NEC delivers 26- / 30-inch LCDs with SpectraView color calibration sensor

If you thought NEC's LCD2690WUXi² was a mouthful, you ain't heard nothin' yet. Debuting today at Macworld are the MultiSync LCD2690W2-BK-SV (26-inch) and LCD3090W-BK-SV (30-inch) displays, both of which come bundled with the SpectraView color calibration sensor and software. Of note, NEC's also taking this opportunity to launch the aforesaid kit as a standalone product (SVII-PRO-KIT; $329) for those who could use it, and it's fully compatible with both Windows and OS X-based systems. Oddly enough, NEC doesn't even stop to mention the native resolution on either IPS panel, though it spends a copious amount of time detailing exactly how awesome fully automated color calibration is. And it better be, given the $1,449 / $2,449 price points.

[Mobius_1 @ Jan 6th 2009 5:10PM]

$1500? That monitor better be awesome to be worth that much money.

[Hackettman @ Jan 6th 2009 5:17PM]

I know those color calibration sensors can get pretty pricey......

[cj100570 @ Jan 6th 2009 5:18PM]

It better cook dinner and handle conjugal too for that price!

[billy bob thorton @ Jan 8th 2009 1:32AM]

If it's better than my LCD2690WUXi, it's worth every penny. It has paid for itself easily in a few months by catching things an old tn/lower gammut panel was missing.

My main complaint with this monitor I wish it were easier to toggle between the color accurate refresh rate to the overdrive rate since I work in both images and motion graphics depending on the project. the backlighting is also strange if there is nothing on the screen, but nothing that affects quality.

anyone credible know what's new about the W2 compared to the WUXi?

[paul-engadget @ Jan 6th 2009 5:16PM]

After looking long and hard and reading lots and lots of reviews, I bought a 20" NEC 20WGX2pro for use at home. That too is an S-IPS panel, to replace an ageing iiyama 19". At work, employer provides the respected 24" Dell 2407WFP (S-PVA panel), and I used to come home, look at my Iiyama and wonder if my eyes were broken, it was so much fuzzier and lower-res than the Dell!

Now, if I use my NEC in the morning before work, the Dell seems, well, a tad dull. Off-axis, the S-PVA panels are poor, yet this S-IPS is good for +/-60 degrees off perpendicular.

My monitors usually last three times as long as a computer, so I'm quite happy to pay a lot more for them!

On that note, I will always buy a laptop with the better (higher res) screen, and have never regretted it. Provided you use an OS whose GUI is fully scalable, within reason the higher the res, the better!

[Phil @ Jan 6th 2009 5:19PM]

Before the morons come out and say "but I can get a 24" for $150 from office depot", this is a reference monitor that is meant to have exceedingly accurate colours - it's not for you, it's for professionals doing photography, graphic design and video work.

[Noodles2k @ Jan 6th 2009 5:23PM]

it's actually pretty cheap for a reference monitor which includes a cal.

[TravisO @ Jan 6th 2009 6:18PM]

Very true, those $150 monitors use low quality TN panels which are horribly inaccurate when it comes to colors and extremely poor when it comes to angle viewing where the colors invert and all kinds of crazy things. Heck fill the screen with solid grey and no matter how you turn your head, you'll see different shades of grey in different parts of the TN monitor.

PS: I'm an S-IPS snob too, before 2007 every monitor on the market was S-IPS, these cheap TN panels took over the industry but you can still buy S-IPS fairly affordable if you buy older models or used/leased/refurb but sadly new S-IPS monitors are becoming more high end as time goes on.

[FreeFloMonkeyMeat @ Jan 6th 2009 11:12PM]

"It's for professionals doing pornography..."

wait, what?

[Noodles2k @ Jan 6th 2009 5:21PM]

"NEC doesn't even stop to mention the native resolution on either IPS panel, though it spends a copious amount of time detailing exactly how awesome fully automated color calibration is"

it's an apple event, the selling point isn't the specs, but whether the item in question is shiny and expensive or not.

[Oli D @ Jan 6th 2009 5:34PM]

Wowza, just like bang and olufson have been doing for a decade!

[Kimleng @ Jan 6th 2009 6:27PM]

I was about to drop bank on the 30". Glad I can do it on a BRAND NEW model now! w00t!!!

[Rob @ Jan 6th 2009 6:30PM]

Considering how expensive these calibrators can get, is there a place where one can rent them for a day or two?

[Derek @ Jan 6th 2009 7:42PM]

Rob, if you need to do color accurate work, you will need to calibrate at least every month. Colors on monitors can drift with use, so it is quite important.

Also this isn't really news as NEC has been offering their previous 24, 26, and 30 with calibration as an option.

[Noodles2k @ Jan 7th 2009 4:35AM]

very true, as the backlight will fade on ccfl backlit monitors. The question is would the same be true for RGB LED backlit screens? (and I'd have thought not!)