NEC's 26-inch MultiSync 2690WXi widescreen monitor gets facetime

Although NEC already went blue earlier today on its new LaVie L laptop, the firm's 26-inch MultiSync 2690WXi widescreen monitor is holding down the ever-trendy white / silver motif. Getting a bit of facetime at Focus on Imaging 2007, the expansive display looks to be a match made in heaven for Mac users who don't feel like springing for any of Apple's own offerings, and is aiming at the eagle-eyed photographer who appreciates color accuracy as much as any specification on a display. The unit purportedly offers up 400 cd/m2 brightness, 178-degree viewing angles, 800:1 contrast ratio, seven-millisecond response time, VGA / DVI inputs, and support for wall mounting as well. It was noted that an elusive "professional" rendition was also on display, alongside quite a few competing EIZO monitors targeting the shooting set, but even the "lower-end" 2690WXi will reportedly demand a stiff £868 ($1,700) for all its color-perfecting ways.

[SmilingAssassin @ Feb 26th 2007 11:37PM]

absolutely absurd price considering Gateway's 24"!

[Joe @ Feb 26th 2007 11:39PM]

If you're not willing to spend that kind of money on an LCD, here's a 19 inch NEC Multisynch LCD for about $350:

http://www.amazon.com/NEC-MultiSync-90GX2-LCD-Monitor/dp/B000CEYXW0/sr=1-1/qid=1172550885/ref=sr_1_1/102-0877178-4382514?tag=freeplecom-20&ie=UTF8&s=electronics

It's the best selling Multisynch LCD monitor on Amazon and rightfully so. It's got a 700:1 contrast ratio and a super low 4 ms response time! Perfect for you gamers out there.

[scott @ Feb 26th 2007 11:52PM]

You're both missing the point, these monitors are not for gaming or normal browsing, but color reproduction. Thats the most important thing for video/image editing and professionals in those fields will feel the premium is actually a small price to pay.

[Ian @ Feb 27th 2007 12:50AM]

Exactly. I'm glad someone pointed it out.

Making a bright monitor with good contrast and lightning fast response time is fantastic........unless you do creative things with print. For video, watching DVDs, and playing games, get another monitor. You can do better. However, pros who will have their work printed need something colour accurate, and something that will show dark "shadow" detail better than the typical LCD.

But anyway, the Dell 30" and Apple 30" are both colour accurate, so they're going to be this LCD's closest competition.

[Porkchop Flavored Cupcake @ Feb 27th 2007 1:01AM]

Yes, even though it's imperative for the photo and viddy pros to have a monitor performing at this level to justify high costs, I've always thought that it was in the best interests of these manufacturers and the customers to provide this kind of performance at a lower price than the competition which already has a good handle on these segments. In this regard, I'm not so sure if this monitor really is worth it.

[Mikemike @ Feb 27th 2007 1:37AM]

Makes the 27" Dell seem like a good deal.

[Maria Davi @ Feb 27th 2007 1:53AM]

Hello: the past week was a coment about the danger of an asteroid, the United Nations was talking about it. Please tell the person who wrote this coment that we have to evacuate or, called Re-Locate, the people to the mountains, because when the asteroid fell, will be an enormous tydal wave but the people who is in the mountains will not be hert or happen anything Maria Davi

[James @ Feb 27th 2007 5:30AM]

What? Are you joking or was Deep Impact just a little bit realistic for you? This page is about monitors that display colours accurately! You are crazy and you make little sense also

[Sean D. @ Feb 27th 2007 3:12AM]

Combine that with some Wacom technology and you've got a sale!

[Chris Houston @ Feb 27th 2007 5:53AM]

I bought a Dell 30" Monitor re-conditioned for £850, it's pixel perfect and not a scratch on it. From a company called Aria. ( I have no link with them ) It's a great monitor.

[NHAnimator @ Feb 27th 2007 7:51AM]

NEC is still around?

[Reality's Soul @ Feb 27th 2007 10:53AM]

So we are supposed to spend 1700 bucks for a big monitor? I'd rather get a new HD LCD with DVI inputs than this. They at least would let you watch TV with out having to get a tv tuner card for your pc then.
Just my Thoughts.

[Jake G @ Feb 28th 2007 5:28PM]

As others have pointed out, this line of monitors isn't for playing computer games at home or IMing your girlfriend.

I recently bought 2 NEC 2190uxi LCDs, in the same family as the one this post is about, for use in presenting experiments in neuroscience research. I can't speak for this particular screen, but the model we bought is just phenomenal. Finally an LCD with accurate and calibrated color representation, very consistent luminance across the display, and a reasonably speedy response time (the 2190 is 8ms gray/gray, if I remember correctly), specs which have typically been best handled by CRTs, which are becoming increasingly hard to find. Until very recently, color-accurate LCDs have had very slow response times (20ms+) and have been 2x or more the price of NECs new line.

A well-done review of the 2190uxi, and a couple other similar displays, can be found here:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/professional-monitors.html

[idunno @ Feb 28th 2007 7:16PM]

Yeah this isn't meant for the average consumer, it's for professionals. Of course professional quality items are going to cost quite a bit more than consumer products.

[dartmthgreen @ May 14th 2007 6:20PM]

Thanks Jake for the insightful comments. You hit the nail on the head. At NEC Display Solutions, we don't make systems or laptops. Our #1 focus is display solutions. To that end and to differentiate ourselves from the system manufactuers who OEM their displays, we have one of the widest product portfolios in the industry - all with the goal of meeting the specific needs of the customer segments we target. The professional color critical market is one target and the MultiSync LCD2690WUXi is designed with this market in mind. With color matching being critical for tasks such as soft proofing, this model will pay for itself in no time flat. If this level of performance isn't required, NEC also has the 24" MultiSync LCD2470WNX, the 20" MultiSync LCD2070WNX and the 20" MultiSync 20WMGX2, which provide additional wide screen display options at lower price points. These models carry different feature sets which make them ideal for everything from business applications to home entertainment. There's a hot and insightful review of the NEC MultiSync LCD2470WNX at http://peripherals.about.com/b/a/257759.htm for those that may be interested in a 24" NEC display that sells for under $800. If this doesn't meet your budget, there may be another great NEC display that does!