Nec LCD 1980FXi
Relatively expensive for a 19" monitor, the 1980FXi is a professional high-end monitor dedicated to picture editing and creation. This is the only 10 bits monitor in this survey. This color range has certainly been obtained with a 8 bits +2 dithering. This is also a monitor based on a LG-Philips with a new 18 ms response time. And nothing excites us as much as a new panel.
Also, even if I take a dig at IPS, some of you are still fervent supporters of this technology. With a bit of luck and thanks to this panel, we will be reconciled.
Ergonomics
It isn’t the first time, NEC has included a standard OSD menu and another, hidden, one that is more complete. We advise you to use it, it is much richer. To access this menu, switch off the monitor, push the select control and switch on the monitor simultaneously. It unlocks three options: the Rapid Motion for movies (it is supposed to reduce the afterglow, it is initially on "off" position, we haven’t noticed any improvements after activation for scenes in motion or credits scrolling), the tile Matrix (to build walls of pictures) and the adjustment of the LED intensity in front of the monitor.
Otherwise, the monitor has a pivot mode, the base is vertically adjustable, and it includes one analog input as well as two DVI.
The latest improvements included by NEC: a sensor to automatically (when activated) adjust the image when the room lighting increases or decreases. Unlike the Sony sensor, this one is very efficient.
Color quality
Like with the Samsung monitor, if the monitor is connected via the DVI input, it is impossible to access the RGB channels adjustment. This time, however, it doesn’t matter as colors are well balanced from the beginning. In spite of that, it seems preferable to acquire a colorimeter and seriously calibrate the monitor.
How to interpret the graphOn the left is the gamut, this is the monitor colorimetric range compared to the sRGB range (the one usually used for digital cameras). This doesn’t correspond to the accuracy, but to the range of reproducible colors.
For accuracy, you have to refer to the right graph, the DeltaE. This is a measure between the color requested and the one really displayed on the monitor. The result obtained is also counter-balanced by the human color sensitivity.
With Delta E > 3 the desired colors is noticeably different from the one on the screen.
With 1 < Delta E < 2 colors are accurate. With Delta E < 1, the result is perfect.
Results before calibration, test with standard parameters
As usual the DeltaE with standard parameters are important but it is not the worst monitor ever encountered. This result is above average.
Result after calibration
A monitor calibration always improves the display quality. One conclusion is drawn from the right graph: IPS monitors are no longer condemned to have a bad color quality. This result is by far the best obtained with a monitor of this type.
This graph however doesn’t report the white and black levels. They are respectively 231 cd/m² and 0.6 cd/m². As usual, the black brightness level is a little superior to the last VA and TN panels’ generation.
Viewing angles
This is very good. The image is very good until 120° (60° up, right and left). This result is even better than MVA panels.
Interpolation
The result isn’t better than usual. The sharpness decreases when we leave the native mode.
Video games, DVD and HD movies
Like the Iiyama monitor, this one hasn’t apparently been designed for games or movies. It provides however pretty good results in both areas. This is the first good IPS for movies! The twinkling effect usually present is here extremely low. We can then fully appreciate the very wide viewing angles, accurate colors and good color scales. Movies displayed on this monitor are superb! They also benefit from the Rapid Motion option that sensibly reduces the afterglow in movies. It is still, however, quite present in games.
So, because of the afterglow this monitor isn’t good for FPS. Like previous IPS it is good enough for the occasional games to relax between two meetings but no more.
Verdict
The monitor is expensive but it features at least three major advantages.
First, it showed us that it was possible to include a sensor to automatically adjust display parameters on an affordable monitor (just as a reminder 19" monitors prices two years ago were all between 1000€ and 1,200€).
Second, this is the first IPS monitor with a very good display quality for movies without excessive twinkling effect. This proves that LG-Philips, the panel manufacturer has successfully improved the technology and especially the
dithering. The chances for this monitor to be a native 10 bits are very low. The monitor probably supports natively 8 bits and correctly interpolates the additional 2 bits.
Finally, the monitor color quality is better than anything we have ever seen on an IPS monitor.
It is also important to add to all these qualities, a somewhat wider viewing angles than in VA monitors. In the end this monitor is therefore very satisfying…but expensive.
There is still one annoying downside: it lacks one essential improvement: a better reaction time. As regard the improvements made by rival technologies, the future of IPS panels for general users seems to be seriously compromised.
Take a look at this manufacture’s dead pixel policy by clicking here! 
