NEC 1990FX Quick Review

[gear junkie22]

I just received an NEC LCD1990FX-BK monitor, and thought I would post a quick review since I haven't found any on the web.  I bought this hoping it would be a cheaper, less feature-rich version of the 1990Sxi.  I was sorely mistaken.  The first thing I noticed is that the front portion of the bezel is very cheaply made.  It is formed of a very thin plastic that bows in and out away from the LCD panel.  At the places where it bows out, it can be pushed in with minimal pressure.  I was not impressed for such an expensive monitor!  After I powered the unit on, I immediately noticed severe backlight bleeding at the top of the panel, with medium backlight bleeding in various locations along the sides, and minor backlight bleeding at the bottom.  This was clearly a defective unit.  Despite this, I calibrated the unit with a Gretag MacBeth Eye-One Display 2.  It appeared to calibrate nicely.  However, the black level did not go as low as my previous Samsung 193P monitor (S-PVA).  For instance, when looking at the "Monitor Black Point Test" at Dry Creek Photo's website, the black level was not discernable until the test reached panel number 7.  My 193P showed a discernable black level at panel number 3.  Also, when I looked at the grayscale gradient at the same website, there were approximately 20 - 40 areas of banding.  The Samsung only showed 7 areas of banding.  Unfortunately, I can't say whether or not the banding issues are common with this monitor, since I have only tested one unit.  Because of the poorly made bezel, I don't plan to try another one.  The shop where I purchased this monitor agreed to give me a refund.  I plan to go with a tried-and-true 2070NX instead.  About the only positive things that I can say about this monitor is that it looks very stylish, the base sits very solidly, the tilt function operates with just the right amount of pressure, and the OSD is easy to use and navigate through the menus.  Lastly, when I spoke with NEC Tech support they told me that they plan to discontinue this monitor in July.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I though I would post my findings nonetheless.

Enjoy!

(I would be very interested in hearing the opinions of anyone else has tried this monitor.)

[Tim Lookingbill]

I know you probably don't want to hear this but NEC's FX line is meant for office use and because of the nature of the thin bezel a different backlighting scheme was implemented which is the reason for the light leaks.

I found this out looking for an LCD based on your same criteria and found a long, lengthy and buried dpreview thread that seem to go on forever with the last poster being an actual employee of NEC who stated as such. He also indicated the FX version isn't meant for editing digital images even though it has an S-IPS panel.

[gear junkie22]

I know you probably don't want to hear this but NEC's FX line is meant for office use and because of the nature of the thin bezel a different backlighting scheme was implemented which is the reason for the light leaks.

I found this out looking for an LCD based on your same criteria and found a long, lengthy and buried dpreview thread that seem to go on forever with the last poster being an actual employee of NEC who stated as such. He also indicated the FX version isn't meant for editing digital images even though it has an S-IPS panel.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=106569\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Actually, I talked with TravBomb (the NEC employee who frequents the DPR forums) before purchasing the 1990FX.  I told him that I was looking at the 1990FX and the 2070NX.  He confirmed that both of them would be good S-IPS panels for image editing.  He preferred the 2070NX, but this was solely based on the additional resolution that it provides, not on ultimate image quality.  

I know that the light leaks were a defect, but I'm not sure if the grayscale banding was a defect or if it's common to this line of monitors.  If the banding is common, then I would NOT recommend this monitor for image editing.  The 1990Sxi monitor has hardware features to compensate for a smoother grayscale, as well as a 12-bit LUT.  So maybe this specific S-IPS panel needs these things to function adequately... I don't know???

I'll try to find the thread that you mentioned.  I'm curious to read it.

[Tim Lookingbill]

To be more accurate it was of a previous '80 series model on the differences between 1980sxi and the 1980fxi so I assumed it carried over to the 1990fx...
TravBomb chimes in on the NEC '80 series at dpreview