NEC PA301w: The Baddest 30-inch Display Around
by Brian Klug on March 1, 2011 8:00 AM ESTBrightness and Contrast
For brightness, black level, and contrast points, we use the same colorimeter setup described earlier. Specifically, we use an Xrite i1D2 with ColorEyes Display Pro, and take measurements at maximum and minimum brightness of white and black targets. Dynamic contrast is turned off. We also let the panels settle in for a half hour at the respective settings before taking any measurements.
The PA301w uses a CCFL backlight, which makes that warm up time even more critical. The PA301w has an interesting quick warmup feature that reduces the visible brightness increase period dramatically. At power on, I measured brightness go from 160 nits (with the OSD showing 200 nits, blinking) to 210 nits in under one minute, then gradually settle to the desired 200 nits. There's a bit of overshoot, but the visual difference is hard if not impossible to actually pick out. For the sake of these tests, I waited for things to settle, but it's actually impressive how fast the PA301w can warm up to totally useable brightness levels.
Brightness settings in the OSD follow the same rules as color ones - if you select something impossible, the last changed value will show up pink, meaning it's outside of the monitor's capabilities. The same thing applies for brightness. I had no problem reaching 411 nits of brightness after getting that worked out - it's a similar thing I've seen on all other displays, sometimes you need to change contrast or color adjustment settings appropriately. Regardless, the PA301w went above the specified 350 nits of brightness, reaching 411. Contrast isn't quite the 1000:1 advertised typical, instead hovering around 800:1 pretty consistently.
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Lazlo Panaflex - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
"It's seriously the Ron Jeremy of monitors if there were such a thing."Nah, more like John Holmes....
2 x this beast + AMD 6990 + Crysis2 = boner-rific
MeanBruce - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
Done with the slow funk, so done with Dell out the f'in door end of the driveway pickup! Welcome those beautiful 30inches! ;)softdrinkviking - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
Ryan,In there documentation, NEC claims that their calibrator is factory-tailored to NECs monitors, which seems to suggest that it is more than a "rebranding."
Of course, this could all just be marketing, and they could be the same thing.
Do you know for sure one way or the other?
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
Oops. Brian. Not Ryan! Sorry... :)Ryan Smith - Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - link
It's okay. It happens all the time. ;-)Brian Klug - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
From what I've seen, it really does look like a rebranded X-Rite i1D2. It's possible they've done some internal calibration as well (I know a few vendors do things like calibrate the colorimeter). It'd also make sense it's just rebranded since the i1D2 is the only thing that will work with internal monitor calibration.-Brian
eaw999 - Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - link
it's an i1d2 puck, but modified to allow proper calibration of wide gamut monitors.NEC_Art - Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - link
Yes, the NEC calibrator is tuned by X-Rite to more correctly read our MultiSync PA Series wide gamut displays. It is not the same as a retail i1 Display2.Art Marshall
Product Manager, NEC Display Solutions of America
peegeenyc - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
can anyone find this for sale at a major discount retailer?It seems only NEC sell it at full price from my search results.
Azethoth - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
"Apr 12, 2010 2:22 PM in response to: Zeno BokorRe: Photoshop 10bit support
Actually, the 10 bit/channel display path is working quite well in CS5 - on cards and displays that support it.
Again, we've been working with the manufacturers for a while to get it working..."
-Chris Cox (Photoshop lead)
I would be surprised if its the only software that handles 30bit