Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hi HU!:)

Whats wrong depends on what you really see.

Is it lines or waves that you see?

Here's an image of lines that can appear that ToastyX made earlier. He had an issue where there were he could see some lines particulary on the left side of the screen. I ran the test on my screen, but though I could see the lines from his screen, I couldnt reproduce it on mine.


This was a simulation he made to illustrate and he could move the image around so that the lines in the image and the lines on the screen would cancel each other producing a "linefree/smooth" image.

Is it lines or waves that you see?

Both, but waves concerns much more to me.

He had an issue where there were he could see some lines particulary on the left side of the screen

And yes, I can confirm this. It is noticeable under gray background. Lines are slightly more separate on the left part tan the right. I cannot distinguish them on the right part. But this is not my real problem, the problem is I also see waves (yes, waves) running from bottom to top when panel is warmed up (about 45-60 minutes turned on). If I switch off the monitor, when it's cool and it is turned on again, no waves appear at all.

I can confirm is a problem of my panel too, because in another house occurs the same.

NEC denies to repair the monitor again. They're convinced is a customer problem, not a product problem (?)

Thanks again Tamlin, I'm realy desperate with this issue. Because I've had several replacements due to issues (3 in total), I'm thinking seriously about buying a NEC 2490WUXi and sell the 2690. The 2490WUXi is already selling on Europe and, according to ToastyX, this monitor has less problems with quality issues than 2690.

Waves are usually caused by interference. You can start with trying out this:

The NEC screen has a DDR spread spectrum function to reduce the EMI. To enable it, do as following:

Enter the menu (standard menu) and move over to the information screen there. Hold in select and press enter. There you can enable ddr spread spectrum.

I'll write some more options for you tomorrow if this doesn't work. :)

Hi Tamlin

I don't think it's a "interference problem", because the monitor has been tested in another house, different to mine, with another devices and an electrical installation different to mine. Waves are visible even if the room is very lit. For now, the monitor is left on my friend's house for testing and probably I would sell him (it's an old man and he needs a new monitor, and this issue doesn't matter to him).

Wave patterns are commonly from electromagnetic interference (EMI). It doesn't have to be the current in your house that causes it.
In order to figure out what causes this, its important to first isolate it. Activating DDR spread spectrum doesn't hurt to begin with, since this is what its for. :)
Did you try the screen with another computer or perhaps a DVD player or similar?

So, here you go with some troubleshooting: :)

1. Do a full factory reset.
In case of a firmware hangup.
2. Activate DDR spread spectrum.
To limit EM spikes in the transfer from video board inside screen to the LCD panel.
3. Bring up some patches of 50% blue and 50% grey.
Those are usually the best to check for abnormalities.
4. Check with at least two devices seperately.
To ensure that there is no device error.
5. Check both DVI ports seperately.
To ensure that the port itself is not damaged.

Usually, I would ask you to try the screen on another circut, since devices (like refrigirators) can cause spikes in the electrical net. But, since you have tried at the neighbours place, I think thats done already.

Please report back after you have done the above. Even if the waves should persist, you would have an option then to send this in to NEC in order to ask for a screen in return. After having 3 strikes, I would ask to get a NEC 24" or the new NEC 2690WUXI2 which have a hardware calibratable sRGB with the new Spectraview 2. :)

Thanks for your invaluable help. It is very appreciated but, to be honest, I've already sold the 2690. And I have fear enabling the DDR Spread Spectrum feature at this moment, when the 2690 no longer belongs to me. I think if I enable that feature, the warranty WILL BE VOID (it's an option hidden to regular users, only technical personnel should handle this), and my friend could not repair the unit without cost when needed.

I don't feel confident buying the 2690W2, because this model HAS NOT the A-TW Polarizer (confirmed by Will Hollingworth on forums). In addition, it has a wider gamut (I'm not an image professional). But, you mean it is sRGB hardware calibratable... How much? Only the White Point or full calibratable as the Native Mode?

In the other hand, I feel confident with the 2490WUXi, except for its high input lag (38ms average). It has a smaller pitch size (0.27mm) and I hope it will be sharper than the 2690. What do you think?

Thank you very very much, again :)

Hey folks!

This is an old thread, but i hope to get some answers anyways.

Im about to buy a 2690wuxi which includes a calibrator and a monitor hood.
This for 'only' 9500kr (1000 euros), which i think is a good dead for a monitor that is still good. The wuxi2 costs lil more, but i dont think their improvement of the screen is that good.

Anyone heard of that bundle be4? what kind of calibrating tool is included with this bundle, maybe its spectraview2? :P

Actually, some prefer the WUXi vs. the WUXi2 because the WUXi have the A-TW polarizer which enchances the optical black (removes glow from angle).
The greatest advantage with WUXi2 is that you can calibrate the sRGB preset with Spectraview 2 on it. With the WUXi, you can only profile it and software calibrate it as all other screens. A good thing about these NEC screens is the ability to calibrate the screen itself, instead of GFX lut.

Which bundle you get, is hard to tell. Is it a SV version of the screen? Then you will get Spectraview profiler, which is the EU version of Speview 2, based upon Basiccolor 4 and usually comes with Eyeone D2 calibrator. 9500KR is cheap for a Spectraview screen with hood and calibrator. I paid about 14000kr when I bought my Multisync and its still superb. The Spectraview screens was about 20000Kr at that time.

thanks for the reply at the hard|forum if your the same :wink:

Im now 99% sure the 2690wuxi is not a spectraview, but a multisync with a calibrator and without the spectraview profiler.

So if i go for this deal, will this trick of yours with trial work?

eidt: the profiler bundled with he 2690 is the ione display 2, no clue if thats good or bad.

Yes, I am and you're welcome. :)

My method might not work, since it depends on the version of the firmware. After a while, NEC EU changed the firmware to stop people from using Spectraview Profiler. A shame, since they didn't offer a way for people to buy it at the same time. Unlike US, NEC EU doesn't give people an option to "upgrade" their screens to Spectraview. They even block credit cards in US for EU buyers, so that people won't buy Spectraview 2 instead (Spectraview 2 works with Multisyncs without making the screen identify itself as SV).

I1D2 is the calibrator most commonly paired with Spectraview, but if you get the software or not I don't know. If you know someone in US, they can buy Spectraview for you and just send you the key. It will guarrantied work with the I1D2 and your screen. Cost 99$, so its not expensive.

(If you're from Norway, then just don't go out drinking a day and you can buy two of them :P )...

hehe im indeed from Norway and the outdoor beers have made its mark already :lol: "got to love Norway" - that can be discussed!

I have a uncle and aunt in the US (even how cliché that might be), so that should be doable.

For pure curiosity; how well is the 2690 calibrated with only the i1D2, compared to the spectraview2?

I've read alot of places people have been happy without the spectraview, and i must admit if its not that big of a difference im temted to just leave it

-

If i decide to buy the spectraview2 from the US, whats the process?
Download the software (trial) from nec.com and get only the serial key from my contacts down there. Then just doing a standard install and use the key to activate it?

The difference between calibrating by software (GFX LUT calibration) and hardware calibration (monitor LUT calibration) is large in theory. In practical terms, people won't notice, since they have no reference point.

The theory is this:

The screen is 8-bit per RGB. The colors are mapped within the screen itself in the monitor LUT (lookup table). This gives 256 colors for red, 256 colors for green and 256 colors for blue (256x256x256=16,7M colors).

Lets say you wish to adjust the white point. The white point is a mixture of red, green and blue. As mentioned, you have a range of 0-256 for each primary color.

When you adjust it in GFX lut, there is a compensation going on. In effect, you are reducing the range of your primaries to get the "proper mix for given white point). This is because the monitor LUT remains the same (same white point, same range).

When you adjust it in the monitor LUT, you are changing the screen itself with no compensation going on. You preserve the color range.

The NEC's have 12-bit lut and 12-bit gamma correction to ensure that you get smooth stepping without banding also after calibraton.

In additon, if you calibrate with colorcomp on, it will even out the brightness, so that the colors are even across the display. As you might or might not know, colors are usually not uniform across a display. You can calibrate it to a perfect DeltaE level in center, while 5cm left it will be a totally another story.

Here's an illustration:

Before colorcomp:


After colorcomp:

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2007/review-nec-lcd2690wuxi-part9.html#Image

Note that this has nothing to do with the uniformity of black, but the uniformity of the colors. So you cannot measure or see it with a totally black screen. 155 is 155 cdm2, which means brightness, not black level/black depth.

If you wish to buy Spectraview 2, you need to transfer money to your US relatives (or receive it from an uncle in america as in monopoly). This is because they have blocked EU creditcards so we cannot buy it. Then they need to send you the serial and you can download the program from NEC's homepage in USA.

Just install it with the key and you are set to go (and you don't have to press any buttons on the screen to do so ;) ).

Thanks for the good explanation, i can finally relax and buy my display with no more 'worries'! :D

Im exited to see how counter strike source is with this screen! 8)

No worries. I think you have enough to make an informed decition now. :) Best part is NEC's warranties in Norway:



In Norway, they honor this. Also in US according to ToastyX and Painman. You get new screen on the door while they pay for shipment both for the new and the old one. They send the new screen first and you send the old back afterwards.

I haven't played CSS on it, but I have played a lot of ET - quake wars on it and a little of some other FPS games (like COD5). There's an average of 33ms input lag on this screen, but I haven't noticed it in the accuracy readings after the games. RPG games looks stunning on this screen due to the wide gamut and I must confess that I have given the accuracy the boot and turned the saturation control up to 6 on all 6 axis for some extra boost in WOW some time ago.

The beauty of this screen is that, unlike GFX calibration where games doesn't honor your profile, your calibration is in the screen, so games always honor it. In some games, its fun to have a gamma of 2.4 or 2.5 and since its hardware calibrated, you don't get the banding and it keeps the black seperation pretty decently.

You'll be amazed by the scaling options if you like to play older games as well. You can adjust sharpness individually for each resolution.

There is 3 inputs (DVI-I, DVI-D and VGA). Each input can have its own preset. LUT calibration (programmable color and gamma) can only be done on one preset at the time, so you have to reload for each input though. The spectraview 2 (and profiler) can be installed on unlimited amount of machines that you can connect to the screen, so switching profiles is really easy once you get used to it.

Ok, but how can they send a display which they dont build anymore?
I asked the store how they would handle a faulty display which is not anylonger produced, and he said they will try to fix it or i will get a replacement screen (not necessary the 2690wuxi in other words),
That can either be bad or good :roll:

I'll give feedback of how the display turned out and how it works with css for those who wants.
8)