NEC 2690WUXi Multisync LCD Panel Review
For a long time, the highly professional Multisync NEC LCD panels have been widely recognized, especially among the graphic artist and media designer circles. One of these panels will be tested in this review. NEC 2690WUXi Multisync Monitor Package Contents The NEC LCD2690WUXi package includes a D-Sub cable for connecting the monitor to your PC and providing an analog signal. A DVI-D cable is also available for digital communication from a computer to a monitor. And, of course, we did not forget about the power cord and the NEC 2690WUXi Multisync panel itself. In the box, you will find a printed multilingual user manual, and on the CD for this monitor you will find everything you need to get started in a PDF file. And four screws and special VESA mounting brackets that come with the LCD panel and take up the rest of the shipping container space, will allow you to fix this device in the area of the living space you need, without fear of the quality of the fastening security. NEC 2690WUXi Multisync Monitor Design
In general, the design of the NEC LCD 2690WUXi monitor does not differ much from other modifications of the Multisync LCD panels of the Professional family. The dominant factors of this device are, first of all, its functionality and simplicity without any visual frills. The NEC 2690WUXi monitor strives to be a true working device with all its appearance, which underlines the character of this monitor. If you pay attention, you will see that the silver-colored frame of the Multisync NEC 2690WUXi LCD panel is studded with special holes for ventilation. The frame itself is made of plastic, the rest of the panel is made of metal. The vents are not too large, but they are scattered around the perimeter of all four edges of the monitor bezel. As with many large-format displays with an integrated power supply, there is also a high probability of penetration of harmful and unwanted insects through these ventilation slots, which can be attracted by the NEC 2690WUXi Multisync backlight in a dark room. I hope that it is not worth talking about the possible damage and obvious harm of such insects, so I immediately warn you and categorically ask you to pay attention to this point. 
Detail view of the frame - silver front. Ventilation holes surround the entire frame. The NEC 2690WUXi Multisync panel foot in the standard position occupies a space from the beginning of its base to the bottom of the display frame about 6 centimeters. For greater convenience in adjusting the position of the LCD panel for the user, it can also be lifted up to a distance of 15 centimeters, which, as a result, will make it possible to lift the device in question above the level of the desktop by 21 cm. It should be noted that all these manipulations to adjust the personal comfortable position of the panel are performed with great lightness and smoothness, without the need for enormous effort. The NEC 2690WUXi Multisync monitor can be tilted five degrees forward and can be tilted up to 30 degrees in the reverse direction. In addition, the special design of the footrest allows you to rotate the display in any direction you choose in relation to the horizontal axis for a full 360 degrees. The multisync NEC 2690WUXi monitor has another interesting ergonomic feature in the form of a horizontal position of the display in the vertical position (portrait mode), when the narrow right side is rotated so that it becomes the bottom of the monitor. Apparently, according to the manufacturer's idea, it will be very convenient to work with photography in this way. Frame position in portrait mode (rear view). 
Power Consumption Monitor Multisync NEC 2690WUXi While the 2690WUXi is on, you can hear a subtle humming sound, especially if you put your ear very close to the display panel. But since it is extremely difficult to imagine working at the monitor in this position, I believe that deafness does not threaten even a very sensitive person, and even less a very picky user. According to the officially known information, the maximum power consumption of this monitor reaches 111 W, and in standby mode - about 1 W. Although it is worth noting that the figures indicated by the manufacturer are overestimated, because in fact the power consumption turned out to be much lower. Surprisingly, by measuring the power consumption, it was found that in reality the NEC 2690WUXi Multisync LCD panel requires only 90 watts during operation. Ways to connect monitor Multisync NEC2690WUXi The NEC Multisync LCD panel has the main connectors on the back. Among them there is a possibility of connecting via the analogue D-Sub interface, as well as using the digital signal of the DVI-D or DVI-I interfaces. For complete happiness, only HDMI is missing. The DC power cord outlet is flush with these connectors. 
Connectors for the Multisync NEC 2690WUXi panel. Monitor Matrix Multisync NEC 2690WUXi
The participant of this review, a monitor with an IPS-matrix manufactured under the supervision and in accordance with all standards of technologies developed by LG-Philips, seems to us as an interesting solution in the category of 26-inch widescreen LCD panels. It was quite easy to determine the presence of this matrix (IPS) without special devices and in the presence of, so to speak, a trained eye for this: stand at the display at a short distance at an angle and as it narrows more, you can observe how black colors on the monitor get distortion in the form of a hazy purple hue. Another, somewhat scrupulous and distinctive feature of this matrix, is considered the appearance of graininess, which is especially painful if you sit closer to the screen, peering at it a little more attentively than usual. To be honest, pale purple shading is actually not as critical as it actually sounds. And the effect of graininess, even with a strong desire, is barely noticeable, and then only from a very close distance. We also emphasize the indicators of the highest intensity of the emitted light of this panel - almost 400 candelas per square meter - certainly this is a lot for such a monitor, which is designed to use a much lower light intensity value. However, in our situation, we must first of all not forget about the dimensions of the matrix, which, to a certain extent, sets the rules for applying such a large indicator of screen brightness. We must pay tribute to the fact that the manufacturer's statement about the 8 millisecond response of this display in the gray-to-gray mode seems quite fair. And it is no longer a rarity when the matrix of professional monitors is overclocked, thereby expanding the already pretty decent multimedia capabilities of the monitor. But the point is not that: it is interesting that with such a performance, the appearance of artifacts that distort the image was practically reduced to naught in the output image. The monitor menu by default keeps the overdrive parameter in the off state, which can be regarded in some way as a safety net on the side of the campaign technologists. The dot size of the monitor is quite large and is 0.287 mm. The supported screen resolution differs from the 1080p standard and can be set to the maximum possible 1920 x 1200 pixels. In other words, we have an almost full-fledged Full-HD widescreen display. The existing support for protection against pirated copying of multimedia content, known as HDCP, gives an unambiguous hint that we are dealing with a Full-HD monitor.But this is not at all interesting, but a completely different fact: why did the manufacturer need to disable this very protection, which, by the way, the user optionally has the right to turn on and off himself through the display settings menu. We will not delve into all these vicissitudes and pay tribute to the developers of this model, who took care not only of its professional component, but also did not lose sight of the category of users who are not averse to spending their leisure time playing games and films. The presence of the entertainment component of this instance is also hinted at by the very high brightness level set by default (factory settings), which is not so often seen in monitors with a professional bias. NEC 2690WUXi Multisync Monitor Tests Let's describe the stages of testing carried out on the existing monitor: Stage 1... Evaluation of the color quality of a given display by means of a specially designed device called a calibrator. It is also capable of measuring the degree of unevenness in the backlighting of areas of the screen. Naturally, we will not bypass such an important parameter as the display reaction speed, which will be tested on a test bench. Stage 2... Investigation of the transmitted color of the display and evaluation of work in the course of the direct operation of ordinary applications (video games, films, graphics and text editors). NEC 2690WUXi Multisync monitor color rendering Let's start with the fact that few of ordinary users know or at least have a glimpse of what a monitor calibrator is, and for a professional display, in turn, adjusting the optimal image on the screen using a calibration device is a common procedure during operation. ... Based on this, in the testing process, we will take a course not only on the results with the default settings (which, by the way, were quite unusual), but also after the calibration. So, without a shadow of a doubt, we can note a high indicator that is really worthy of the title of a professional monitor, and all thanks to the fact that it looks decent with standard graphics settings for color deviation. However, nothing prevents you from improving it with proper handling of the display calibrator, achieving an average dE of less than one. For all that, only in a few profiles did the color deviation values turn out to be slightly higher than the previous dE value. After some period of using the display, a very bright picture began to catch my eye, which is a somewhat strange decision to set the brightness close to maximum in the factory settings. In some way, it can be said that it is common for IPS matrices to have a not too large and pronounced black depth indicator, which in our case turned out to be indicative for the 2690WUXi monitor. The situation was corrected by calibration, the effect of which led to a noticeable improvement in the picture due to, practically, one and a half times decrease in brightness. As a result, the application of these procedures ensured a decrease in the black brightness index on a certain part of the screen surface and amounts to about 0.35 candelas / square meter, which in itself is not bad. At the same time, the obtained contrast is even closer to the one declared by the manufacturer and is 800: 1. You can, of course, in the display options menu, bring the depth of the dark to the value you need by adjusting its level, if suddenly you are experiencing a lack of it. It turns out that the monitor has an amazing color gamut. By the way, in the present period, only displays with LED backlight can boast of such characteristics. It is no coincidence that the Japanese manufacturer is trying to highlight this feature of the 2690WUXi with all sorts of marketing techniques. In the initial factory options of the 2690WUXi video panel, the color temperature was shifted by about 300 kelvin, which is a rather mediocre value.To set the required temperature, you need to resort to calibration again, which ultimately can reach the real values set by default. NEC 2690WUXi Multisync Monitor Response Speed The response times of displays in this category were often not considered fundamental, but thanks to the efforts of the campaign developers, the situation has changed for the better and the current professional models are also beginning to keep pace with the times. In our case, it should be noted that the monitor in question also falls into this category, and the measured response time reaches 11 - 20 ms. For a professional monitor matrix, this indicator is simply excellent. Moreover, it was not very easy to detect artifacts or other side effects from accelerating the matrix, even if you deliberately try to find them there - not without reason the developers put a lot of effort and attention to such an important detail. It is not difficult to guess the true intentions of the NEC developers, who methodically and purposefully spent their precious working time on giving some universal charm to their brainchild. The developers of NEC, as it seemed at first glance, were taking a course not only on the accuracy of color reproduction, probably relying on the fact that the monitor forced by them with spacious viewing angles and a rich and rich picture would lure into the ranks of fans not only an audience with a professional bias, but also and complaining about financial wealth and at the same time versed, knowledgeable ordinary users. NEC 2690WUXi Multisync Monitor Backlight Uniformity If you pay attention to the uniformity of the backlighting over the entire area of the screen, then there are no particular complaints - it is quite uniform, without any obvious hints of any beveling or fading in one of the areas of the screen surface. But there is a natural question about the uniformity of the backlight of a dark background, not forgetting that the matrix of the monitor has an impressive size. Will the engineers be able to dispel some of the doubts that have arisen about maintaining the same excellent level as the uniformity of the backlight. As a result, after a detailed study and finding out the degree of filling with black tones of the display, it became obvious that there was nothing to be afraid of. Sketching in black turned out to be quite uniform, apart from a few barely noticeable areas on the display that differ in brightness, which, in general, can be attributed more to an error than to consider them flaws. A clear drawing of the uniformity of the illumination.
A visual representation of the uniformity of the backlight after turning on the ColorComp function.
Viewing angles of the monitor Multisync NEC 2690WUXi As far as is known, a wide viewing angle is often considered an outstanding quality for an IPS matrix (you can even say that this is a characteristic feature of IPS panels). Considering our model from different positions, doubts about the above statement disappeared more and more - the viewing angles, as it turned out, lay in a fairly wide range of coverage. Perhaps, it is not a secret that with a not too sharp drop in the brightness of the screen, it will be directly proportional, which looks quite logical, there will be a decrease in contrast. In turn, the viewing angles also depend on the contrast. That is, judging by the drop in display brightness on the test graph, viewers are guaranteed high-quality wide visibility to the extent of, of course, a certain border, going beyond which they will feel slight discomfort. Judging by the official information from the manufacturer, the viewing angles are presented to us in the form of 178 degrees both horizontally and vertically. But in fact, the picture on the screen of this display remained stable at viewing angles up to 170 degrees. Text and graphics on the NEC 2690WUXi Multisync monitor Based on my personal point of view, it would be necessary to slightly reduce the brightness of the display for more comfortable work with text material, because even for a display of such an area, the value of 330 candela is quite a lot. By the way, not least of all, the size of the screen point plays an important role in the comfortable work with the text, especially being at a certain distance from it. In general, there were no complaints about the rest - the elements of the text are not blurred and are clearly visible thanks to the assistance of the good brightness and excellent contrast characteristic of our monitor. Features of the monitor allow you to conveniently work with text editors simultaneously on two pages. Naturally, you can try to display more pages on the screen at the same time. Is it worth recalling that the display properties in terms of graphics and photo reproduction seem to be transformed after the calibration process and are worthy of a resounding applause. Video films and games on the NEC 2690WUXi Multisync monitor For the monitor, it was found that in games the behavior of the tested display is quite acceptable, and the picture quality when displayed in non-standard resolutions is at a high level. No loss of image sharpness was observed in the gaming applications tested. 
The only nuisance can be considered the inability to run a modern game console through high-quality interfaces for connecting to a monitor and only the analog method works, via a VGA adapter. Using NEC 2690WUXi Multisync panels of different quality films (DVD, HD discs) for testing, sometimes a barely visible picture jitter could occur during their viewing. But with the proper approach to this issue, this misunderstanding can be eliminated with the help of various software. As for the rest, the quality of HD and DVD video playback in high resolutions can overshadow some of the emerging shortcomings of this panel and show its strongest points. Conclusion on the NEC 2690WUXi Multisync monitor Because a lot has already been said, making a summary of this panel, we will highlight only the positive and negative sides of Multisync NEC 2690WUXi. Among the positive aspects, we will single out the following: - a large diagonal; - wide viewing angles; - ergonomic design of the monitor; - versatility. Among the undesirable parties, we note the following: - high cost; - a small number of connection connectors and the absence of HDMI. _____________ Thanks to all.
