while everyone concentrating on their "core competency" may look good on paper, it only takes one weak link in the chain to break the whole damn thing, and assigning accountability is a sick joke when 10 different companies were involved in the making of an LCD panel, power supply, etc. How many little shops do you imagine were ultimately involved in the final production of one LCD2690WUXi? 20? 30? 50? Who knows? Probably not even NEC knows.

Well, the shit is hitting the fan with this system. I think Meow was right in his/her post a few pages back - the demand for cheap Chinese manufacture is so strong right now, and has been for so much time, that the perception is that any old crap will do as long as it's cheap.

Well, no... no, it won't, not when it comes to a $1500 display. I'm offering NEC a bit of leniency here I do admit, because they're trapped within this stupid system like most everyone else. But their flagship 90 series display should never come off the line looking the way my last 2 have.

...But on the other hand, at whom should they ultimately point fingers? I suppose I shouldn't actually care, but it really is a shit situation these days for anyone trying to make something decent that costs less than an arm and a leg.
 
Painman, maybe you're right, but then, let's not forget TQM, Six Sigma, Kaizen and other lingo.

It's already 1 (one!) week that my display is in the service and still no answer from anyone from NEC :rolleyes:
 
Painman said:
I'm running into some QC issues myself. I haven't had a buzzing problem, but my original 2690 has been replaced now... twice. Replacement #1 had a dead pixel and several stuck subs (2 or 3 of them in a clump). Replacement #2 has this...

2690_lines_small.jpg


...which looks like contaminant on the inside of the LCD panel's outer layer, probably deposited there during the manufacturing of the plastic sheet.

QC issues aside, I still think this is a fabulous display... but between the buzzing issues and LG Philips shipping junk LM260WU1 panels, NEC's got their work cut out for them. The guy @ NEC Tech handling my case (Ross) has been doing a great job, so props go out to him... as soon as his employer can provide me with a trouble free unit, I can leave him alone. At this point, he's looking into the possibility of getting one hand picked for me so we can put this issue to bed... hopefully that will be doable.
Click to expand...
Is that a purple hue I see in the lower left corner? Or is that just a bad picture?
 
Beleive it or not,but that looks allot like condensation inside the panel sheet.I have seen it happen before with a few screens,a Dell not too long ago.
 
Painman said:
Well, no... no, it won't, not when it comes to a $1500 display. I'm offering NEC a bit of leniency here I do admit, because they're trapped within this stupid system like most everyone else. But their flagship 90 series display should never come off the line looking the way my last 2 have..
Click to expand...

Exactly. It's supposed to be one of the best LCD displays to ever hit the market (in terms of it's picture quality, 12-bit LUT, color gamut etc.). Arrrgh, it's so frustrating! You can't be sure you'll get good monitor even if you cash out 1500$.

I really need new display, but it seems like EVERY model on the market has some issue - either its color quality, viewing angles etc. aren't good enough for my graphic work, or it displays various issues like noise, flickering etc. Really frustrating.
 
I finally have news about the humming noise. NEC Europe is aware of the issue and has the fix in hand. I am just waiting to see if there is a specific number for you guys to call. Not sure of the exact issue but it has somehting to do with resonance of the power supply and the different voltage / frequency europe uses influences this to occur.
 
travbomb said:
I finally have news about the humming noise. NEC Europe is aware of the issue and has the fix in hand. I am just waiting to see if there is a specific number for you guys to call. Not sure of the exact issue but it has somehting to do with resonance of the power supply and the different voltage / frequency europe uses influences this to occur.
Click to expand...

Travbomb - thank you so much for this. I was just on the point of sending my 2690 to NEC UK to see if they could get rid of the highpitched hum/buzz though not really expecting much. I have cancelled this now that there is the possibility of a proper fix. This is really good news - I love the display it's just the noise that's driving me nuts! it's terrific that NEC acknowledge that there is a noise problem for at least some of us.

I had considered trying a US power supply voltage to see if that made any difference until someone from the States posted here that they had the noise issue too.

Thanks again. Please keep us posted.

David
 
Are any SpectraView units being shipped out? I ordered one from pcconnection.com a month ago, and it still hasn't shipped.
 
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