NEC MultiSync 24WMGX³ First Professional Review Translated

albovin

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This is a simplified translation of AFAIK the first professional test review of the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX³ in the Net.
The review is performed by the most popular Russian high tech review resource IXBT.COM
Reviewer: Aleksey Kudryavtsev

The monitor is very interesting.
Ixbt.com reviews are very interesting too, but unfortunately they are never translated into English (like prad.de). Therefore thousands of monitor enthusiasts around the world miss another good source of information.

This is an attempt to share a very fresh review with HardForum readers.

Enjoy it.


LCD Monitor NEC MultiSync 24WMGX³

front01hu0.jpg


Scope of Supply

Monitor with the stand
Cables:
Power
VGA-VGA
DVI-D-DVI-D
HDMI-HDMI
Audio (minijack 3.5mm-3.5mm)
Manual
CD
Back Panel Cover
Remote w/ 2 AAA

Manufacturer's Specification

Panel - A-MVA w/ antiglare
Diagonal - 24.1" (61.1 cm)
Visible Area - 518.4 x 324.0 mm
Resolution 1920x1200
Dot Pitch 0.270 mm
Brightness - max 500 cd/m2
Viewing Angles - 178/178 with 10:1 CR
Response Time - 16ms BtB, 6 ms GtG
Number of Colors Displayed - 16 770 000
Video Inputs - VGA (15-pin D-Sub), DVI-D w/HDCP, 2xHDMI, Component, S-Video, Composite
Audio In - Minijack 3.5 mm, 2xRCA, 2xHDMI
Audio Out - Minijack, Optical (from HDMI signal only)
Headphones - Minijack 3.5 mm
Video Compatibility - from 640x480 to 1920x1200/60Hz, including 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Internal Speakers - Stereo, 2x 5W

Also:
Kensington Lock
200x100 mm VESA mount
Height Adjustment 60mm, Tilt Front10°, Back 25°, Swivel Right-Left 45°.

Other:
Dimentions: 558.5x401.4(460.3)x270.0mm w/ stand
Weight - 11.2 kg w/stand, 7.9 kg w/o stand
Power Consumption - 110W Typical, Standby - not more than 2W, Off - not mare than 1W
Voltage - 100-240V, 50/60Hz
Average Price in Moscow - $1286
Manufacturer WWW - www.nec-display-solutions.co.uk


Design and Mechanics

The cabinet and the stand are made of black matte plastic with the exception for the panel frame (front side) and the stand base - they are glossy black.
Glossy finish is relatively resistant to scratches but prone to fingers/dust marks.
The panel itself is matte, non-reflective.

side03ji1.jpg


The frame looks quite thin for such a large panel.
The design in general is balanced like "strict with a touch refinement".


buttonscs6.jpg


Control buttons are convenient with well readable signs. LED is incorporated in Power button. Brightness of LED can be adjusted in OSD.
Remote control receptor is located in the lower right hand corner and masked with the model name.
Without the back panel cover the rear view is not attractive - metal parts, screws, etc. pop up.
rear01xq4.jpg


But the monitor's elegance and symmetry are complete when
the back cover with shiny logo is attached.

rear02fj4.jpg



Connectors are groupped in two areas.
The first group of, let's say "entertainment" connectors are open from the left hand side,

con01qn8.jpg


while PC connectors are accessible from underneath.

con02ur1.jpg


Kensington lock, power cord connector and main power switch are found at the rear panel.

con03hg6.jpg


The "leg with two joints" allows to regulate monitor's height and tilt. The panel has two rubber stickers underneath to prevent polished base from scratching while in lowest position.
The base can swivel. It's sturdy. There is an opening in the stand for the cables - to keep them neat. VESA mount is possible.

121am4.jpg


The monitor is supplied with a remote control. The remote is a very nice piece of equipment - pleasant to touch, convenient to use. Unfortunately its buttons are not lit.

remoh6.jpg


The upper part of the cabinet gets quite hot when the monitor is set to max brightness.
The monitor does not produce any noise.

Connectors.

The monitor has an extended list of connectors. This allows to get several devices (including PC and various external entertainment devices) connected simultaneously.
External speakers can be connected to minijack (3.5 mm, audio signal from the current source is transmitted). A receiver can be connected to optical digital output to get stereo sound from HDMI device.
OSD contains variety of controls for precise audio/video functioning. For more detail refer to the Manual.

OSD.
The monitor provides an impressive choice of settings and additional controls, including eye strain reducing technology.
Please refer to the Manual to see the full list of features.

Subjectively, both control buttons and remote are convenient and sharp in use.

Sound.
The built-in speakers are relatively powerful. Stereo effect is clear. Low (from 75Hz ), middle and high frequencies present.
In around 170-200Hz the cabinet begins to resonate and the Power button begins to rattle. The higher volume sounds comfortable when the Power button is covered with a piece of scotch to prevent rattling. Further volume increase leads to the whole monitor to resonate.
Connection of headphones disables speakers.
The quality of sound over headphones is very good.
Those who are interested in precise NEC 24WMGX³ sound quality test - look at this link. It's not translated but those who are keen on audio can get some info from the diagrams.

Image management

This part of the test is based on OSD description.
It's not possible to translate this part word for word - OSD is huge.
I just retell the main points noted in the review.
Again, refer to the Manual for other detail - the NEC 24WMGX³
has literally unprecedented set of convenience controls for a consumer monitor .
You can regulate:
Brightness
Contrast
CR optimizer
Sharpness
Auto Brightness
Color adjustment
Saturation adjustment
Sets to improve moving images
Scalar with wide choice of modes including Side Cut - no black
bars for HD video.
Etc.
Interpolation of lower resolution is good.
At native resolution (both for DVI and VGA) one pixel width lines are well distiguishable.

The NEC 24WMGX³ has been tested with the use of BD player.
The review does not mention any problem as far as video support is concerned.

Instrumental Test

Subjectively - colors are realistic and vibrant.

GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display LT
Target: Gamma 2.2, 6500K
DVI
Factory setting (Brightness 100%, Contrast 50%)
Before correction: gray tones in Standard Mode have tendency for higher color temperature.

gradationskw6.jpg


Correction turned out to be a tough work. Although improved, color temperature retained the tendency - the darker the tone of gray the higher the temperature (warmer tone).
More profound calibration will probably lead to better result.
The easiest solution is sRGB mode which is relatively close to 6500.

Color gamut is close to sRGB:
gamutaf3.jpg


Gray scale observations

Standard Mode (Brightness/Contrast 100/50%):
every step is distinguishable from 0 to 254.
Video Mode: the range increases (up to 255) but the number of gradations lessens - some adjacent gradations merge.
With Contrast control increase the brightest gradations are lost.
With Brightness or Contrast control decrease - brightness decreases with no loss in gradations.
No dithering noticed.

To support gray scale visual estimation an instrumental test was performed.
Below: brightness increment step by step from 0 to 255

brightnessincrementpm2.jpg


The instrumental test confirms generally steady increment in brightness increase between gradations of gray (gradations visibility) with the exception for 253-254 steps.


Panel homogeneity


For this test a specially designed highly sensitive focused (4 +/-0.5 degrees) probe is used.
Brightness of white and black backgroung was measured at 25 points of the screen. The table below includes values for factory settings:
homogeneitybi3.jpg

Instrumental measurements say that actual CR is high and is practically equal to advertized 1000:1
Homogeneity for white screen is very good, for black screen - little less.

Brightness and Contrast Ratio
Brightness is measured in the center of the screen with the use of Argus-02 photometer.
The monitor achieves maximum brightness of 450cd/m2 with brightness and contrast controls set to 100%.
Workable max brightness (with all gradations of gray visible) is not more than 440 cd/m2 (395 cd/m2 for sRGB mode).
Brightness change graph is linear with CR stable within the whole range of brightness.
crye4.jpg


This graph says that the NEC 24WMGX³ uses backlight to regulate brightness with no loss of gray scale gradations.
Brightness range is from 440 to 106 cd/m2 that allows users to work with comfort in different environment. Only in complete darkness one can find this monitor minimal brightness little high so that contrast control can be used to reduce brightness firther (and contrast too).
Backlight flickers at low brightness, but it's hard to notice that in regular use.

Response time.

Subjectively: the panel looks fast, good text scrolling with minimal blur, overdrive artefacts are not visible.

We measured transition time between black and white and also between halftones.
For the halftone test our method is the next.
We perform three measurements for a fixed halftone "X":
1. Transition time between black and X
2. Transition time between X and white
3. Transition time around X - we cover +/- 10% zone as we consider 20% difference to be the minimal important figure for halftones.

Total transition time BWB is less than advertized 16ms:
blackwhiteyr2.jpg


At factory settings Brightness/Contrast 100/50:
Halftone transition time is quite fast - average for totals is 14.1 ms, maximum - over 30ms and minimum - 6.5 ms:
gtgsy5.jpg


A closer look reveals a sort of peaks at the edges of some transitions (the most noticeable is between 10-30%), but it does not produce any visible effect.
peakstg5.jpg

Generally speaking, the monitor is fast enough for comfortable playing dynamic games.


Motion Picture Mode
This technologous to those used in the Samsung 245T and the BenQ 241WZ - a dark frame is included to simulate "CRT looking" motion in the screen.
MP Mode induces visible flickering and makes brightness go down.
But the moving objects look sharper indeed.
There are three levels of MP Mode.
They change the time of the dark frame presence. The longer the dark phase the darker the screen looks.
This is how it looks in the graph (Black to white transition):
mpmodexu6.jpg

Is there any sense in use of MP Mode?
It's up to the user. But visible flickering will induce more eye strain.

Input Lag

For this test a CRT monitor was placed next to the NEC 24WMGX³ . Series of photos of moving clock hand were taken.
Average input lag is about 12ms.
With Through Mode On input lag drops to 2ms for DVI and 6 ms for VGA connection.
We can state that with Through Mode On, there is practically no input lag on the NEC 24WMGX³ .
A sample photo of the test:
lagdvionmj0.jpg



Backlight modulation measured:
modulationkj4.jpg

It's high frequency (180Hz) makes it invisible for a naked eye.

CR Optimizer is quite slow.
It takes it about 1.5 second to raize brightness to max when a white frame replaces a black one on the screen:
croptimizerep4.jpg



Viewing Angles Measurement

Subjectively: viewing angles are very good.
White screen changes its tone from angle view, black screen becomes brighter and gets light lilac tone.
There is some diagonal effect too.
We took series of measurements using a specially designed probe to get values for different vertical, horizontal and diagonal angles at different levels of brightness, and for the level of black as well:
anglesgr4.jpg


White background loses 50% of brightness with angle deviation:
Vertical.........34°/-33°
Horizontal.....46°/-46°
Diagonal.......40°/-41°
We note smooth decrease in brightness with any angle deviation.
Diagonal effect is slightly more pronounced.
For +/-82° range, CR stays higher than 10:1 and even for diagonal angles it does not drop below 15:1.

Conclusion

The sum of the NEC 24WMGX³ qualities makes it a universal display - you can work, watch video and play games.
24" diagonal looks insufficient for a true home theatre, but for it's desktop equivalent this size is perfect.

Pros:
Excellent image quality (high CR, good color rendition, homogeneity and viewing angles)
Wide range of brightness regulation with no loss in image quality
Fast panel with no overdrive artefacts
Variety of connectors
A lot of picture quality features (motion picture, auto brightness, advanced scaling, PIP function, etc.)
High quality sound for headphones
Stylish design
Ergonomics and OSD convenience
Good scope of supply (remote, cables)

Cons:
The monitor cabinet resonates at certain frequences when volume is high.

********************************************************************
The original test review is located here.
 
I think a lot of people will be keeping an eye out for this monitor.

The price might be its downfall.

For the average consumer at least.
 
Thanks, albovin!
Well, despite all its positives, it is still "only" an A-MVA :)
 
Any word on whether or not this is coming to the states?
Seems like a near perfect fit for me, but there's no way I'm paying $1000 for it with the conversion rate...
 
Yeah it's got my 3 big features, low lag, non-TN viewing angles, and height adjustable, but if it costs that much, theres little reason not to just get the HP LP2475W, much cheaper, and better panel.
 
Looks like the monitor I've been waiting for.

Almost no input lag, great viewing angles, standard colour gamut(right?), 1:1 pixelmapping, lots of inputs, ect.

If only it was cheaper. I just can't get myself to pay that much for a 24" monitor, when I can get a great 1080p plasma for the same price.

Lower the price NEC! Please!
 
Ditto, but at 850€ it's far too expensive.

I wish they'd make a cheaper version, without the internal speakers or remote and drop one HDMI input, but I doubt those changes would drop the price by 350€, which is needed as the HP LP2475w and LG W2600HP-BF are both around the 500€ mark and have a (better?) IPS panel.
 
If the inputs are as good as they say, this monitor gains enough value to be within a few hundred dollars of a reasonable purchase. But at $1000 (which likely is a low forecast of the price) you can get an LP2475 and, say, a Denon 888, so what exactly is the point of all those inputs?
 
Ditto, but at 850€ it's far too expensive.

I wish they'd make a cheaper version, without the internal speakers or remote and drop one HDMI input, but I doubt those changes would drop the price by 350€, which is needed as the HP LP2475w and LG W2600HP-BF are both around the 500€ mark and have a (better?) IPS panel.

Yes. 2475 is a strong competitor with it's low price.
 
Does the word "travesty" come to mind fro anyone else?

I think travesty is too strong but definitely a dissapointment. From the beautiful glossy IPS 20WMGX2 (I have two, been considering selling them for a 24" but I dislike anti-glare and won't and can't do non-IPS) to an anti-glare MVA :( NEC had a truly unique product in the 20WMGX2 this is just not on the same level.
 
I swear I saw this screen at the SF International Auto show this weekend. I can't be certain as I don't remember the row of buttons at the bottom of the bezel, though it did have the same glossy, beveled stand. Does any other NEC LCD use that stand? Also, it was next to NECs new 30" LED backlit LCD.

The 30 incher looked great, wasn't at the native res, but it still looked good, dunno about being 5k good, but it looked dem good. Nice bezel design too, real slim.

The 24 incher on the other hand, if it was really this model, didn't impress much. Colors looked faded in comparison, the non-gloss panel and bright overhead lighting sure didn't help. Though the 30" was able to hold it's weight in the same conditions.

Last two things:
Great review, lots of detail and specs, to see that amount of measurements done is awesome.
Secondly, if anyone gets to the International Auto Show (not sure where it's going after SF, SF may have been the last stop for 08') Anyway, the screens are part of Toyota's Hydrogen drive display
 
Hi, I had this monitor for 2 weeks (UK) and I could not accept the screens colour shift and so returned it. I contacted NEC and was told on this type of screen it was acceptable..I said for £630.00 it was unacceptable, hence I returned it.
In my opinion every other aspect of the monitor was very good tho.
I tested input lag against my 20WGX2 with over 200 pictures and found for the most part it was exactly the same, although approx 20 pictures showed the 24" 15ms faster and approx another 20 pictures showed the 24" to be 15ms slower.
In FPS games (cod4, cod5 and dodS) I could tell no differance and the screen was nice to play on.

Namorismo.
 
There are plenty of 24" IPS panels. I know making them glossy adds cost but people were willing to pony up for the 20WMGX2, why NEC fell back to PVA instead I'm not certain. It's not even glossy so it's not a unique product at all therefore there's no point in paying the NEC premium for this monitor. Sad :(
 
gjergji:
"..So, who has this monitor yet?
The tftcentral.co.uk site says that the panel coating is somewhat between glossy and matte.
Would really love some first hand experience on this monitor..
Thanks"
 
gjergji:
"..So, who has this monitor yet?
The tftcentral.co.uk site says that the panel coating is somewhat between glossy and matte.
Would really love some first hand experience on this monitor..
Thanks"

Is it available yet?
 
I have got one of those - and it got incredible image quality.

Excellent sharpness, vivid and natural colors, a very good black and the best viewing angles i seen so far.

Many presets for each input which can be modified to your own needs.

They only cons are:

- The stand of the display which is very limited in terms of height adjustability.

- The depth of the case.

So this is kinda bad ergonomics and IMHO unsuitable for business/office use.

Its just a perfect display for the demanding home user.

Nice in terms of ergonomics are the HDMI/AV inputs on the left side which are easy to access.

I have had quite a few displays and this one has the best image quality.

I am loving it. This one will stay quite a while i think. :D

(had HP LP2065, DELL 2407WFP A04, EIZO HD2441W, HP LP2475W before)
 
maybe I'm asking too much sn_85,
I'll probably go with the NEC 24WMGX3, it seems the best choice atm.
If anyone has a better option please advise...

Yes, outside IPS this the best option in 24".
 
Originally Posted by no2censorship
what enhancements does it disable?

THROUGH MODE
Mode that shortens the delay time of picture signals within the monitor. Use this mode when you are concerned
about the synchronization between the picture and audio.
NOTE: • THROUGH MODE realizes shortening of delay time by limiting the picture processing function.
As a result, several functions such as Color Control cannot be used.
In addition, there may be cases according to the type of picture where picture quality declines, such as
smoothness of tones being affected.
• Even when THROUGH MODE is used, there may be cases where the picture and audio are not
completely synchronized.
• If using the monitor for still images, it is recommended to set THROUGH MODE off.
• When THROUGH MODE is turned on, PIP is cleared and cannot be used.
• If [Real] or [2x Zoom] is selected for Screen Size, THROUGH MODE cannot be turned on.
• The following restrictions apply for DVI (AV), HDMI, and VIDEO Input.
When THROUGH MODE is turned on, [OVERSCAN] is set to [FULL (100%)].
If [AUTO] (for 16:9 input signal) or [16:9] is selected for AV Aspect Ratio, THROUGH MODE cannot be
turned on.
• If the vertical frequency is a frequency other than 60 Hz, THROUGH MODE and MP MODE
(Levels 1, 2, 3) cannot be used together. In this case, THROUGH MODE is set to [OFF] or it cannot be
selected.
 
I have got one of those - and it got incredible image quality.

Excellent sharpness, vivid and natural colors, a very good black and the best viewing angles i seen so far.

Many presets for each input which can be modified to your own needs.

They only cons are:

- The stand of the display which is very limited in terms of height adjustability.

- The depth of the case.

So this is kinda bad ergonomics and IMHO unsuitable for business/office use.

Its just a perfect display for the demanding home user.

Nice in terms of ergonomics are the HDMI/AV inputs on the left side which are easy to access.

I have had quite a few displays and this one has the best image quality.

I am loving it. This one will stay quite a while i think. :D

(had HP LP2065, DELL 2407WFP A04, EIZO HD2441W, HP LP2475W before)

Pictures, pictures and more pictures.
 
Furious Salesman

What about power? What kind of power would that unit use? I think America is 120v.


Power Supply 100-120 V/220-240 V; internal power supply
 
First hand experience with this screen:

Had it for 4 days then sold it (lost about 150$).

You see the thing is that this screen ghosts bad. It seems black and dark colors cause worse ghosting.

If you play a fast FPS game like half life 2 deathmatch you are able to drag small trails behind you.

In hl2dm you can move really fast and when you do so, around a dark object, you can provoke Photoshop filter liquefy like effects. Of course tried every possible OSD setting looking for a remedy to no avail.

Apart from fast gaming it’s a very, very nice screen. Without a doubt the best desktop experience I have had. I mean it goes very dim if you want it to without losing any dark detail. The sharpest text I have seen Nice and crisp. Gradients are displayed without banding. It’s very nice calibrated out of the box. And then something I haven’t experienced before it seems to have a very soft to the eye white, hard to explain.

It also has a very nice blackpoint (TFTcentral measured 0,19 cd/m2) almost as good as the HP lp2475w and no backlight bleeding.
Rather sad that the area where this screen should excel is actually the area where it falls short.

For me the excessive ghosting was a dealbreaker.

Feel free to ask any questions. Since I have also owned the HP lp2475w I can compare the two.
 
First hand experience with this screen:

Had it for 4 days then sold it (lost about 150$).

You see the thing is that this screen ghosts bad. It seems black and dark colors cause worse ghosting.

If you play a fast FPS game like half life 2 deathmatch you are able to drag small trails behind you.

In hl2dm you can move really fast and when you do so, around a dark object, you can provoke Photoshop filter liquefy like effects. Of course tried every possible OSD setting looking for a remedy to no avail.

Apart from fast gaming it’s a very, very nice screen. Without a doubt the best desktop experience I have had. I mean it goes very dim if you want it to without losing any dark detail. The sharpest text I have seen Nice and crisp. Gradients are displayed without banding. It’s very nice calibrated out of the box. And then something I haven’t experienced before it seems to have a very soft to the eye white, hard to explain.

It also has a very nice blackpoint (TFTcentral measured 0,19 cd/m2) almost as good as the HP lp2475w and no backlight bleeding.
Rather sad that the area where this screen should excel is actually the area where it falls short.

For me the excessive ghosting was a dealbreaker.

Feel free to ask any questions. Since I have also owned the HP lp2475w I can compare the two.

Why didn't you RMA it?

You could have just had a bad panel.
 
I'm about to purchase the same monitor. None of the reviews mentioned this issue.
Are you sure you din't have a bad panel. Is it possible to pinpoint the other user if he wrote in a forum.
This is really important for me!
 
I'm about to purchase the same monitor. None of the reviews mentioned this issue.
Are you sure you din't have a bad panel. Is it possible to pinpoint the other user if he wrote in a forum.
This is really important for me!

Biggest thread about this screen: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17917890

The panel just feels slow also confirmed by tftcentral.

Sitting in front of a LG W2600HP 26" right now (had the chance to audition one)
While this screen suffer from many other faults the panel feels much faster and has no ghosting.

Out of the many lcd's I have tried. The NEC has the worst ghosting I have ever seen
 
I have looked through http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17917890 thread.
I've managed to find one complaint about ghosting out of the whole thread (same text that Biosphere posts here - looks like the same person under different nicknames) and another one to echo that.

Other opinions (#269):

Right chaps, the latest copy of Total PC Gaming just dropped through my door and they have a 24" monitor shootout. The contenders are:

Quote:
ASUS MK241
SAMSUNG SM-2493HM
NEC MULTISYNC 24WMGX3
DELL ULTRASHARP 2408WFP

The Verdict on the NEC was 8/10:
Quote:
A superlative screen that offers almost everything you could ever want in a gaming monitor. It's just a shame NEC has priced the 24WMGX3 out of the market for many

Other choice quotes from the main blurb
Quote:
...the screen is also full of innovative and unique features that we have yet to see anywhere else... Aesthetically the NEC looks superb... When it comes to image quality, the NEC was almost perfectly calibrated right out of the box and looks simply sensational. The colour performance is incredibly rich and vibrant, while the viewing angles provide undistorted views even at horizontal or vertical extremes. The panel also proved to be lightning-quick in our gaming tests, and exhibited the same lag and ghosting-free performance we normally reserve for TN panels...

While we are sure many people will be unable to justify spending double on the NEC compared to other options, none that we have seen offer its wealth of features, great image quality, and peerless gaming performance in a single package. It may have price tag to match, but this is the Ferrari of PC monitors.

They gave the plaudits to the NEC with the Samsung second. In the summary boxes they said
Quote:
Outstanding image quality
While all of the extras the NEC packs in are a nice bonus, it was the quality of the output that won it this group test. The colour reproduction, viewing angles and vibrancy were among the best we have ever seen, yet this didn't hamper the monitor's gaming ability at all. Even when tasked with the quickest of shooters, the screen remained lightning fast, with no visible ghosting or lag whatsoever. If you have £600 burning a hole in your bank account, we can think of few betters ways to spend it.

We started this group test practically ruling out the NEC due to its huge price tag, but using the screen was such a joy that it managed to win us over. Touches like analogue ports that work properly, a remote control, ambient light sensor and built-in dedicated autio inputs are genuinely innovative for a PC screen.
 
i read from the tftcentral review that is has some ghosting, but not this bad... a little ghosting is on all lcd screen.... If this issue is real than this is a dealbreaker for me. I'm about to spend 600 EUR on this so.....
 
are you nightrhyme on that forum biosphere?

Yes.

i read from the tftcentral review that is has some ghosting, but not this bad... a little ghosting is on all lcd screen.... If this issue is real than this is a dealbreaker for me. I'm about to spend 600 EUR on this so.....

I also read the tftcentral review before buying and found no indication of any severe problem.
Look guys I'm not trying to bash the NEC I would simply like to worn any potential buyers who expect ghost free gaming. This panel ghosts worse than Samsung 226bw, HP2207, Nec 20wgx2 pro, HP lp2475w, Nec LG W2600HP. If this it not a concern for you then by all means buy it. It has stunning image quality.
 
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