Brutally expensive, and only comes
into its own once calibrated
NEC’s displays have a fine reputation among
professionals when it comes to image editing, with a focus on a wide color
gamut and color accuracy, which are critical in such situations. They also tend
to be eye-wateringly expensive as a result, and the NEC PA271Wisonesuch
example. This 27in 2,560 x, 1,440 display matches its high resolution with
support for the Adobe RGB color space, in addition to the standard sRGB gamut.
NEC
PA271W
Its color depth of 1.07 billion colors is
only rivaled on test by the Dell U2713H and similarly professionally orientated
NEC PA301W.The P-IPS (performance in-plane switching - NEC’s name for its
10-bit IPS screens) panel is lit by a CCFL backlight, and the result is a very
hefty panel indeed, weighing in at 13.6kg including the stand, so make sure you
have a sturdy desk.
The aforementioned stand is similarly beefy
in order to support the weight of the panel, but it still offers a large array
of adjustment. In addition to tilt and swivel movement, there’s 150mm of
vertical adjustment, as well as the ability to rotate the panel into portrait
mode.
Inputs comprise the bare essentials for business,
though, with just a pair of DVI-D ports and a DisplayPort connector.
The lack of HDMI is particularly grating
considering its near-ubiquitous presence in the market, but not surprising for
a monitor mainly targeted at graphics professionals. Also included area pair of
USB 2 ports, plus a pair of USB 2 Upstream Ports to enable you to switch
peripherals connected to the panel between systems quickly. However, this falls
short of the USB 3 ports of the Dell U2713M, or the integrated KVM of NEC’s
top-end PA301W.
In the bottom-right corner of the bezel are
six buttons with which to navigate the bafflingly expansive OSD. By default,
the panel is set to its 220cd/m2 high brightness setting, but there’s a number
of color presets, including the sRGB and Adobe RGB settings. There are also
additional options to separately adjust the color temperature, as well as the
hue, offset and saturation of any of the principal colors. You can also fully
control the brightness, right up to a super-bright 400cd/m2, and that’s just
with the default options.
There are numerous other advanced settings
that require a good read of the lengthy manual to understand, but some notable
extras include ambient light compensation, panel uniformity compensation and
even compensation for long cable runs. The end result is a panel that’s
configurable to an incredible degree, and equipped with enough features to make
a small Photoshop studio weak at the knees.
Thankfully,
the result was much more in line with what we’d expect from a premium panel
Performance
Despite this arsenal of settings, though,
we struggled to get the PA271W to produce competitive color accuracy at any of
its default presets. Out of the box, the high brightness setting and native
color temperature was very disappointing, with a color temperature of 6,184K
being noticeably warm.
Its average de94 color accuracy of 3.7 and
peak de94 of 9 were also disappointing; in comparison the $544 Digimate
IPS-2701WPH’saverage color accuracy out of the box was 1.8 and its peak de94
was just 4.2. The PA271 W’s gamma levels weren’t perfect either, with an
average of 2.13 - 0.07 off the ideal. The only highlight was the 825:1 contrast
ratio, which ensured deep blacks, despite the suspect color accuracy.
While
we realize this is a professional panel that’s meant to be regularly
calibrated, these shortcomings are too obvious and the price is far too steep
to consider the NEC PA271Wagood investment
Switching to the sRGB preset and
6,500Kcolour temperature did little to improve the situation, dropping the dE94
to 2.7 but raising the maximum dE94 to 9.5. The color temperature also dropped
to a very warm 5.655K, while the gamma level worsened further to an average of
2.07. What’s more, at this preset, the brightness is locked to 80cd/m2,
resulting in a picture that’s only bright enough in very dark environments.
What’s more, this change in setting dropped the contrast ratio to 535:1 - the
lowest result measured during this Labs test.
Startled by the disappointing image quality
available within the reach of most users out of the box, we set about
calibrating the PA271W using our colorimeter and Blue Eye Pro software.
Thankfully, the result was much more in line with what we’d expect from a
premium panel, with a color temperature of 6.535K, an average dE94 of 0.6 and a
maximum dE94 of 1.1.
These results are much better, but
frustratingly still not as good as the calibrated results of the much cheaper
U2713H. The contrast ratio, even when calibrated, was also stuck at a
miserly590:1, resulting in a loss of depth and detail in blacks. On the plus
side, the backlight was at least excellent, with no discernible bleeding.
Conclusion
The depths to which you can manually adjust
and configure this panel are phenomenal. Sadly, however, our efforts to squeeze
competitive image quality out of it without the use of an expensive calibrator
proved fruitless, leaving the NEC PA271Wlooking like an overpriced
disappointment.
While the Adobe RGB support predictably
drives up the price, the Dell U2713H supports the same feature set for less
money, and with superior image quality. For the sRGB, even the $544 Digimate I
PS-2701 WPH is better both out of the box and when calibrated.
What’s more, despite its premium price, NEC
doesn’t offer any kind of pixel policy beyond the standard Class 2, requiring
three bright or dark pixel defects before replacing the panel.
While we realize this is a professional
panel that’s meant to be regularly calibrated, these shortcomings are too
obvious and the price is far too steep to consider the NEC PA271Wagood
investment. Only photographic specialists need apply, and even they will be
better served by the cheaper Dell U2713H in terms of image quality.
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Information
§ Price:
$1,385
§ Manufacturer:
www.nec.com
Specifications
§ Panel
Technology: IPS
§ Viewable
Image Size: 27"
§ Aspect
Ratio: 16:9
§ Native
Resolution: 2560 x 1440
§ Pixel
Pitch: 0.23mm
§ Pixels
Per Inch: 109@ native resolution
§ Backlight
Type: CCFL
§ Brightness
(typical): 300cd/m2
§ Contrast
Ratio (typical): 1000:1
§ Viewing
Angle (typical): 178° Vert., 178° Hor. (89U/89D/89L/89R) @ CR>10
§ Response
Time (typical): 7ms
§ Color:
Gamut
§ Lookup
Table: 14-bit (3D)
§ Displayable
Colors: 1.07 billion out of 4.3 trillion
§ Horizontal
(Analog/Digital): 31.5-93.9 kHz (Digital only)
§ Vertical:
50-87 Hz
§ Input
Connectors: DisplayPort, DVI-D Dual Link (2)
§ Dimensions
(WxHxD) Net (with stand): 25.2 x 15.6-21.5 x 9.3 in. / 640.4 x 396.2-546.2 x
235.5mm
§ Weight:
30 lbs. / 13.6 kg
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