NEC LCD20WGX2 review *** UPDATED 25/02/06 ***

[igors]

However i was using the UDPixel program from this link http://udpix.free.fr/ and i set the Flash Window setting to 10 and pressed start and it came up with 8 flashing boxes from the top left in a diagonal line? Does this indicate 8 dead/stuck pixels? I cant seem to notice them when changing to any colour it seems.

LOL ... sorry icemansin, that was really funny question. I understand that you are quite new with the LCD screens, so I will try to explain you this. Don't worry, you will get there at the end UDPixel is unable to find the dead/stuck pixels for you. You have to look for them with your own eye and use those square flashing boxes on them in order to possibly bring them back to life. In that sense, you have to fill the screen with the uniform colour (just click on the colour tabs from UDpixel) and then start to look for them. Sometimes, with such tight dot pitch, it's very difficult to find them at first instance (if they exist). However, even if you find one or two dark/dead pixels I doubt that you will be able to see them in normal monitor usage, as they are not distracting. If you have stuck pixels which are visible on the black background (they are green, blue or red) that can be probably more distracting. Anyhow, hope this will clear the mistery for you.

 

[igors]

Lol, Google is your friend or otherwise this review shows why it can vary between bezel colours

What on earth bezel colour have to do anything with TCO standards ? Quite amusing.

 

[igors]

Mine is S/N is 621 and I dont have any back light bleed so it cant be to do with S/N?

Definitely. (Mine is 611)

 

[igors]

As an example have a very close look at the picture below, do the legs stay the same brightness / colour ?

LOL, you are nuts effort is much appreciated. Anyhow, as the picture is worth more then thousands of words, you are so right I was just unaware that such perceptive illusion can end up in TCO standard. So, yeah, as an additional bonus, NEC is the "honest" monitor. LOL

 

[igors]

Very good. So it seems (and according to user reports here) that NEC finally hit the ball with the new batch and that panel uniformity is really good. Actually, on the same level I was hoping for after reviewing this panel.

 

[igors]

Interesting "mini" user review:

http://tf.erzz.com/2006/05/30/nec-lcd20wgx2-mini-review/

 

[igors]

Explore the NEC capabilities - HD streams

If anyone would like to experiment with HD transport streams playback on NEC, I would suggest this:

http://www.dvbportal.de/projects/hdtvpump/

Firstly, download the "HDTVPump Version 1.0.7" DirectShow HD filter and install it. Filter will properly associate all .ts .tp transport stream files and you will be able to play them by using Windows Media Player 10, Zoom Player or any other DirectShow filter compatible player. HDTVpump is very good HD/DS filter, maybe the best around. After this, you may download demo HD streams from the same page, play them and explore the capabilities of your NEC Those HD demo streams will perfectly show the NEC capabilities and that also includes the wonderfull, so natural colour reproduction and suprisingly good contrast, even at default, out of the box monitor settings - without additional colour calibration and just with the brightness tuned down. My preference is just standard monitor profile + Advanced DVM, but you may experiment with other profiles as well and according to your preference.

 

[igors]

For those who have bought the NEC 20WGX2, have you used the Adjustment Pattern Software? Whats it for exactly? (calibrating the colours)

No particular use of that software. It's rather outdated Nec-Mitsubishi software from 2003! for monitor geometry adjustment. It's maybe usefull for CRT monitors and sometimes when using the VGA input on LCD. Not sure how it ended up on that CD

 

[igors]

This thread is just what I have been looking for, sat and read every page last night as I'm going to order my NEC next week.

If you read every page of this thread, that must be a long read

What I haven't seen metioned but would like to ask is, has anyone who has a cordless mouse .i.e MX1000 or G7 had any lag in game at all? I play COD2 and a wee bit of CSS although I'm bored of that after 3 years playing it on and off? I also play BF2, a good friend of mine brought a 20" LCD from OCUK not to long ago (can't remember the make/model) and sent it back as the mouse lag was terrible. I know that had an 8ms response time and this is a fast 6ms ? But you can't beat asking the people who actually use this kit day in and day out...!!

I don't use the cordless mouse or keyboard. I like the things in corded way and I'm usually avoiding to run the essential input devices on batteries Anyhow, as far as I can tell mouse lag simply doesn't exist. I played many different games (especially for the review, so that gaming sector is covered properly) and didn't notice this. Actually, I couldn't find nothing particularly and worth mentioning, which was distracting me from the gaming immersion.

If someone could just confirm it's not an issue then I can sleep better knowing that I may have one of these fantasticc LCD's sitting on my desk by next weekend I currently have a Sony 20" Multiscan 500ps and I borrowed a 15" TFT the other day to do some work at home and the picture was lots better so it has to go!!

Maybe other users may also confirm input lag worries as I guess that single input and only from me is maybe not satisfactory from your point of view. I can just say that I'm sure that you will be pleased with the monitor, especially if you are the user who is migrating from the CRT grounds.

 

[igors]

can someone advise the best way to clean the screen on these monitor, last thing I want to do is scratch it...

You have to be careful with the specially coated screens, including AR and OptiClear. If you don't have problematic smears any super-fine-micro-fibre cloth will do the job nicely (just to lift the dust). Slightly moistened in case of smears. DON'T use standard lint free cloths, towels, cheap screen wipes, papers ...etc as they are no go for this type of the screen (and probably not for any). Also, DON'T apply the above-normal pressure on the panel itself, as it may cause the side effects. If you want ready-made product, someone on this forum recommended KlearScreen some time ago. I personally tried this product, and it's very good. You need Klear Screen "High Performance" or "Deluxe" Screen Cleaning Kit. According to the spec, they are also optimised for the Glossy Screens. I'm using it for my camera, notebook, LCD TV, LCD monitor ... virtually everything.

If you use any chemical solution, here are the steps:

1. Turn off your monitor

2. Lightly mist the screen with one to two pumps of the spray fluid. (one pump for screens 14 inches and smaller; two or more pumps for larger screens)

3. Using a soft corners of the microfibre cloth, spread the fluid evenly around the screen in straight lines, side to side, top to bottom.

4. Using the dry portion of the cloth, polish in straight lines, side to side, top to bottom.

5. If cleaner is still visible on screen (you have cleaner smears and this is usually exposed when cleaning the glossy panel coating) you should repeat the process using less cleaner and polish again with the cloth.

Apart from other things, specially formulated fluid (like KlearScreen) is sometimes better because it can make your panel coating "antistatic". In other words, your panel will attract less dust. If you don't want to bother with chemical solutions, just buy some superfine microfibre cloth in the supermarket near you. Use it dry for the dust lift off or slightly moistened for the smears. If you need to moisten the cloth, I would recommend the distilled water as the normal "hard" water from the tap can sometimes introduce the newly developed smears.

 

[igors]

Definately the monitor... put the X1900 back in and borrowed my dads 17" TFT and its fine and dandy.

Rich, that's terrible. Such bad luck.

Aghhh this is a nightmare, if the next screen I get isn't perfect i'll freak!

I believe that NEC sorted the problems related with the first batch. Also, even if you have one or two dead/dark pixels I doubt that you will notice it so easily ... especially during the normal day 2 day monitor usage. Of course, you may deliberately look hard to find them (when testing the screen), but that's another story. All in all, fingers crossed for you (again). I hope that everything will turn out nicely.

NB just noticed another post from the user about the monitor overheating worry and it just came to my mind. As it is pretty much host last days (even in this hour while I'm typing this ambient temperature in my house is around 26C - 27C) and you mentioned that fault is developed after 20min or so (just in time when the monitor is heated up nicely)... is the monitor overheating ? Just crazy guess.

 

[igors]

Well i'm getting a/c in my room this saqturday... shall I just leave it till then and see if the fault persists?

As far as I remember, when you receive the replacement from NEC, you may keep the both monitors for some time (how long?) until you decide which one to return. Essentially, you don't have nothing to loose.

If you have any desk (big) cooling fan (or if you can spare one from the office) just try to point the fan towards the back of the monitor and see how it goes. If fault is not reoccurring, you have the overheating problem and quite possible a/c will cure the problem.

Hope this helps.

 

[igors]

I just hope my 6800GT's have got enough power, although I think im right in saying that you dont have to play games (my main game is BF2) at the screens native res and the image scaling is quite good on the NEC's? Anyone care to back that up?

NEC image scaling is perfect, maybe the best around ... and according to users responses. So, yes, you will be just fine.

btw You have nice signature (picture) there he he I think that you changed the picture a bit, so that text is moved right to cover the "naughty" bits. When I looked at the first "original" version, I was starting to wonder what is she doing with that hand as layer of text was hiding that part and playing up with my judgement ... not to mention the first-version "upper" bits

 

[igors]

The thing with this grey blob is that it's not made up of just one pixel (as one pixel is very small) but looking at it more closely it is infact about 6 pixels forming a grey blob?
Being a TFT virgin im not sure if this is normal or not?

Far from normal. It's very hard to spot single dead pixel, but your case is pretty much unique. Never heard that anyone reported something like this. Anyhow, it would be interesting to hear about your progress.

 

[igors]

hi igor

ou didnt reallymention that much about text clarity and overall desktop work, could you please do a mini review on this or let me know how this monitor performs in in text and web browsing and everyday office based work.

From the review thread itself:

Working in desktop was real pleasure. I really liked the widescreen desktop "expansion" from the old 4:3 format. Text was clear and crisp (even without the cleartype) and colour reproduction was really fantastic. Also, when you place bright white objects against the black background no visible shadowing or colour bleeding are visible and contrast was just great. Colour intensive screens, with loads of details, are rendered perfectly. I really wanted to visit all my favourite web sites again and enjoy them in full glory on this monitor, as colours are so vivid and real that it's simply amazing.Screen is really pleasant to the eye when working in desktop. Colours are vibrant and deep, contrast is exceptional, brightness is just crazy (but controllable) and glossy screen is giving additional "smoothness" to the eye. Don't know if I mentioned, but my office LCD screen 17" BenQ is very harsh to the eye, comparing to this one.

I have only one picture to show for the desktop font clarity:

http://62.204.32.7:10973/NEWPIC_02/IMG_XT01.JPG

You will notice the blue luminance around the fonts. It's just the camera glow, nothing to worry about. But notice the contrast, black levels and fonts "smoothness". It's almost CRT-ish like. Interestingly enough, when I decrease the monitor sharpness to 6.2% or 8.3% ... I'm telling you (and this is no joke) it looks just like CRT This may work in a way to reduce the "texture sharpness" especially in the games, so it may be useful for the people who are not the fans of the "LCD" army knife sharpnes (especially in games).

Anyhow, working in desktop was really cool. Because of the OptiClear, this monitor doesn't have that crystallized (or sandy) feel of the screen (like other AR coating panels) and this is contributing to the overall "smoothness" of the screen and it's not harsh to the eye. As I like smooth, CRT-ish like panel feel, I was really pleased (and surprised) how NEC is performing on this field. Even my friends, when they observe the screen for the first time, are telling me that it reminds them so much of the CRT (and that this is the best LCD screen they've seen so far). Of course, on the other hand, colour clarity and vibrancy are simply not comparable with the CRT (in the positive way).

 

[igors]

of particular interest is the latency graph@

Impressive! ... and good find No wonder that I was equally impressed with the response times during the review. No particular in-depth measurements (like here), purely from the perceptive point of view. Anyhow, it's nice to see that AS-IPS redefined the IPS legacy so nicely and that 20WGX2 is still firmly holding the performance crown, even when compared (and according to the latency graphs) with the latest generation of P-MVA (ViewSonic VX2025wm) and S-PVA (Samsung 215TW) panels.

Couple of comments about the review. It's strange that they were not satisfied with the panel uniformity. Maybe backlight was not uniform on their testing sample ?! I thoroughly tested the panel uniformity (and my panel pictures in the dark may possibly complement this) and couldn't be more happier with the results. Also, it seems that they didn't tested the 1600:1 Advanced DV mode ?! ... not sure why such trend in the reviews. In this mode, colour accuracy is even better and mesaurable black level (at approx 50% brigtness) is around 0.25 (and it can go down to 0.20 @ 100 cd/m2). Of course, you have additional benefits of improved contrast and DFC. On the other hand it may happen that Advanced DV and OptiClear in combination with colorimeter is simply not joy, because perceptive picture quality is drastically different then the measured one. Even without Advanced DV and after proper calibration monitor will still deliver exceptional picture quality. Quite possibly, the optimal settings for the NEC are with the Advanced DV ON, Standard DV mode, 50% contrast and brightness according to the user preference. Strange why such inconsistence in the review.

Also, they mentioned the excellent resolution scaling capabilities (NEC is calling this resolution expansion) of this screen and in essence they are right. You can play the games even at 1024x768 with no particular loss of image quality. Resolution scaling and 1:1 pixel mapping are working great.

The scren is impressive though from that graph, and hopefully the overdrive will become more evenly controlled in the future to provide some even better screens!

Definitely. If they improve even more overdrive control (stability), combine that with possible "overdrive off" feature (as we witnessed with some NEC screens) and further improve the backlight technology ... we would probably have surprising results and screen which will excel in all tasks. AS-IPS does have bright future, no doubt.

 

[igors]

I just bought the 20WGX² with a warranty of 0 dead pixels.

Is that 0 dead pixel warranty supplied by NEC or your shop ? Very interesting.

As I bought it with a warranty of 0 dead pixel during 3 months I RMA it on more time.

I guess, same question as above

Does anyone notice this buzzing/whinny noise ?
Monitor on : no noise
Monitor standby (orange light): high beeeeeep
The beep come from the back upper right of the screen.

I guess not ?! Mine doesn't have that and I can't remember many posts about this. I think that some US version (20WMGX2) users reported this. Maybe I'm wrong, but if I can't remember this on some global scale, I guess that it's not frequent issue. Are you sure that you don't have the power problems, not related with the monitor ? Have you tried to connect the monitor to other power outlet or use, available to buy separately, mains power filtering (spikes and noise) adapters ? Maybe you have some noise, power instability or other problems in your mains line.

I guess that this is only happening during the monitor standby, so only possible solution is that you simply turn off the monitor after usage.

 

[igors]

As with most TFT's, i think you will have to chance it, hope that the build quality is ok and if not you can RMA it. It's a chance you take with anything purchased online really, that perhaps it wont work properly or is a little faulty. A lot of people have bought the screen and had no problems.

As it stands with any industry of this type, manufacturing control process simply can't guarantee the 100% perfection of each unit produced. It's simply not possible and there are many reasons for that.

Even if they are unlucky and receive the unit with major/minor fault, they have two possible options:

- Return the unit to the e-tailer as they are covered by 7 days distance selling regulations (it's also called "cooling off" period). This may also include the possibility that they return the product simply because they are not happy with it (and reasons for this may wary to). Generally, I would recommend this path only if they are unhappy with the product.

- As monitors are essential units for the computer work, they are additionally covered by the manufacturer warranty. If the monitor is faulty on arrival, NEC will happily swap the monitor for them (free of charge). Also, as reported by other users, NEC support is really good and RMA is straightforward procedure.

In essence, I can understand that people are extremely carefully when purchasing the monitors online. It's pretty much normal. However, as explained above, they are really very well protected in case of any unfortunate event, after the purchasing decision is made. Yes, RMA can be painful sometimes ... but in majority of cases, things will turn out nicely at the end.

Remember, bad issues are often over exagerated simply because people will post about them more.

There's bound to be a lot more people who dont have problems but just haven't posted about it

True.

 

[igors]

thats your best bet. Acer and Sony products are readily viewable in high street stores including laptop ranges. Get an idea of whether you like the reflective nature of the coating or not

Additionally, not all glossy coatings are of the same type. You have X-brite, CrystalBrite, OptiClear ... maybe other types also, so essentially they are not reacting the same way. Yes, as the general guideline, visit to the shop is always worth it and he may have some sense about this things. Also, you have to be careful as the shop rooms are usually very very bright and in most cases glossy panel coating will react differently when it's surrounded by "normal" ambient light, in your home.

 

[igors]

Well folks as you may have read I've been plain dumb unlucky with nec and these bloody monitors.

I'm on number 4 and this one is no better.

Am i being too picky or is this a light bleed.

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/7510/dsc001169xn.jpg

number 4 It's really really rare case that someone swap the monitors to such extent. Usually they settle on second one, rarely third.

Anyhow, that backlight and panel uniformity doesn't look that bad honestly. Actually, it's very good apart from the slight bleed in the lower/left corner. I'm sure that it will fade away over time and after proper monitor burn-in (as reported by users around).