I guess, it depends on the use case.
For color-critical work - no doubt one should use calibrated settings at recommended brightness levels.
However, when a monitor is being used as a universal device for photo/video editing, programming, watching movies, reading lots of articles, then sometimes it makes sense to have very low levels (especially for visually handicapped photosensitive people like myself).
Wondering, is it possible to reduce contrast (not backlight luminance, but actual transparency of LCD pixels) through a LUT profile?
Maybe I would buy Spectraview if I knew it can adjust contrast through LUT without using a calibrator to achieve exactly the thing they promised (reducing contrast through LUT) even for Multiprofiler but that does not seem to be working for my PA27Q1.
Is there a trial version of Spectraview? Also, I've heard NEC has different Spectraview editions for US and EU - I need the one for Europe.
Is there any other software that can access PA271Q LUT and create new profiles manually without a calibrator?
Getting a bit rant-ish now
It's a bit strange that even the best premium LCD technologies still cannot reach some properties of (cheap) CRTs that could be turned to completely black, if desired so, and also did not have any issues with brightness loss at the corners when viewing closer-than-normal; and also no uniformity issues and no backlight bleeding and no IPS glow.
Fortunately, PA271Q is great regarding uniformity and backlight; that's why I chose it in the first place.
Of course, LCDs have their benefits, too, but for my broken vision, these benefits sometimes do not counterweight the losses and there is no way to test for it before buying. Official specs do not tell the entire story and Rtings.com do not have NECs and Eizos tested.
I'll have to live with PA271Q and use some workarounds to get what I need.
In 10 years or so we might have microLED displays. Hopefully, they will have much fewer compromises and will finally be true replacements for CRTs.
Also, I might try OLED one day. LG recently promised new generation OLED displays for professionals, but I've heard (and seen from Rtings.com tests) that OLED green color might behave a bit unstable at different viewing angles. Also, the announced prices of the new monitors seem unreasonably high. But I would buy a 27" OLED for like 1000$ if I knew that it will not burn in just a few years after its warranty expires.