Pictures of the LCD2690WUXi

The LCD2690WUXi from every possible angle

Test: afterglow

Reaction time test

A car moves from left to right at high speed.

Movement isn’t perfectly fluid. Depending on its speed, the car is shown in several successive positions. If the car goes very fast, the positions are very close and the eye perceives a flowing movement.
Perfect monitor monitor with 3 ghost images
A monitor without ghosting effects would have previous images completely fading away when a new one appears. This is the theory and in practice, it's often not the case as images progressively fade. Sometimes up to 5 afterglow images remain on the monitor and represent the visible white trail behind objects. Some monitors have strong overdrives in addition to image anticipation algorithms. In this case, an image can appear in front of the main object, creating a white halo ahead of objects in motion.

With CRTs we captured afterglow with a camera at a shutter speed of 1/60 seconds as compared to 1/1000 s for an LCD. We take 50 pictures per test. We then can see a monitor’s ghosting effects, or all the car’s position in the entire process. The most important image is the one on the left, the better one. It will be the most displayed on the monitor, while the one on the right is in transition.

Here are the two extreme states with each monitor as afterglow oscillates.

IPS 6 ms : Nec MultiSync LCD2690WUXi

The above result wasn't obtained with the initial settings, which were very bright. The afterglow perceived with the brightness set to a maximum or the minimum was indeed much different. At the maximum level, it’s unbearable. Blurring is strongly accentuated and the Pixperan test confirmed it with the perception of an additional car.

We have to point out that even with the brightness to the minimum, results aren't impressive. Here are a couple of results from our reference monitors to compare:


IPS 6 ms : Nec MultiSync 20WGX²

Clearly, the NEC 26" is far from having the same response time as the 20". This is despite the fact that they both have IPS 6ms panels. Watch out! Lately, we were delighted to see that response times were finally more or less in correlation with the afterglow perceived but here this wasn't the case.

S-PVA 6 ms : Dell 2407WFP
TN 5 ms : Fujitsu-Siemens L22-1W
IPS 16 ms : Nec MultiSync LCD2090UXi
Clearly the reaction time of this panel is disappointing. There has been no progress since the Nec LCD2090UXi, an IPS 16 ms. We even wonder if LG-Philips, the panel manufacturer, or Nec forgot to put the 1 in front of the 6ms response time.

Either way, what’s important to remember is that this panel is the slowest and even the TN 5 and 8 ms are faster. The afterglow is consequent in numerous contexts such as animations, and movies. Unless you only look at the monitor for a very short period of time, it’s easily noticeable in images in motion.

Color rendering quality

Color rendering quality

The quality of colors is measured with the LaCie BlueEye Pro colorimeter, which in fact is a Gretag colorimeter coupled to the software suite developed by LaCie.

Just to remind you, we work with a value called DeltaE. It represents a measurement between the color requested and the one really displayed on the monitor. The higher the result obtained, the less true colors are. The value is also counter-balanced for human eye color sensitivity.

Delta E > 3 the desired color is noticeably different from the one on the screen.
2 < Delta E < 3 color quality is satisfactory but a graphic designer probably wouldn’t be content
1< Delta E <2 colors are accurate.
Delta E < 1, the result is perfect.

Each time, 18 patches of color are studied and 16 results are reported in a graph.

Here are the average gaps (DeltaE 94) measured for our 18 color patches (the smaller the better):


The result isn't outstanding. The 26" monitor has good settings but we can’t say it’s calibrated. Take a look at these results:


Grays are accurate and particularly well rendered. However, vivid shades are far from being accurate.

Now, if you choose this monitor, maybe it means that you are a graphic designer with a calibration probe? If you do, you are saved because this monitor, once it is calibrated, is very good:


This monitor has another surprising strong point. NEC announces 91% coverage of the NTSC gamut. This is much higher than average. So much higher that it even questions the point of having LED backlights.

IPS 6 ms : Nec MultiSync LCD2690WUXi

IPS : Nec LCD2180WG LED

PVA : TV Sony KDL-32V2000

PVA : Dell 2407WFP
NEC hasn't explained how they succeeded in having such a gamut. Comparing the result with other monitors shows nevertheless that it obviously has better backlighting than usual (the Dell represents the typical result of LCD monitors). Also, it doesn’t have LED backlights like the Nec LCD2180WG. The gamut is a little bit shorter in the green.

It is, however, identical to the Sony TV which has wide gamut CCFL tubes. We believe that NEC has probably implemented the same or similar ones in the LCD2690WUXi. Anyway, NEC apparently manages this backlighting better as they reach lower in the reds and blues.

Who will be interested by this evolution?Those who print images for professional use. This monitor is one of a few that is capable of accurately resituating some of the most extreme shades differentiated by printers (white gamut). Compare one image displayed on this monitor with the same image on a different monitor and you will see color scales where the other has a uniform color area. For a graphic designers doing catalogues or a photographer editing pictures of a new collection, this greater richness of colors completely justifies the investment in such a monitor!

Viewing angles and movies

Viewing angles and movies

There is no need to take a look at the technical data sheet to guess the technology of this monitor. Viewing angles speak for themselves. They are wide, and so wide that there is not a single monitor (except for other IPS) that has such good images when seen from the side:


The contrast ratio reduction is almost equal to zero when looked at from the side, above or below. This is a perfect tool for dual monitor configurations; showing your work on several screens simultaneously or watching movies…from a certain distance.


As usual, IPS equals strong twinkling effects. These panels strongly accentuate the twinkling in movies. It’s so obvious that the work of the graphic card to mask it isn't enough. Unless you really step back, it is still possible to see it.

Conclusion

Conclusion

Game and movie grades are not easy to establish. On the one hand, objectively, we find the low reaction time unfortunate, which doesn't match the announced response time and the strong twinkling in video sequences. On the other hand, subjectively, playing and watching movies on a 26" monitor ends up by being very comfortable despite the fact that we sometimes are disturbed by blurs and imperfect renderings. We have to make concessions even if we know that other monitors are much faster.

The final grade might seem quite high compared to these two drawbacks, so we have to come back to the users targeted to understand this choice. This is a LCD for image professionals first of all. Once calibrated (an indispensable step for this monitor and the price doesn’t mean that colors are accurate from the start), the LCD2690WUXi ends up with superb colors, much richer than average. It shows color scales that are invisible in other monitors and has almost total viewing angles at a price rather close to other 24" monitors.

This doesn't mean that prices are identical. Dell regularly makes interesting sales for the 2407WFP and its price oscillates between approximately 1100€ to 810€. The gap between this monitor and the Dell is sometimes twice the amount and this is really excessive for someone who doesn't need such a wide gamut. Especially since the Dell is the fastest.

What about the other 26 and 27 inches?

Acer will release another 26" in January; the AL2623W. Usually, Acer's products are much more affordable than NEC's. This will be confirmed once more as the AL2623W will be priced around 1250€. It is interesting to note that it is already possible to pre-order it in Germany for less than 1100€. Nec's color rendering is often more accurate than Acer's and the Acer probably won't use wide-gamut tubes like the Nec LCD2690WUXi.

Two 27"s are also expected in January, one by Dell and the other by Samsung. There is a modification of technology as these two monitors will feature PVA panels with contrast ratios of 3000:1. We already tested similar (but smaller) panels and the response time of 6ms will probably be better for games than the 26" IPS panel tested here. The pitch changes to 0.303 mm – this time it is bigger than 15" monitors (take a look at the graph on first page to compare). Last but not least, the price remains a mystery these monitors.