NEC vs. Eizo

[Jon Maxim]

I am about to make an investment in a a high end display monitor. Until now I have been using a LaCie elctron 19 blue IV. It has served me well but the time has come to replace it. As far as I can make out, the logical replacement choice is either an NEC or Eizo monitor. I would appreciate any advice people who have tried both can give me on the advantages of one over the other or any other helpful experiences.

TIA, Jon.

[VitOne]

You should indicate a budget so that we can help you in a better way.

I own the SpectraView Reference 271 and I find it a great monitor (NEC PA271W). It is nearly as big as the 30” version (301) but it has larger color gamut, better uniformity and deeper black. The resolution is also close to the 30”, so the work space is almost the same. 27” in my opinion is the way to go. I also have the 24” version that I use as second screen and it works great, I only need a bigger work space for my needs.

I am using both the NEC monitor with the basICColor Discus. This hardware gave me better shadow details than the i1Pro REVD that I recently purchased with the recent  i1Profiler software. I also find the basICColor Display Profiler a very good software and I like it more than the i1Profiler. The main noticeable difference that I found using the Discus that I found is that I can get no color casts in black to white gradients and I also see more smooth gradients. Using the i1Pro because of the noise of the instrument I always got some green or red in the shadows and it wasn’t nice for me to work with BW images.
I don’t understand French but I think that the images in this video can nicely describe the Discus behavior. (see minute 1:25). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7usvCURw9s

In my opinion if you are going for a new monitor you will also need a good instrument like the Discus to use it “in the right way”. Probably the best 1200$ that I spent for color-related instruments (I also have a SpectoLino with Spectroscan, re-certificated by X-Rite a few weeks ago, 2 i1Pros, a ColorMunki, an i1Display 2 re-branded by Nec and other stuff).
I also like very much the EIZO GC245W, I spent just a few hours in front of it and I’d like to test it more closely, but I think that the idea of an automated colorimeter inside the monitor is very helpful if you don’t want to bother you too much to achieve good results. For me the CG245W has a too low resolution, “only” full HD, and the solution is called CG275W, but I never tried it.

If you will choose a 10bit panel I also recommend you to go for a Windows 7 64bit machine with a 10-bit capable graphic card. You will need a Display Port and PhotoshopCS5 64bit. At the moment the only graphic cards that seem to work correctly in 10bit mode are the ATI http://forums.adobe.com/thread/506853?start=0&tstart=0

We have waited for more than 1 year (!!!) but I got no news about nVidia supporting 10bit correctly, I’d like to be denied… A good graphic card for Photoshop could be the FirePro V4800.

I don’t think that NEC is better than Eizo and I owned monitor from both brands, I now own Nec because I love the SpectraView software and the Discus and I also got a good price with good warranty conditions.

Hope this helps!

[Jon Maxim]

Thank you VitOne. This certailny does help. I have been wondering about the Discus too. The gradients shown in the video are striking.

Since I am moving from a CRT, do you ever find the angle of view to be a problem with any brand?

Jon

[VitOne]

Talking about “brands” is in my opinion a big error. You can maybe talk about a family (like the Nec SpectraView or the Eizo ColorGraphic); each model is different, and you should find the best monitor for your needs. For me some Eizo and Nec monitor are not good, for a video gamer or a video editing studio could be perfect.

Here in Italy some clients care about the monitor brand and I find Eizo to be the winner. This are the same people that ask you for a medium format camera (Hasselblad if possible) also if they need a 400x200px shot in sRGB colorspace and huge compression as final output. So maybe if you are in a work environment where “brand matters” more than quality maybe Eizo is more famous than Nec. But I personally don’t have a  preference for neither of them. As I wrote I owned (and own) both Eizo and Nec monitor.

I strongly suggest you to go in a showroom or to a studio where they have the monitor that you are interested in and try them. I found the PA241W to have the best aow and I also like the GC245W. The bigger SpectraView 271W has a worst aow, and I can see small color changes when I move out of an optimal position. What I really don’t like of all the 27” panels that I tried is that they all show some variation in black and in some colors when you look at them from a non-optimal position. I think that somebody could disagree, and some other will tell you that his monitor is perfect, but, as I already wrote, the only way to go and be happy is to test the monitor by yourself.

Personally I am not 100% happy with any monitor, all of them are a compromise, I tried many and I am still searching for something better, but your needs could be different from my needs.

In my opinion the “best buy” at the moment are the SpectraView 271W with the Discus and a 10bit-compatibile workflow but I am waiting to try the GC275W. If you don’t need a big workspace on a single monitor you could find interesting the CG245W.

Vittorio

[Jon Maxim]

"I found the PA241W to have the best aow and I also like the GC245W. The bigger SpectraView 271W has a worst aow..."

In my opinion the “best buy” at the moment are the SpectraView 271W with the Discus and a 10bit-compatibile workflow but I am waiting to try the GC275W.

Thank you very much Vittorio for your insights. I have looked at a lot of monitors in the showroom. The trouble is that although I can see the differences between them, I'm not sure how much each of their shortcomings will affect me when I actually use them. The angle of view is a bit of a concern for me right now since I will be coming from a CRT. I notice you found the 27" the worst but you seem to like the 271W. Does it mean that you do not find angle of view to be that important when you are working?

Thanks,
Jon

[VitOne]

I found the angle of view on the SpectraView Reference 271 that I use as my main monitor (yes, I like it) to be is weakness. I think that it is good, but worse than other monitor I already mentioned. I can clearly notice that colors and the “aspect” of the black changes when I move myself around the monitor. If you are in the right working position (that for me is eyes at the height of the top of the monitor) you can just notice that in lower part of the monitor the black seems to be different that on the top of the monitor. I found this to be a common problem with all 27 and 30” monitor that I have seen. This is not a big problem, but if you are concerned about AOW I have to report this. I think that the best AOW is obtained in the 22 and 24” monitors. Please notice that this is my personal impression and that many other people I know found the angle of view perfect. The problem I am describing is clearly noticeable only if you have a solid black background, if you are working with different colors it will be less present.

[Jon Maxim]

Thank you again, Vittorio.

Jon

[VitOne]

Thank you again, Vittorio.

Jon

You are welcome Jon 

[neile]

A friend of mine wrote a detailed review of the NEC PAW series monitors. You may find it helpful: http://www.ronmartblog.com/2010/12/review-nec-pa-241w-pa-271w-lcd-monitors.html. He also reviewed the 30" (http://www.ronmartblog.com/2011/06/review-nec-pa301w-30-display.html) and the equivalent Eizo (http://www.ronmartblog.com/2011/03/review-eizo-coloredge-cg243w.html)

Neil

[stretchdcanvas]

I replaced one of my Barco displays with an Eizo and I'm really happy with it. 
I have heard good things about the NEC also.
Both were so much cheaper than the Barco and because I rely on it to make my money I went with the better monitor.
My Eizo screen matches are at least as good as the Barco if not better.

[ronmart]

Thanks Neil! I also wrote about the Eizo FlexScan SX2762W recently too.

You can see in the right hand column links to the articles under the Gear section.

Eizo makes great monitors with outstanding edge to edge performance. The CGW series I tested is the best display I've ever used.

With that said, the NEC PA series are outstanding and a great value.

If I won the lottery or money was no object, I'd do the Eizo. I didn't and money matters, so I own the NEC PA series and love it.

I really didn't like the calibration story on the FlexScan - it cripples what the hardware is really capible of doing in my opinion. I also am not seeing the Eizo benefit in the FlexScan that I see with the PA Series, so even if money wasn't an object I wouldn't choose the FlexScan over the NEC PA Series.

Best wishes,
Ron

[trinityss]

If you will choose a 10bit panel I also recommend you to go for a Windows 7 64bit machine with a 10-bit capable graphic card. You will need a Display Port and PhotoshopCS5 64bit. At the moment the only graphic cards that seem to work correctly in 10bit mode are the ATI http://forums.adobe.com/thread/506853?start=0&tstart=0

Hi,

Can you explain why a 64-bit system is needed?

Kr,

[alain]

Thanks Neil! I also wrote about the Eizo FlexScan SX2762W recently too.

You can see in the right hand column links to the articles under the Gear section.

Eizo makes great monitors with outstanding edge to edge performance. The CGW series I tested is the best display I've ever used.

With that said, the NEC PA series are outstanding and a great value.

If I won the lottery or money was no object, I'd do the Eizo. I didn't and money matters, so I own the NEC PA series and love it.

I really didn't like the calibration story on the FlexScan - it cripples what the hardware is really capible of doing in my opinion. I also am not seeing the Eizo benefit in the FlexScan that I see with the PA Series, so even if money wasn't an object I wouldn't choose the FlexScan over the NEC PA Series.

Best wishes,
Ron

Was the Eizo CGW still visibly better than the NEC PA after 10 minutes or so?

[Jon Maxim]

I really didn't like the calibration story on the FlexScan - it cripples what the hardware is really capible of doing in my opinion. I also am not seeing the Eizo benefit in the FlexScan that I see with the PA Series, so even if money wasn't an object I wouldn't choose the FlexScan over the NEC PA Series.

Hi Ron,

I read the article on your blog too late. I originated this topic and I never did see Neile's post. Don't know why. If I had I would have read your article and bought and Eizo. I did buy a NEC 27" and I must I am happy with it but still feel I would have liked the best (buyer's remorse). Enough preamble.

I do not understand your comment about not liking "the calibration story on the Flexscan". I thought you wrote the article and liked the hardware calibration. Am I missing something?

Jon

[Czornyj]

Was the Eizo CGW still visibly better than the NEC PA after 10 minutes or so?

I've compared CG275W and SpectraView 271W - they're both confusingly similar and it was virtually impossible to tell the quality difference in a blind test as well as measure it with a sensor (basICColor DISCUS).

I really liked ColorNavigator 6, but ddidn't like the idea of integrated sensor - even when it's excellent Konica-Minolta colorimeter, you can't use it to calibrate any other display, I'd rather get a decent display and i1Display Pro/NEC SpectraSensor colorimeter separetly.