NEC PA241W Wide Gamut Display

[srwatters]

This morning I hooked up the new panel to the Mac Pro and it's a HUGE improvement over my 4 year old Apple Cinema Display. Just for grins I had both displays running side-by-side and, even when uncalibrated, the NEC shows tones I never have seen before. Since my calibration device shipped from a different warehouse, I was only able to set the brightness and Adobe RGB mode on the NEC, but my gray background is pretty close without color casts on both displays. I brought up one of my full size portraits from the PhaseOne digital back and spanned it across the two panels. The skin tones are so lifelike on the NEC and just a bit muddy on the older Apple device. After 4 years it's probably not too fair of a comparison, but so far I'm very pleased with the purchase.

I'll add to this thread on Monday after I receive the calibration tool and run the software to set up both the video card and the LCD properly.

[srwatters]

I calibrated the display last night using the NEC SpectaView II software and Eye-One Display 2 colorimeter. It was a very easy process. In fact much easier than the Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Match program. With the NEC display, all the adjustments are made electronically while the GMB program requires you to manually fiddle with contrast, brightness, and RGB controls to hit the target values. I haven't tried yet, but an interesting experiment might be to run the GMB program after setting up the display using the NEC software...

In any case, I can wholeheartedly recommend the NEC display and calibration system.

[Carl Stone]

Bump, so that I can get email notifications of further updates.

[JohnT]

I need to look into one of these. My Dell is starting to "funk out" around the edges. It's about four years old and gets heavy use.

[srwatters]

I know it's a long drive, but if you want to see one before you decide on a purchase, let me know.

[jeffkohn]

Early buzz on these displays has been good, and the specs are great especially for the price. Nice to hear first-hand account from an actual user. I'm probably going to wait and see how much of a premium they charge for the 27" version.

The 3D LUT and 10-bit color support have me very interested (especially since Adobe has confirmed that CS5 will support 10bit output). Scott are you using the displayport connection to feed the display 10-bit color? I guess only the very latest video cards support this (in Windows, anyway, not sure how long the support has been there in mac-land).

Bump, so that I can get email notifications of further updates.

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[JohnT]

Originally Posted by srwatters

I know it's a long drive, but if you want to see one before you decide on a purchase, let me know.

Thanks, Scott! I'll keep that in mind.

[srwatters]

Since I'm still on a MacPro 2,1, I'm using DVI to feed the display (ATI HD3870 card). I partially made the decision to go with the PA241 because of the display port input capability. I'm confident the next Mac Pro will have that interface or if I decide to go with an iMac, it has display port for the second monitor. I hope this device will last me another 4 years or so.

[Jim Victory]

I was thinking of replacing my Spyder with the Eye One. I have read it is easier to use and more accurate than the Spyder, especially with luminance levels. It is also cheaper than the Lacie Blue Eye Pro.

Whats your experience with it Scott? BTW I'm looking at the PA271, when it comes out, to replace my aging Eizo.

[srwatters]

So far so good. I haven't had any images to edit recently so I'm only doing normal operations. I have looked at many images and I'm still very happy. The calibration software is very easy to use. The fact that I don't have to fiddle with the manual display settings is a HUGE plus IMHO. Makes calibration such an easy task, I might even do it weekly vs the two weeks that it recommends. The color is fantastic and like I said earlier, it's tonal range is outstanding. Physically it's a bit thicker than the Apple and of course the design isn't as sexy, but for pure functionality and ease of use, it's a winner.

I would definitely recommend this display to anyone willing to spend the $ on a wide gamut device.

[rab3rd]

My 22's arrive tomorrow. Cant wait to set them up. I know they wont be as good as the 224's but that have to be an improvement over my samsungs.

[carrbowl]

So I have the eye one...will it work on this display or do you just not like to mess with it??

[srwatters]

The Eye One works well with my NEC display.

[carrbowl]

Thanks Scott

[JohnT]

I've been reading some on this monitor, and it gets great press and reviews. I'm gonna jump on bandwagon and get one soon with my Mac Mini.